Colonel Buree Srila said the five Buri Ram-based men, including one aged 17, were not trying to disrupt public peace and order but were only skirmishing with a group of male factory workers they had a fight with a few days earlier.

The men threw ping pong balls stuffed with explosives at several locations while running down Lat Phra Khao Road in the Ram Intra area.

Thaksin's lawyer :Noppadon tells of death threat

Noppadon Pattama, legal adviser to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said he received a mysterious phone call threatening to take his life unless he quit his position.

"The mysterious man threatened to kill me, saying unless I quit being Thaksin's legal adviser, he would abduct me," he said.

"This was in line with what I had heard from a government official who warned me similarly. A security officer at my condominium also told me a stranger had been hanging around my residence."

He said the Council for National Security should provide him with protection as he was scared and felt the threat obstructed his job. He will hold a press conference today on the issue as well as Thaksin's stance on national reconciliation.

Quality of life :Children's database to be launched

Information on the quality of life of over eight million children and youths across the country is to be kept on a database for the first time.

The Community Development Department together with the United Nations Children's Fund will gather in-depth data of all children below 18 years, including health, education, living conditions, culture and child protection.

Officers will visit all families starting in underprivileged areas such as the tsunami-affected regions plus border and remote areas, said Charupong Poldej, deputy director.