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.



Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member from the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.

Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other was still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued, reported AFP.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The president has been briefed."

President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: "No, not at all. No, it's war."

On Saturday, there were fresh strikes on Israel, Lebanon and Iran, as well as on Gulf states.

An AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering Tehran's skyline after hearing several blasts over the capital. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

- 'Valuable reward' -

A spokesperson for the Iranian military's central operational command earlier said "an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air defense system".

"The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing."

An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would "receive a valuable reward".

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration.

He wrote on X: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'

"Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."


Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.


Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
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Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)

Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced Saturday’s attack on social media.

The US AP’s military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a US F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region.