A bomb exploded in front of a crowded teashop in restive southern Thailand, killing one woman and wounding 28, police and a hospital official said.
The bomb was hidden in a bag and placed inside a telephone booth on Friday in front of a busy teashop in Yala city, capital of the province of the same name, police Lieutenant Colonel Jirasit Lomae said.
The victims were taken to Yala Hospital, where the names of the wounded were being gathered, hospital employee Kallaya Thongthachu said by telephone.
The bombing appeared to be the latest attack by Islamic insurgents, whose activities have led to more than 2,200 deaths since January 2004.
The dead woman was identified as a 24-year-old Buddhist, Jirasit said.
The religions of the other victims were not immediately known.
The bomb exploded at about 8pm, a time when many southerners traditionally gather to socialize at tea shops.
"The assailants seized an opportunity to stage an attack when police and soldiers were taking a rest," Jirasit said.
Troops had been providing security at trade fair in the province, he said.
Meanwhile, rail service had resumed in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat on Friday -- four days after suspected insurgents sabotaged tracks, causing a train to derail in Pattani Province and injuring nine passengers, the State Railway of Thailand said.
About half the usual number of passengers used trains in the three provinces on Friday, despite an increased police and army presence at stations and junctions along the tracks, said Thanongsak Phongprasert, the southern office director for the railway.
Separately, arsonists burned down a government school in Yala's Krong Pinang district on Thursday night, said police Lieutanent Narasak Chiangsuk, blaming Muslim insurgents.
Police said the militants believe the government is trying to indoctrinate students with un-Islamic values at public schools. Suspected insurgents regularly attack teachers in southern Thailand.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS