It Happened! Cubs Win Epic Game 7 to End Series Drought

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4 November 2016, 11:05

Chicago Cubs fans celebrate in front of Wrigley Field in Chicago on Wednesday after the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in Game 7 of the baseball World Series in Cleveland. Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

CLEVELAND — Kris Bryant started to smile even before he fielded the ball. And with his throw to first for the final out, the agonizing wait ’til next year was over at last.

No more Billy Goat, no more Bartman, no more black-cat curses.

For a legion of fans who waited a lifetime, fly that W: Your Chicago Cubs are World Series champions.

Ending more than a century of flops, futility and frustration, the Cubs won their first title since 1908, outlasting the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings of a Game 7 thriller early Thursday.

They even had to endure an extra-inning rain delay to end the drought.

“It happened. It happened. Chicago, it happened,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after gloving the ball for the final out. “We did it. We’re world champions. I tell ya, we’re world champions. I can’t believe it.”

Rizzo put that final ball in his pocket as the Cubs piled up in the middle of the diamond, David Ross got carried off the field by his teammates and Bill Murray partied in the clubhouse.

And the whole time, blue-clad fans who traveled from Wrigley Field filled nearly the entire lower deck behind the Chicago dugout at Progressive Field, singing “Go, Cubs, Go!” in rain. They held up those white flags with the large blue “W” on a night many of their forebears had waited for in vain.

Lovable losers for generations, the Cubs nearly let this one get away, too. All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman blew a 6-3 lead with two outs in the eighth when Rajai Davis hit a tying, two-run homer.

But the Cubs, after tormenting their fans one more time, came right back after a 17-minute rain delay before the top of the 10th.

Series MVP Ben Zobrist hit an RBI double and Miguel Montero singled home a run to make it 8-6. Davis delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom half, but Mike Montgomery closed it out at 12:47 a.m., and the celebration was on.

“I think about so many millions of people giving so much love and support to this team for so many years,” said owner Tom Ricketts, whose family bought the team in 2009.

Manager Joe Maddon’s team halted the longest stretch without a title in baseball, becoming the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals.

“This is an epic game. It’s epic. I can’t believe we were able to do it — 108 years in the making,” Zobrist said. “We did it.”

“They never quit, either,” Zobrist said. “They kept coming at us.”

Cleveland was trying to win its first crown since 1948, but manager Terry Francona’s club lost the last two games at home.

World Series favorites since spring training, Chicago led the majors with 103 wins this season.

The Cubs then ended more than a century of misery for their loyal fans — barely. Bryant, one of Chicago’s young stars, began to celebrate even before fielding a grounder by Michael Martinez to third base and throwing it across to Rizzo for the last out.

“It’s the best rain delay of all-time,” Rizzo said.

Zobrist got a Series-high 10 hits, a year after he helped the Royals win the championship. Zobrist was among the players brought to the Cubs by Theo Epstein, the baseball guru who added another crown to his collection. He also assembled the Red Sox team that broke Boston’s 86-year drought by winning in 2004.

From Curse of the Bambino to the Billy Goat Curse, he ended another jinx.

“We don’t need a plane to fly home,” Epstein said. “It’s fitting it’s got to be done with one of the best games of all time.”

Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward had called a meeting during the rain delay, talking to his teammates in the weight room.

“I just had to remind everybody who we are, what we’ve overcome to get here,” he said.

While Cubs fans hugged with delight, there was only despair for the Indians, who now have gone longer than anyone without a crown. In the Indians’ previous World Series appearance, they were a double-play grounder from winning the 1997 title before losing Game 7 in 11 innings to the Marlins.

“It’s going to hurt. It hurts because we care, but they need to walk with their head held high because they left nothing on the field,” Francona said.

Earlier this year, LeBron James and the Cavaliers ended Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to beat Golden State for the NBA title. James and teammates were in a suite, rooting hard, as the Indians absorbed the same blow as the Warriors.

After defeating San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Chicago became the first team to earn a title by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dexter Fowler homered on Corey Kluber’s fourth pitch of the game, and 23-year-old Javier Baez and the 39-year-old Ross — set to now retire — also went deep for the Cubs, who led 5-1 in the fifth inning and 6-3 in the eighth.

