曼谷爆炸導致泰國政治緊張局勢升溫
Thailand is reeling from its deadliest violence since last year’s military coup, after an explosion in Bangkok’s main shopping zone killed at least 22 people yesterday and left scores more wounded.
泰國正受到自去年軍事政變以來最致命的一起暴力事件的不利影響。昨日，曼谷主要購物區發生了爆炸，造成至少22人死亡、上百人受傷。
Police said a bomb detonated at the Erawan shrine in the Ratchaprasong district early in the evening, causing carnage in an area popular with both Thais and tourists.
警方表示，傍晚一枚炸彈在拉查帕森(Ratchaprasong)購物區的四面佛(Erawan shrine)被引爆，在這個深受泰國人和遊客喜愛的地區造成大量傷亡。
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. It comes against a backdrop of rising political tensions in Thailand, but still came as a shock after a period of relative calm during which the military kept a tight grip on internal security.
沒有任何人立即宣佈對這起襲擊事件負責。爆炸發生在泰國政治緊張局勢升溫的背景之下，但在軍方對內部安全保持嚴密控制的相對平靜時期之後，還是令人們深感意外。
Lieutenant Prawut Thawornsiri, a police spokesman, said 22 people had died and another 123 were injured. Reports suggested foreigners accounted for as many as eight of the dead and many more of the wounded. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that three Chinese nationals had been killed by the bomb.
警方發言人普拉武他翁西里(Prawut Thawornsiri)中尉表示，事故造成22人喪生，123人受傷。據報道，多達8名外國人在爆炸中喪生，還有更多的外國人因爆炸而受傷。據中國官方通訊社新華社(Xinhua)報道，這枚炸彈造成3名中國公民喪生。
While social media crackled with competing theories over who might be responsible, there was no immediate evidence to point in any direction.
儘管社交媒體上充滿了有關誰可能是幕後兇手的各種猜測，但並未發現指向任何方向的直接證據。
Thai Buddhists and visitors from China and elsewhere in Asia throng to the Erawan shrine, while the surrounding district of offices, shopping malls and upmarket hotels is also frequented by westerners.
四面佛是泰國佛教徒以及來自中國和亞洲其他地區的遊客蜂擁而至的地方，而周圍的寫字樓、購物中心和高檔酒店區也是西方人經常光顧的地方。
Mysterious blasts have occurred in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand since the military coup in May last year, although none caused anything like the destruction of yesterday’s attack.
自去年5月的軍事政變以來，曼谷和泰國各地發生了多起神祕的爆炸，儘管沒有一起爆炸的破壞力達到昨日攻擊的程度。
Muslim separatist insurgents in south Thailand have used car bombs in the past, but they generally stage attacks in their own region.
過去，泰國南部穆斯林分裂主義叛亂分子使用了汽車炸彈，但他們一般在自己所在地區發起攻擊。
The latest attack will add to anxiety in Thailand as a complex political power struggle plays out ahead of the succession to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ailing monarch of more than 69 years. The Ratchaprasong area is a longstanding venue for political protests in the capital as well as a symbol of the international pull of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
在泰國國王普密蓬阿杜德(King Bhumibol Adulyadej)移交王位之前，一場複雜的政治權力鬥爭拉開了帷幕，最近這起襲擊事件將增加泰國的焦慮情緒。如今，患病在身的普密蓬已在位逾69年。長期以來，拉查帕森地區一直是曼谷政治抗議活動的爆發地，也是這個東南亞第二大經濟體國際吸引力的一個標誌。
Political violence killed almost 30 people during the more than six months of anti-government protests that preceded the coup.
在政變之前逾6個月的反政府抗議中，政治暴力活動曾導致近30人死亡。
