Thailand Election Body Confirms Win by PM's Party

A person votes during the general elections at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, February 8, 2026. REUTERS/Patipat Janthong/File Photo
A person votes during the general elections at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, February 8, 2026. REUTERS/Patipat Janthong/File Photo
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Thailand Election Body Confirms Win by PM's Party

A person votes during the general elections at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, February 8, 2026. REUTERS/Patipat Janthong/File Photo
A person votes during the general elections at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, February 8, 2026. REUTERS/Patipat Janthong/File Photo

Thailand's Election Commission confirmed the victory of caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's conservative party on Wednesday, ratifying most of the results of this month's vote.

The commission certified the results for 396 newly elected MPs in the 500-seat lower house, with Anutin's Bhumjaithai party winning 170 constituencies, the most of any party, according to a statement.

The reformist People's Party -- which had been polling first ahead of the February 8 election -- came in second, with 88 constituencies, the commission said, AFP reported.

Pheu Thai, the populist party of jailed former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, came in third with 58 seats, according to the ratified results.

With no party winning an outright majority, Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai have agreed to form a coalition.

Several smaller parties would also join, Bhumjaithai has said.

The pro-military and pro-monarchy party had its best electoral performance ever, riding a wave of nationalism following two rounds of deadly border clashes with Cambodia last year.

Pheu Thai, Thailand's most successful party of the 21st century, meanwhile, had its worst election result ever.

The two parties were previously coalition partners, until Anutin pulled out in June following a leaked phone conversation of his predecessor, Pheu Thai's Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

In the call, she referred to former Cambodian leader Hun Sun as "uncle" and called a Thai military commander her "opponent", triggering outrage during a period of heightened tensions over the two countries' disputed border.

Votes cast in three of the nation's 400 constituencies are being recounted following concerns about the transparency of the tallying process.

At a single polling station in northern Thailand, voters will recast their ballots on March 1 after the number of people who registered at the site on election day did not match the number of ballots received.

While the Election Commission has yet to confirm winners of the 100 seats reserved for politicians elected from their party's ranked candidate list, preliminary results showed Bhumjaithai far ahead in the total projected seat count with more than 190.

People's Party won nearly 120 total seats and Pheu Thai, less than 80, according to the preliminary results from the commission.

It must certify the election of 95 percent of lawmakers before the new parliament can convene and choose a house speaker and prime minister.



Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
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Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

Dozens of people are missing after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean, the NGOs Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch said Sunday on social media.

Two people died and 32 were rescued from the boat, which had left Libya on Saturday afternoon with around 105 people on board, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans, AFP reported.

"Tragic Easter shipwreck. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered and more than 70 people missing," the NGO wrote on X, adding that the boat capsized in a search-and-rescue zone handled by Libyan authorities.

Sea-Watch said two commercial ships saved the survivors and took them to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

An aerial video it posted showed two men clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel, and the approach of one of the commercial ships.

Mediterranea Saving Humans said the accident was "the consequence of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal pathways" for migrants.

Lampedusa is a key entry point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Since the start of 2026, at least 683 migrants have lost their lives or gone missing on attempts to cross the sea, according to the UN's migration agency IOM.

According to the Italian government, 6,175 migrants arrived on Italian territory over the same period.


Trump Vows Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants, Bridges if Strait of Hormuz isn't Reopened

ABD Başkanı Donald Trump (Reuters)
ABD Başkanı Donald Trump (Reuters)
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Trump Vows Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants, Bridges if Strait of Hormuz isn't Reopened

ABD Başkanı Donald Trump (Reuters)
ABD Başkanı Donald Trump (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump has promised strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday, restating his threat to attack civilian infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened.

In an expletive-laden post Sunday morning, Trump promised the “crazy bastards” would be “living in Hell” if the waterway isn’t opened to marine traffic, The AP news reported.

Trump had previously threatened strikes two weeks ago, but extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway twice, claiming there were positive signs in negotiations with the Iranians. But there have been few public signs of progress in a diplomatic off-ramp to the war.


Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

 Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
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Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

 Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)

Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to exercise hope against “the violence of war that kills and destroys,” saying “we need this song of hope today” as conflicts spread around the world.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities. In his Easter homily, the pope singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritize profits.

Leo, the first US-born pope, addressed the faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s message of hope.

The pontiff implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.

“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said.

He quoted his predecessor Pope Francis in warning against falling into indifference in the face of “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” because “it is also true that in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”

He will later deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message — Latin for “to the city and the world.”

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.