Chapman wound up with the win, and Montgomery got one out for his first save in the majors.

Bryan Shaw, who gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber in the 10th, took the loss in just the fourth Game 7 that went to extra innings.

Albert Almora Jr., pinch-running for Schwarber, alertly took second on Bryant’s long fly to center. Rizzo was intentionally walked, and Zobrist slapped an opposite-field double past diving third baseman Jose Ramirez. Montero singled to make it a two-run lead.

Then in the bottom half, Carl Edwards Jr. struck out Mike Napoli, Ramirez grounded out, Brandon Guyer walked and Davis hit an RBI single. Montgomery took over, and helped set off a wild celebration on Chicago’s North Side.

Even a dedicated White Sox fan could appreciate the victory.

“It happened: @Cubs win World Series. That’s change even this South Sider can believe in. Want to come to the White House before I leave?” President Barack Obama tweeted.

Twenty-one other teams had won the World Series since the Cubs last were champions. They reached the top again on the 39,466th day after Orval Overall’s three-hit shutout won the 1908 finale at Detroit in a game that took 1 hour, 24 minutes — this latest Game 7 lasted 4:24, not including the rain delay.

Back then, Theodore Roosevelt was president, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states, and the first Ford Model T car was two weeks old.

The Cubs were last champions when Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance won consecutive titles in 1907-08, until now the only ones in team history. The Cubbies had not even reached the Series since 1945.

This one was for Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Ron Santo and Billy Williams, who never reached the postseason.

For Gabby Hartnett, Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux, whose October runs fell short.

For Lee Elia and the “nickle-dime people” who spent so many wind-swept afternoons in the Friendly Confines watching loss after loss.

For Bill Veeck, who planted ivy vines against Wrigley Field’s outfield walls.

For William Sianis, the Billy Goat Tavern owner said to have proclaimed when he was asked to leave Wrigley with his pet during the ’45 Series: “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”

For Steve Bartman, whose life was upended when he tried to catch a foul ball as the Cubs came apart in the 2003 playoffs.

And for Harry Caray, who promised viewers after the 1991 finale that “sure as God made green apples, someday the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series.”

Maddon, hired before the 2015 season, won his first Series title after establishing a loose clubhouse that featured at times Warren the pink flamingo, Simon the magician and the motto: “Try not to suck.”

“It was just an epic battle,” Zobrist said. “Just blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up, either, and I can’t believe we’re finally standing, after 108 years, finally able to hoist the trophy.”

Story: Ronald Blum

Embattled South Korea President: Scandal ‘My Fault and Mistake’

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Associated Press

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4 November 2016, 10:50

South Korean President Park Geun-hye speaks during an address to the nation last November at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. Photo: Ed Jones / Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — In an extraordinary display of abject apology during a moment of supreme crisis, South Korean President Park Geun-hye took sole blame Friday for a “heartbreaking” scandal amid rising suspicion that she allowed a mysterious confidante to manipulate power from the shadows.

Park also vowed to accept a direct investigation into her actions, but the opposition, sensing weakness, immediately said that if she doesn’t accept a prime minster chosen by the parliament and withdraw from dealing with domestic affairs, it will push for her ouster.

“I feel a huge responsibility (for the scandal) deep in my heart,” Park said, her voice shaking during the high-stakes televised address to the nation over a scandal that threatens her rule. “It is all my fault and mistake.”

Park’s comments were rife with astonishing moments, and included a frank assessment of her relationship with the woman at the heart of the scandal, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a cult leader and a longtime friend of Park’s.

“I put too much faith in a personal relationship and didn’t look carefully at what was happening,” Park said. “Sad thoughts trouble my sleep at night. I realize that whatever I do, it will be difficult to mend the hearts of the people, and then I feel a sense of shame and ask myself, ‘Is this the reason I became president?'”

In another exceptional moment, Park denied media speculation that she had “fallen into worshipping cult religions or that shamanistic rituals were held at the presidential Blue House.”

Her comments come at what may well prove to be the crucial moment of her presidency. Park is attempting to show the contrition and sense of responsibility that South Koreans demand while re-establishing her tarnished credibility. She is in the fourth year of a single five-year term and faced criticism even before this scandal, particularly for the government’s response to a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300 people.

