New Year's Eve got off to an unexpected bang in the Thai capital, Bangkok, when a series of bombs detonated across town, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, including several foreign tourists. The explosions—no one so far has claimed responsibility—capped off a turbulent year for the Southeast Asian nation. In September, the country's democratically elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military junta. Then, on Dec. 19, Thailand's stock exchange suffered its worst-ever one-day drop after the nation's monetary czars instituted controversial capital controls. Meanwhile, an insurgent movement in the country's largely Muslim south has ratcheted up its bloody campaign, setting off near daily bombings in Thailand's three southernmost provinces. "[2006] was the year of the greatest social and political divisions in a generation," says Bangkok-based economist Chris Baker.