A fire swept through a high-class nightclub jammed with several hundred New Year's revelers early Thursday, killing at least 59 people and injuring about 130, officials said. A number of foreigners were among the casualties from the blaze that erupted shortly after midnight at the Santika Club in Bangkok's entertainment district.

Victims died from burns, smoke inhalation and injuries during the stampede to escape from the club, which had only one door for the public, police Maj. Gen. Chokchai Deeprasertwit said. Firefighters said a door at the rear was known only to the staff.

Video footage of the disaster showed bloodied, bruised and burned victims being dragged out of the burning club or managing to run through the door or shattered windows. The video — provided to AP Television News by rescue workers — showed flames racing through the entire building even as the rescue operation was going on.

Western Digital Corp. said it would slash 5% of its work force, or about 2,500 jobs, as falling demand for computers and electronics hurt disk-drive makers.

The company also lowered its revenue outlook for the current quarter. As a result, the Lake Forest, Calif.-based company said it plans to reduce production and cut operating expenses across the company.

Western Digital will halt most of its manufacturing operations from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1. It will also close one of its three manufacturing facilities in Thailand, and close or sell one of two manufacturing facilities in Malaysia.

The cost-cutting moves, expected to be completed by the end of March, are expected to result in total charges of about $150 million, spread over the December and March quarters.

If new Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants to keep his job, he will have to draw on his childhood talent as a mediator to win over the poor rural voters who overwhelmingly spurned his party in last year’s election.

Abhisit, 44, became Thailand’s fourth leader since January when lawmakers elected him yesterday. A graduate of Eton College and the University of Oxford, and a friend of London Mayor Boris Johnson, he replaces Somchai Wongsawat.

The former opposition leader must restore investor confidence shattered by six months of anti-government protests that paralyzed the country, culminating in an eight-day seizure of Bangkok’s airports during the peak tourism season. He faces deep divisions between the elite middle class that backs him and poor farmers who have helped elect parties linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra four times in eight years.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was elected as Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister by the country’s lawmakers today, bringing slim hopes that months of street rallies and chaos will come to an end.

He received 235 votes to beat former police chief and Puea Pandin leader Pracha Phromnok who obtained 198, as the election went on smoothly without any major disruptions, unlike previous sessions which had seen clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

The British-born Abhisit, 44, will replace Somchai Wongsawat who was disqualified by the Constitution Court early this month when the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) was dissolved for election fraud. He is the fifth premier in 27 months, and the third in a space of three months.

Bamboo has a long history of economic and cultural significance, primarily in East Asia and South East Asia where it has been used for centuries for everything from building material to food to medicine. There are some 1,000 different species of bamboo growing in very diverse climates throughout the world, including the southeastern United States.

Bamboo’s environmental benefits arise largely out of its ability to grow quickly—in some cases three to four feet per day—without the need for fertilizers, pesticides or much water. Bamboo also spreads easily with little or no care. In addition, a bamboo grove releases some 35 percent more oxygen into the air than a similar-sized stand of trees, and it matures (and can be replanted) within seven years (compared to 30-50 years for a stand of trees), helping to improve soil conditions and prevent erosion along the way. Bamboo is so fast-growing that it can yield 20 times more timber than trees on the same area.

Thongchai Jaidee completed back-to-back wins by taking the Cambodian Open on Sunday, shooting a 6-under 66 on the final day to win by six strokes.

Thongchai finished at 24-under 264. Singapore's Lam Chih Bing shot a final-round 65 to finish second, with Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol (67) a further two shots back in the second staging of the Asian Tour event.

A week earlier, Thongchai won the Vietnam Masters, during which his second child was born.

The former Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra accused the armed forces of interfering in politics, as his opponents in the Democrat Party tried to strengthen a political coalition to elect a new prime minister.

Mr. Thaksin, speaking Saturday by videolink to some 40,000 supporters, alleged that Thai military leaders were backing the Democrat Party's efforts to topple the incumbent pro-Thaksin government. Mr. Thaksin is in self-imposed exile, evading imprisonment on a corruption conviction earlier this year.

Mr. Thaksin's remarks came ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote expected Monday to choose a new prime minister.

The vote will pit a newly formed Democrat-led opposition coalition against a coalition of pro-Thaksin legislators, which has controlled Thailand's government since December 2007.

A lawyer for the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) filed a countersuit against social activist Weng Tojirakarn and six others charging them of making false accusations that the PAD protests at Bangkok's two airports were unlawful and considered terrorism.

On December 3, Dr. Weng and six associates filed a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division against 12 PAD leaders for violating Article 135 of the Criminal Code for causing serious damage to public transport, the communications system and public utilities.

Dr. Weng said the PAD leaders' role in leading thousands of demonstrators to block the two airports was tantamount to committing a terrorist act.

Thailand's Parliament will meet Monday to elect a new prime minister, House Speaker Chai Chidchob announced Thursday, confirming that King Bhumibol Adulyadej had endorsed a request from the Democrat Party to hold the session.

The opposition Democrats say they have enlisted enough lawmakers from other parties to form a parliamentary majority and name their leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister of a new government.

But it isn't certain the Democrats will be able to gain the premiership and form a government to succeed the one led, until last week, by Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. Thailand's Constitutional Court forced Mr. Somchai, a brother-in-law of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, to step down when it ordered that his People's Power Party be disbanded because of committing fraud in the country's December 2007 general elections.

Wales' Rhys Davies shook off the disappointment of his play-off loss in Vietnam last week to take a one-shot lead after Thursday's opening round of the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.

Davies missed out on his first professional title when he was edged out by Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee at the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters. But the 23-year-old responded in positive fashion, carding an eight-under-par 64 at the Phokeethra Country Club in Siem Reap.

He made nine birdies and just a single bogey to be a shot ahead of American Anthony King in the Asian Tour event.