One national poll had her approval rating at 5 percent, the lowest for any leader in South Korea’s 68-year history.

“Anyone found by the current investigation to have done something wrong must be held responsible for what they have done, and I am also ready to face any responsibility,” Park said. “If necessary, I’m determined to let prosecutors investigate me and accept an investigation by an independent counsel too.”

Last week Park surprised many when she acknowledged that she had relied on Choi for help editing presidential speeches and other undefined “public relations” issues.

Anger has exploded in the days since, with media reports claiming that the influence Choi had went much deeper. There are reports that Choi reviewed and made recommendations on government policy papers, helped choose presidential aides and even picked out Park’s wardrobe.

Thousands have protested. Park has fired many of her senior aides and is replacing her prime minister.

Choi has been formally arrested, and the president’s nominee for prime minister, the country’s No. 2 job, has suggested that Park can be directly investigated, despite her immunity from prosecution.

Park said she couldn’t talk about many specifics because of the investigation, but she was frank in her comments about her involvement with Choi, who has been the subject of widespread rage.

Choi was “a person who stood with me during the hardest moment in my life,” Park said in her speech, apparently referring to the assassinations of Park’s mother and later her father, the dictator Park Chung-hee. “It’s true that I lowered my guard and my sense of wariness” of Choi.

In addition to allegations that Choi influenced Park behind the scenes, reports allege Choi pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled.

Only Choi has been formally arrested in connection with the scandal, but On Wednesday night, prosecutors detained one of Park’s former senior presidential secretaries after summoning him for alleged involvement in extracting $70 million in donations. Prosecutors have 48 hours to determine whether to request an arrest warrant for Ahn Jong-beom or release him.

Park has fired eight presidential aides and nominated three new top Cabinet officials, including the prime minister, in an effort to regain public confidence. Opposition parties have described Park’s personnel reshuffles as a tactic to divert attention from the scandal.

Park may survive what has become the worst patch of an already rocky term. But if her choice for prime minister is rejected and she is forced to name someone chosen by the opposition, it will hamstring her authority and may end her ability to govern.

On Thursday, Park’s choice for prime minister, Kim Byong-joon, said at a news conference that he thinks it’s possible to have Park investigated, though he said the procedures and methods of any probe of the head of state must be carefully handled.

Story: Foster Klug and Hyung-Jin Kim

Myanmar’s Farmers Face Criminal Charges Over Land Rights

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Associated Press

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3 November 2016, 18:48

A golden stupa stands last October in a temple compound surrounded by modern buildings in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo: Elaine Kurtenbach / Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar — Despite the process of democratic transition, farmers in Myanmar’s Karen state are being pushed off their land and face arrest and prison for standing up for their rights, an international watchdog reported Thursday.

A report by Human Rights Watch shed light on land confiscation in Myanmar, which has escalated in recent years with the military and armed groups driving people from their land. Eastern Karen state, on the border with Thailand, has been engulfed in conflict between Myanmar’s troops and ethnic rebels for more than half a century, resulting in massive displacements of villagers.

Well-connected business owners, militia leaders, and government officials exploit land laws and regulatory weakness to obtain land from farmers who have been long using it, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch.

The Southeast Asian nation’s 70 percent of the population live off agriculture and depend on land for survival.

The Assistant Association for Political Prisoners, a pressure group, said that more than 40 farmers were on trial while three have been sentenced to three to five years’ imprisonment on charges of protesting usurpation of their land rights.

They are among 98 “political prisoners” and 104 political activists on trial in Myanmar, said Kyaw Soe, the group’s assistant manager.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, which took office more than five months ago following five decades of military rule, has not responded to any of the particular cases, Human Rights Watch said.

The state government in Karen did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on Thursday.

“The authorities has not been able to solve any of the land grab issue in Karen state until now, because they have no powerful influence on the military or any armed groups and this is a great loss for many farmers,” said Naw Ohn Hla, a prominent human rights defender and land rights activist.

When civilians flee their homes to escape conflict, militias operating under the central government, police or local authorities usually confiscate the land, he said.

The government’s repressive laws on freedom of expression have suppressed dissent among farmers, who have no other form of recourse, the report said.

