Thailand’s Bhumjaithai party, which left the ruling coalition last week, said on Tuesday it would seek a parliamentary no confidence vote against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet, in another blow to the embattled premier.

Next week’s planned motion will be the first parliamentary test for Paetongtarn, 38, since coming under intense public pressure over her handling of an escalating border row with neighbouring Cambodia, which left the ruling alliance led by her Pheu Thai party hanging on to power by a thread.

Paetongtarn is also facing judicial scrutiny after a group of senators petitioned the Constitutional Court and a national anti-graft body with a wide remit to investigate her conduct. Decisions from either bodies could lead to her removal.

Alongside, anti-government groups are planning a street protest starting Saturday, demanding her to resign.

Bhumjaithai withdrew its support for the government last Wednesday citing the risk of a loss of Thai sovereignty and integrity from the leak of a phone conversation between Paetongtarn and Cambodia's former premier Hun Sen.

During the call, Paetongtarn kowtowed before the veteran Cambodian politician and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. She has apologised over the leak.

"We have a party resolution to file a no confidence motion against the prime minister," Bhumjaithai spokesperson Boontida Somchai said, adding that the party was inviting other opposition groups to back the move.

"When parliament opens, first thing, we will petition a no-confidence motion."

Bhumjaithai has 69 seats and would need the support of another 30 lawmakers to launch the motion when parliament reconvenes on July 3.

Sorawong Thienthong, tourism minister and Pheu Thai party secretary-general, said the government was not concerned as it had the backing of more than half of the house.

"We are not worried. This is the duty of the opposition," Sorawong told Reuters.

Ahead of Bhumjaithai's announcement, Paetongtarn asserted the ruling coalition was strong and the government had settled on a cabinet reshuffle, while approving $3.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects aimed at boosting the flagging economy.

Japanese shipping companies said they’ve instructed vessels to minimize time in the Gulf as they transit the Strait of Hormuz.

"It's settled, I've spoken to all party leaders," she said. "Coalition parties have been fully supportive."

BORDER DISPUTE

A political novice and daughter of the divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn also dismissed speculation that she would take over the defence ministry portfolio, a closely watched position as the situation with Cambodia deteriorates.

Late Monday, the Thai military said it had closed border crossings into Cambodia to almost all travellers, including tourists and traders, citing security concerns as tensions simmer over a long-standing border dispute.

The latest flare-up was triggered after a brief clash in May left one Cambodian soldier dead. Both governments have since announced measures designed to punish the other, including Cambodia's recent suspension of all Thai fuel and gas imports.

Casinos in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and along the borders with Thailand are a key part of the country's tourism industry and a draw for Thai visitors.

Thailand will now restrict all vehicles, tourists and traders from crossing at all land border checkpoints in seven provinces bordering Cambodia, the military said in a statement late on Monday, citing security concerns.

Exemptions for humanitarian reasons, including medical attention, students and other urgent matters were at the discretion of security units at checkpoints, it said.

The military said the measures would also assist in a crackdown on illegal scam centres in Cambodia, flagged by Paetongtarn on Monday.

Thailand would stop cross-border supplies of essentials, including electricity and internet connectivity, to areas in Cambodia where illicit operations are hosted, the prime minister told reporters.

Cambodia has denied those allegations.

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HED: Trump rebukes Israel for post-ceasefire strikes

DEK: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said he had ordered the military to mount new strikes on targets in Tehran in response to what he said were Iranian missiles fired in a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump speaks to media ahead of boarding Marine One to depart to attend the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, US, June 24, 2025.

REUTERS

WASHINGTON, June 24

President Donald Trump sharply rebuked Israel on Tuesday for its military response following a ceasefire deal, and accused both Israel and Iran of violating the agreement just hours after he announced it.

“I didn’t like the fact that Israel unloaded right after we made the deal. They didn’t have to unload and I didn't like the fact that the retaliation was very strong,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

“In all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot, and now I hear Israel just went out because they felt it was violated by one rocket that didn't land anywhere. That’s not what we want,” Trump said.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said he had ordered the military to mount new strikes on targets in Tehran in response to what he said were Iranian missiles fired in a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

Iran denied launching any missiles and said Israel's attacks had continued for an hour and a half beyond the time the ceasefire was meant to start.

