BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police on Saturday said two suspects were in custody as authorities investigated a bombing in the north that killed at least three people and injured dozens of others.
An explosive device was thrown into a crowd during an outdoor performance at an annual festival in Umphang town in Tak province, which borders Myanmar, on Friday just before midnight, according to the Association of the Umphang Rescue Groups.
Local police said at least 48 people were injured and that police have not yet pressed charges against the suspects as the investigation is ongoing.
Thanathip Sawangsang, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, told The Associated Press that local police said there was a fight between rival groups of men before the explosion and that there was no wider security threat. He said the forensic evidence showed that the explosive device was a homemade bomb.
Tak province has a heavy military presence in its border areas, including in Umphang.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her condolences to the victims and their families, and ordered security personnel and relevant agencies in the area to investigate and help those who have been affected, said government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsap.
This photo provided by Umphang Rescue shows the site where an explosive device was thrown into a crowd during an annual festival Umphang, Tak province Thailand, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Umphang Rescue via AP)
This photo provided by Umphang Rescue shows a site scene where an explosive device was thrown into a crowd during an annual festival Umphang, Tak province Thailand, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Umphang Rescue via AP)
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A former soccer star is set to become president of Georgia on Saturday as the ruling party consolidates its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s European aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation by winning 89 of 150 seats in an Oct. 26 vote widely seen as a referendum on integration into Europe. The opposition has accused Georgian Dream of rigging the vote with Moscow’s help. It has boycotted parliamentary sessions and demanded new elections.
In the meantime, former Premier League striker Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, is expected to easily win Saturday’s vote given the ruling party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures. That college replaced direct presidential election in a 2017 constitutional reform.
Georgian Dream has vowed to continue pushing toward EU accession but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.
In 2008 Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Pro-Western Salome Zourabichvili has been president since 2018 and has vowed to stay on after her six-year term ends Monday, describing herself as the only legitimate leader until a new election is held.
Georgian Dream's decision last month to suspend talks on their country's bid to join the European Union added to the opposition's outrage and galvanized protests.
Zourabichvili, 72, was born in France to parents with Georgian roots and had a successful career with the French Foreign Ministry before President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia's top diplomat in 2004.
Constitutional changes made the president’s job largely ceremonial before Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote with Georgian Dream's support in 2018. She became sharply critical of the ruling party, accusing it of pro-Russia policies, and Georgian Dream unsuccessfully tried to impeach her.
“I remain your president — there is no legitimate Parliament and thus no legitimate election or inauguration,” she has declared on the social network X. “My mandate continues.”
Speaking to The Associated Press, Zourabichvili rejected government claims that the opposition was fomenting violence.
“We are not demanding a revolution," Zourabichvili said. “We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be misrepresented or stolen again.”
“Georgia has been always resisting Russian influence and will not accept having its vote stolen and its destiny stolen,” she said.
Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili — mocked by the opposition for lacking higher education. He was a striker in the Premier League for Manchester City and in several clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to Parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket and in 2022 co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that the country meets the bloc’s recommendations, put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June following approval of the “foreign influence” law.
Thousands of demonstrators converged on the Parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on Nov. 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard.
Hundreds were detained and over 100 treated for injuries.
Several journalists were beaten by police and media workers accused authorities of using thugs to deter people from attending anti-government rallies, which Georgian Dream denies.
The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.
FILE - FIFA World Stars team's Mikheil Kavelashvili, right, makes a shot on the goal during the Reunification Cup against Chinese national team in Hong Kong, on July 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Brian Ching, File)
FILE - A protester shouts during a rally demanding new parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream party, which he initiated, applauds Mikheil Kavelashvili during a session discussing presidential candidates in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Nov. 27, 2024. (Georgian Dream party via AP, File)
FILE - Demonstrators rally outside the parliament's building to protest the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
FILE - Police shoot tear gas towards demonstrators during a protest against the government's decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)
FILE - Police try to detain a protester during a rally against the results of the parliamentary elections amid allegations that the vote was rigged in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
FILE - Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, center, is greeted by well-wishers as she attends an opposition protest against the results of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
FILE - Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the governing Georgian Dream party as a candidate for president, attends a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Feb. 14, 2019. (AP Photo, File)