Story: Esther Htusan

Schoolkids Wear Eyepatches to Learn About King Bhumibol

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Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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3 November 2016, 17:48

YALA — Many on social media on Thursday were praising a teacher who instructed her fourth graders to cover their right eyes to appreciate how His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol must have felt when he toiled for the nation with only one good eye.

A photo of the activity drew widespread admiration from social media users after it was shared online Wednesday. Many comments praised the teacher, identified as Kanokkwan Rojanasawinya of Yala Anubarn School, for her creativity.

Read: King Bhumibol, Monarch and Father to Millions, 88

“First day of class… the teacher told her students to work with one eyes closed and think of someone, about how difficult it was for him to work with only one eye for us throughout decades,” the admin of Voice From Motherland page wrote in a caption to the post that had been shared more than 1,000 times by Thursday.

King Bhumibol, who died Oct. 13 at 88, lost his right eye in a car accident in Switzerland in October 1948, when he was 20. He was hospitalized in Lausanne for treatment, and it was during his recovery that he became close to his future wife, Sirikit.

The teacher behind the stunt wrote online that she did it in class Tuesday in hope her students would appreciate the late monarch’s sacrifices.

“I didn’t want to promote myself,” Kanokkwan wrote on Facebook. “My intention was hoping that this teacher would make more good people. I wanted the students to be grateful for His Majesty the King.”

Kanokkwan could not be reached for further comment Thursday.

According to the photos she posted, she teaches fourth grade at the school in the southern border province.

“When I didn’t read the caption, I thought the entire class was infected by some disease, but after I read it, I understood what the teacher was teaching. Brillant idea,” Facebook user Suwara Saibuakaew wrote in reply.

King Bhumibol was revered by many Thais as a wise fatherly figure who worked tirelessly for the nation throughout his 70 years on the throne. The government has declared a year of national mourning.

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Learn the ‘True Cost’ of Fashion Through Doc

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Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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3 November 2016, 17:40

BANGKOK — Behind the latest trendy fashionable clothes hides the ugly truths of global capitalism and the workers in third-world sweatshops.

Continue

Buriram School Seizes Students’ Colorful Winter Jackets

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Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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3 November 2016, 17:15

Nangrong School’s director, at center, and students in August at the Buriram province school. Photo: Nangrong School / Facebook

BURIRAM — As cool weather looms over Thailand, a public school in Buriram has confiscated brightly colored children’s jackets for being deemed inappropriate to wear during mourning period.

At the start of the school day Thursday, the director of Nangrong School, Somsak Taemsoaksoong, stood in front of the flagpole and announced that students should not wear brightly colored winter jackets, urging them to opt for black, gray or white ones instead.

Teachers then proceeded to confiscate the sweaters and jackets they deemed too bright. The temperature in Buriram this morning was a relatively chilly 23C.

“We’re not forcing them,” Somsak said when reached for comment. “We’re just asking for cooperation from students. There weren’t many children breaking the rules anyway.”

Somsak also said the teachers already returned the confiscated jackets to students.

“Government officials [like our school staff] have to wear black for a year,” he said. “So if students wear bright colors, it looks kinda off.”

He said the students could go opt to wear ribbons, and school would review impoverished students who may be struggling to buy sombre winter wear on a case-by-case basis.

“Others will think the teachers at this school aren’t educating the students. We need to ingrain teachings about society into the children. Issues relating to the [monarchy] are delicate,” Somsak said.

The school was taking the mourning period very seriously he said.

“We even moved our school sports events and other events to the next semester,” the educator said before ending the call.

According to Prachachat, the students were quite distressed to lose their jackets due to the cold weather. Many did not own multiple warm articles of clothing.

With the official arrival of winter last week, northern parts of Thailand have braced for falling temperatures. In past years, Thais with vulnerable health have become ill and even died due to cold spells.

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Police Looking for Hit-and-Run Driver in Chonburi

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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3 November 2016, 16:17

Wreckage of a Land Rover after it crashed into the back of a truck early Thursday morning in Chonburi

CHONBURI — Police said they’re looking for a man who crashed his Land Rover into the back of a truck on Pattaya-Naklua Road early Thursday morning and fled the scene soon after.