Trump had announced the ceasefire earlier on Tuesday with a post on Truth Social: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!”

Later in the day, Trump told reporters Israel launched its strikes almost immediately after the agreement was reached.

“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen. I'm not happy with Israel,” he said.

Iran and Israel, he added, had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they’re doing.”

Asked whether he wanted a regime change in Iran, Trump said he did not. “No. If there was, there was but no, I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,” he said. “Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don't want to see so much chaos. So we'll see how it goes.”

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HED: Russian missile attack kills nine, damages passenger train in southeast Ukraine

DEK: The two-wave strike killed seven in the regional capital of Dnipro, said governor Serhiy Lysak, where the blast wave also shattered train carriage windows and showered passengers with broken glass.

Rescuers carry an injured woman at the site of a building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine June 24, 2025.

REUTERS

KYIEV, June 24

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday killed at least nine people, damaged civilian infrastructure and wounded dozens of train passengers, officials said.

The two-wave strike killed seven in the regional capital of Dnipro, said governor Serhiy Lysak, where the blast wave also shattered train carriage windows and showered passengers with broken glass.

Nearly 70 people including 10 children were injured, he said, adding the numbers could still rise. Two people were also killed in the town of Samar, around 10 kilometres (6 miles) from Dnipro, the state emergencies service said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Kyiv's Western partners to respond to the attack. NATO leaders are currently in The Hague for an alliance summit, where President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes to secure more military support against Russia's full-scale invasionlaunched in 2022.

"It is a matter of credibility for allies to step up pressure on Moscow," Sybiha wrote on X.

He added that schools, kindergartens and a hospital were also damaged in Dnipro. Officials did not provide details of damage in Samar.

Russia has stepped up air strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, particularly its capital Kyiv, where 28 people were killed on June 17 in the deadliest such attack this year.

Another 10 people were killed in air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Monday.

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HED: New Israeli strikes reported by media despite Trump’s command to stop

DEK: The strikes took place minutes after Trump said Israel had called off its attack in response to his command.

Emergency personnel work at an impacted residential site, following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, amid the Israel-Iran conflict, in Be’er Sheva, Israel June 24, 2025.

REUTERS

WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL, June 24

Iranian and Israeli media reported new Israeli airstrikes on Iran on Tuesday, despite US President Donald Trump having said Israel had called them off at his command to preserve an hours-old ceasefire.

Two explosions were heard in the capital, the judiciary news outlet Mizan reported. Israeli army radio said Israel had struck an Iranian radar site near Tehran.

The strikes took place minutes after Trump said Israel had called off its attack in response to his command.

“All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump had earlier accused both Israel and Iran of violating the ceasefire, while expressing particular frustration with Israel which had announced major new strikes on Tehran.

“Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after he left the White House for a trip to a NATO summit in The Hague.

Before boarding, Trump told reporters he was “not happy” with either side for violating the truce, but particularly with Israel, which he said had launched huge strikes in response to a single missile launch which might have been unintentional.

“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” Trump said as he left the White House.

Iran and Israel had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” he said before turning away from cameras and heading to his helicopter.

Israeli media reported that Trump spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone. A reporter for Axios said that Netanyahu had told Trump that Israel would scale back the bombing mission rather than cancel it. There was no immediate word from Netanyahu's office.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said earlier on Tuesday that he had ordered the military to mount new strikes on targets in Tehran in response to what he said were Iranian missiles fired in a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

Iran denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour and a half beyond the time the ceasefire was meant to start.

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HED: Relieved foreigners leave a tense Israel after truce with Iran

DEK: A ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump in the early hours of Tuesday, but the situation remained tense with Israel accusing Iran of violating it and threatening retaliation

Foreign nationals wait in line to board a bus to be evacuated from Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 24, 2025.

REUTERS

TEL AVIV, June 24

Foreign nationals leaving Israel on Tuesday voiced both relief for themselves and anxiety for family and friends staying behind as uncertainty hung over the country hours after a fragile ceasefire deal with Iran was announced.

