曼谷爆炸导致泰国政治紧张局势升温
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.
泰国正受到自去年军事政变以来最致命的一起暴力事件的不利影响。昨日，曼谷主要购物区发生了爆炸，造成至少22人死亡、上百人受伤。
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，傍晚一枚炸弹在拉查帕森(Ratchaprasong)购物区的四面佛(Erawan shrine)被引爆，在这个深受泰国人和游客喜爱的地区造成大量伤亡。
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.
没有任何人立即宣布对这起袭击事件负责。爆炸发生在泰国政治紧张局势升温的背景之下，但在军方对内部安全保持严密控制的相对平静时期之后，还是令人们深感意外。
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.
警方发言人普拉武他翁西里(Prawut Thawornsiri)中尉表示，事故造成22人丧生，123人受伤。据报道，多达8名外国人在爆炸中丧生，还有更多的外国人因爆炸而受伤。据中国官方通讯社新华社(Xinhua)报道，这枚炸弹造成3名中国公民丧生。
While social media crackled with competing theories over who might be responsible, there was no immediate evidence to point in any direction.
尽管社交媒体上充满了有关谁可能是幕后凶手的各种猜测，但并未发现指向任何方向的直接证据。
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.
四面佛是泰国佛教徒以及来自中国和亚洲其他地区的游客蜂拥而至的地方，而周围的写字楼、购物中心和高档酒店区也是西方人经常光顾的地方。
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月的军事政变以来，曼谷和泰国各地发生了多起神秘的爆炸，尽管没有一起爆炸的破坏力达到昨日攻击的程度。
Muslim separatist insurgents in south Thailand have used car bombs in the past, but they generally stage attacks in their own region.
过去，泰国南部穆斯林分裂主义叛乱分子使用了汽车炸弹，但他们一般在自己所在地区发起攻击。
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.
在泰国国王普密蓬阿杜德(King Bhumibol Adulyadej)移交王位之前，一场复杂的政治权力斗争拉开了帷幕，最近这起袭击事件将增加泰国的焦虑情绪。如今，患病在身的普密蓬已在位逾69年。长期以来，拉查帕森地区一直是曼谷政治抗议活动的爆发地，也是这个东南亚第二大经济体国际吸引力的一个标志。
Political violence killed almost 30 people during the more than six months of anti-government protests that preceded the coup.
在政变之前逾6个月的反政府抗议中，政治暴力活动曾导致近30人死亡。