A witness said the man, who looked to be heavily intoxicated, got into another motorist’s car before police arrived on the scene, but a policeman in charge of the investigation said he’s not treating it incident as a case of hit-and-run yet.

“Whether this is a case of hit-and-run, we need to question witnesses first,” Sitthawat Chawakornthienrat, deputy inspector of Bang Lamung Police Station, said Thursday afternoon.

He said reporters should not give too much publicity to the incident.

“The media should not publicize this news yet,” Cpt. Sitthawat said. “Sometimes the press’ coverage of criminal cases has negative effects.”

Eyewitnesses said the Land Rover was zooming down Pattaya-Naklua Road at high speed at about 5am and slammed into a parked truck in front of Pla Thong Seafood restaurant. The impact was so severe that the vehicle skid 200 meters before coming to a halt. The car’s license plate is กน 8118 Bangkok.

Suthat Sithong, 42, said he was having a meal on a roadside restaurant when the crash took place, and he rushed to help the driver. Suthat described the driver as a slim, “Chinese-looking” Thai man in his early 20s who looked to be drunk.

Another car, a Toyota with license plate กธ 8899 Chonburi, stopped at the scene, picked up the Land Rover driver and sped away from the scene, Suthat said.

Fleeing the scene of a car accident is illegal under section 78 of Thai traffic law, which carries a maximum penalty of three months in prison.

No one was injured in the incident, police captain Sitthawat said adding that the driver could currently be seeking medical treatment somewhere.

“Maybe he was taken to hospital. We haven’t found him yet. Probably he will show up soon,” Sitthawat said.

He added that police are checking the license plate to ascertain who owned the vehicle and who was driving it at the time of accident.

Suu Kyi Says Myanmar Dealing with Rakhine Under Rule of Law

By

Associated Press

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3 November 2016, 14:43

Myanmar State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, right, shakes hands with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, left, Thursday prior to their talks at a hotel in Tokyo. Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi / Associated Press

TOKYO — Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi says her government is dealing with the situation in Rakhine under the principle of rule of law.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Suu Kyi made the remark in a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Thursday.

Human rights groups have raised alarm over a three-week surge in violence by security forces in Rakhine. The state is home to many Rohingya Muslims. The violence followed the killings of nine police officers at border posts on Oct. 9.

The Foreign Ministry said Suu Kyi said the situation is extremely delicate and must be handled with care.

Suu Kyi is on a five-day visit to Japan.

Police to Lock Down Indonesian Capital for Blasphemy Protest

By

Associated Press

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3 November 2016, 14:19

A Muslim protester wears a mask last October during a protest against Jakarta's ethic Chinese and Christian Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as 'Ahok', outside the City Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Achmad Ibrahim / Associated Press

JAKARTA — Indonesian police are planning a massive show of force in the capital Jakarta on Friday to contain a much-hyped protest by Muslim hardliners against the city’s popular governor that threatens to ignite religious and racial flashpoints.

An accusation of blasphemy against the Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of the country’s president, has galvanized his political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million and given a notorious group of hardliners a national stage.

National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said 16,000 police will be deployed along with 2,000 soldiers and 2,000 of Jakarta’s public order officers for the protest that is expected to begin in the early afternoon following Friday prayers. Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, chief of Indonesia’s powerful military, has said it “will be in the frontline against any movement aimed at disrupting the unity and integrity of the nation.”

Indonesians are already fighting on social media over the blasphemy claim and the protest, which organizers optimistically boast will attract half a million people to Jakarta’s traffic clogged streets. Police have said it might draw up to 100,000 people based on communications with Muslim groups involved in its planning.

Blasphemy is a criminal offense in Indonesia and prosecutions have increased in the past decade. Amnesty International documented 106 convictions between 2004 and 2014 with some individuals imprisoned for up to five years.

Ahok, who is seeking a second term as Jakarta governor and is a possible running mate for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2019 presidential elections, is popular with Jakarta’s middle class. He is adored as a blunt speaker who doesn’t tolerate corruption and articulates a vision to make the chaotic, dysfunctional city more like clean, orderly and efficient Singapore.