As part of evacuation plans organised by their countries’ embassies, two large groups of Canadians and Australians gathered at a hotel in Tel Aviv, the former to board a bus to Jordan and the latter a flight to Dubai.

“Now I know what being scared actually feels like. I don’t think I’ve known fear like this before,” said Tamar Banon, 32, a dual citizen of Canada and Israel who lives in Montreal and was visiting family when the air war broke out on June 13.

A ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump in the early hours of Tuesday, but the situation remained tense with Israel accusing Iran of violating it and threatening retaliation. Iran denied the violation.

Banon said she remained worried for her family and for Israel as a whole. “I want them to have a good life without having to think about, you know, war and missiles and rockets.”

Israel started the war with the stated aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Its strikes killed hundreds of Iranian civilians as well as some senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, while damaging uranium enrichment sites.

Iran retaliated with missiles that forced people in Israel to huddle in safe rooms and bomb shelters, often several times in a single night or day. The strikes killed 28 people and damaged hundreds of buildings.

The United States entered the war at the weekend, unleashing 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on fortified, underground Iranian nuclear installations.

‘INCREDIBLY GUILTY’

Australian Mark Avraham, 40, had flown in from Sydney to visit family and friends and take part in Pride celebrations. Despite experiencing 12 days of war, he plans to emigrate to Israel soon, in part due to what he described as rising antisemitism back home.

We barely do any tours because people come, see all this, they just turn around and leave.

“Two days before I left Australia, someone tried to run me over in their car while shouting antisemitic abuse,” he said.

“I feel incredibly guilty that I get to leave and they have to stay,” he said, referring to friends and family in Israel. “But I know that they will be safe and they will look after each other, and I will be back in less than 12 months to be with them.”

Fellow Australian Taiba Ash, 35, from Melbourne, had come to Israel for what was supposed to be a fun-filled family holiday. She was on a night out with her husband when the first air raid siren rang out to warn people to take shelter.

“We had no idea what to do,” she said, recounting how they ran back to their rental apartment, woke up their children and stood under the stairs in terror.

The family later found out there was a bomb shelter nearby, so for night after night they jumped out of bed to run there whenever sirens blared.

“It’s not safe for our kids to be here. It’s not safe for their emotional wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing. They are scared and nervous, and they feel our energy, even though we’re trying to mask it,” she said.

Ash had no regrets about leaving.

“I think what I’m most looking forward to going home to is a full night’s sleep.”

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HED: Hundreds of firefighters battle wildfires on Greece's Chios island for third day

DEK: Some 444 firefighters assisted by eight aircraft have been deployed to the island in the northeastern Aegean Sea to tackle the fires.

Firefighters try to tackle a wildfire burning on Chios island, Greece, June 23, 2025.

REUTERS

ATHENS, June 24

Hundreds of firefighters were battling to contain wildfires at different locations on the Greek island of Chios for a third day on Tuesday after the island declared a state of emergency.

Some 444 firefighters assisted by eight aircraft have been deployed to the island in the northeastern Aegean Sea to tackle the fires that have torn through swathes of forest and agricultural land and forced hundreds of villagers to evacuate in recent days.

Chios is in the midst of the tourist season and authorities also want to prevent the fires reaching areas famous for producing mastiha, a natural resin harvested from mastic trees.

Authorities issued a new alert on Tuesday, advising residents of a seaside village southwest of Chios town, the island's capital, to leave as white smoke rose over a nearby beach. Livestream from Greece's public broadcaster showed a helicopter spraying water over the area.

"A lot of work is still needed to bring the wildfires under control," a Greek fire brigade official who requested anonymity told Reuters. Northerly winds were complicating firefighting efforts, they added.

Greece, Europe's southernmost tip, is often hit by wildfires during its hot and dry summers but authorities have blamed a fast-changing climate for fuelling more destructive blazes in recent years.

Athens has paid out hundreds of millions of euros in damages related to extreme weather to households and farmers and to update firefighting equipment.

It has a record 18,000 firefighters this year in anticipation of a challenging fire season.