But the anti-corruption stance has made him enemies and the evictions of thousands of the city’s poorest people to make way for urban improvement has stoked anger and resentment and played to a stereotype of Chinese as exploiters of Indonesia’s poor Muslim masses. On the national stage, Ahok is ranged against former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose son is a candidate for Jakarta governor, a role that is a stepping stone to national leadership.

The simmering political climate has provided an opening for the Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, to burnish its credentials as protector of Indonesia’s majority faith at the expense of mainstream Muslim groups.

The main organizer of the protest, the Front is demanding Ahok’s arrest for blasphemy after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. The governor has apologized for the comment and been questioned by police.

“Ahok was clearly desecrating the holy Quran,” said Munarman, a spokesman for the Front and a coordinator of Friday’s rally. “We will protest on the streets with people power until Ahok is arrested.”

Munarman, who like many Indonesians uses one name, denied the protest would be racially charged or that it aimed to influence the outcome of Jakarta’s election in February.

“We remind the government and anybody else that we will not keep silent before this injustice, because everyone is equal before the law in this country,” he said.

But the anti-Ahok movement, which has attracted moderates as well as hard-line elements as the city election approached, has overflowed with slurs based on race and religion. And local media have reported an uptick in public order offenses with an anti-Chinese motivation.

The vulnerability of Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese minority remains a raw issue in the country. In the chaos that engulfed Indonesia in May 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis, mobs in Jakarta and other cities targeted Chinese businesses and individuals, killing many.

Amar, the police spokesman, said police have questioned 15 witnesses along with experts in religion and language in connection with the alleged blasphemous remarks but could not yet draw any conclusions.

Story: Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos

Regime’s Southern Overtures Met With 19 Attacks, 3 Deaths

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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3 November 2016, 13:25

Suspected militants torched this 7-Eleven convenience store at a PTT gas station Wednesday night in the Nong Chik district of Pattani province.

PATTANI — Jittraporn Banjong was working in front of the checkout counter when two men with covered faces entered the 7-Eleven where she worked. They fired a gunshot and told everyone to get down before splashing gasoline all over the place.

The four employees escaped through the back door just as the fire spread through the convenience store at a PTT gas station in the Nong Chik district of the southern border province of Pattani. They later learned the attackers placed an improvised explosive device in front of the gas station to attack authorities responding to the scene.

The arson and bombing was among 19 similar attacks to strike three southern provinces Wednesday night, killing three people and injuring five others. In addition to the gas station and military and police targets, many of the attacks targeted infrastructure such as utility poles.

Read: Wave of Attacks Kills 3 as Cabinet Delegation Arrives in Deep South

Not far from Jittraporn’s 7-Eleven were 13 representatives of the junta’s interim cabinet, who had arrived earlier in the day for unprecedented, high-level talks with local religious leaders about the ongoing peace dialogue and economic development in the region.

Described as a “forward cabinet,” the delegation was established last month with a mandate to coordinate between the military government and its security forces operating in the Deep South to resolve the long-burning insurgency there which has claimed thousands of lives over a dozen years.

A spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command, a special military unit that answers only to the prime minister, dismissed any link between the attacks and the Bangkok delegation’s visit.

“There was nothing to indicate it was because of the visit,” Col. Peerawat Sangthong said Thursday.

Southern militants rarely take credit for their attacks, and the military avoids giving it, preferring to play down the conflict and pin attacks on malcontents and “bandits.”

Peerawat said the attacks were aimed at destroying infrastructure to the detriment of local people.

A gas station belonging to state-owned PTT burns Wednesday night near the border between Pattani and Songkhla provinces .

Among the three killed Wednesday night were Sanya Samankandee and Dolmalek Leedeah, two security guards at an Isuzu showroom in the Chana district of Songkhla province. They were shot dead by militants who then bombed the building.

An explosion reportedly hit the showroom again at 7am Thursday. No one was injured. An improvised explosive was found inside a gas tank.

The third to die was soldier Noppol Kaewpetch, who was shot when four gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire at about 10pm on a military facility in Pattani province.

In Pattani, 12 attacks hit targets including a military facility, utility poles and police box. Six blasts hit Songkhla’s Thepha and Chana districts, and one explosion was reported on a road in Narathiwat’s Bacho district.

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