Category: 2. World

BANGKOK — Thailand swore in new Cabinet members Thursday with its government in flux after the Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister less than a year after the same court removed her predecessor.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was suspended as prime minister while under an ethics investigation for a conversation with a senior Cambodian leader, returned to the cabinet as culture minister.

The top job was filled by Phumtham Wechayachai, a longtime ally of Paetongtarn’s father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Phumtham served under Paetongtarn as deputy prime minister and defense minister. He was sworn in Thursday as deputy prime minister and interior minister.

Phumtham told reporters that he would keep things running and denied that recent events showed instability within the government.

Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia, including an armed confrontation in May in which a Cambodian soldier was killed.

In a leaked phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions — but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests. Critics said she went too far in appeasing Hun Sen and damaged Thailand’s image and interests.

The Constitutional Court voted unanimously Tuesday to review a petition accusing Paetongtarn of a breach of the ethics and voted 7-2 to immediately suspend her until it issues its ruling. The court gave Paetongtarn 15 days to give evidence to support her case. It’s unclear when it will rule.

The same day, Thailand’s king endorsed a Cabinet lineup in which Paetongtarn would be the culture minister.

Phumtham was assigned on Thursday to be first of several deputies in line to act as prime minister, said government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who was acting prime minister in the interim, led the new Cabinet members at the ceremony to receive the endorsement from King Maha Vajiralongkorn at the Dusit Palace.

Seville, Spain, 2 July 2025 – Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, today joined H.E. Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and H.E. Mr. Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB), for a fireside chat on “From FfD4 Commitments to Action: Unlocking Partnerships between IFIs and NDBs to Increase Agri-Financing for Rural Transformation.”

The event, held on the margins of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville.

H.E. Dr. Al Jasser emphasized that agriculture lies at the heart of livelihoods, resilience, and peacebuilding, particularly in fragile contexts. He elaborated how IsDB is leveraging blended capital, concessional financing, and Islamic finance instruments to de-risk investments and catalyze long-term financing for rural development.

The discussion also featured insights from H.E. Mr. Alvaro Lario and H.E. Mr. Ilan Goldfajn, who underscored the urgency of transforming food systems, empowering rural communities, and strengthening inclusive growth. Panelists highlighted the pivotal role of National Development Banks as essential intermediaries in delivering last-mile financing and building resilient food systems.

Participants stressed the need for stronger risk-sharing models, innovative guarantees, and flexible funding mechanisms to expand access to agri-finance and promote stability in vulnerable regions.

Dr. Al Jasser reaffirmed IsDB’s commitment to working with IFAD, IaDB, and other partners to deliver inclusive, transformative rural development across its member countries.

President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill was in limbo early Thursday as Republican leaders in the US Congress scrambled to win over a group of rebels threatening to torpedo the centrepiece of the president’s domestic agenda.

Trump is seeking final approval in the House of Representatives for his Senate-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” — but faces opposition on all sides of his fractious party over provisions set to balloon the national debt while launching a historic assault on the social safety net.

As midnight (9am PKT) struck, House Speaker Mike Johnson was still holding open a key procedural vote — the bill’s last hurdle before it can advance to be considered for final approval — more than two hours after it was first called.

With no clear sign of the stalemate breaking, his lieutenants huddled in tense meetings behind the scenes with the rebels who had either voted no or had yet to come to the House floor.

“We’re going to get there tonight. We’re working on it and very, very positive about our progress,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, according to Politico.

Originally approved by the House in May, Trump’s sprawling legislation squeezed through the Senate on Tuesday by a solitary vote but had to return to the lower chamber on Wednesday for a rubber stamp of the Senate’s revisions.

The package honours many of Trump’s campaign promises, boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief.

But it is expected to pile an extra $3.4tr over a decade onto the country’s fast-growing deficits, while forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance programme since its 1960s launch.

While moderates in the House are anxious that the cuts will damage their prospects of re-election, fiscal hawks are chafing over savings that they say fall short of what they were promised by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Johnson has to negotiate incredibly tight margins, and can likely only lose three lawmakers among more than two dozen who have declared themselves open to rejecting Trump’s bill.

‘Abomination’

Republican leaders had been hoping to spend just a few hours on Wednesday afternoon green-lighting the package, although they had a cushion of two days before Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.

The 887-page text only passed in the Senate after a flurry of tweaks that pulled the House-passed text further to the right.

Republicans lost one conservative who was angry about adding to the country’s $37tr debt burden and two moderates worried about almost $1tr in health care cuts.

Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their health insurance at $17 million, while scores of rural hospitals are expected to close.

Legislation in the House has to go through multiple “test” votes before it can come up for final approval, and a majority must wave it through at each of these stages.

There were warning signs early in the day as the package stumbled at one of the first steps, with a straightforward vote that ought to have taken minutes remaining open for seven hours and 31 minutes — making it the longest House vote in history.

Johnson had made clear that he was banking on Trump leaning on waverers, as he has in the past to turn around contentious House votes that were headed for failure.

The president has spent weeks cajoling Republicans torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring his wrath.

Trump pressured House Republicans to get the bill over the line in a private White House meeting with several holdouts on Wednesday.

“What are the Republicans waiting for?” he posted on his Truth Social platform just after midnight.

“What are you trying to prove??? MAGA is not happy, and it’s costing you votes!!!”

House Democrats have signalled that they plan to campaign on the bill to flip the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections, pointing to analyses showing that it represents a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.

“Shame on Senate Republicans for passing this disgusting abomination,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

Final vote expected on Trump’s signature billpublished at 09:01 British Summer Time

09:01 BST

James FitzGerald
North America reporter

US President Donald Trump’s mega-bill on tax and
spending could soon become law, with a final vote expected in the coming hours
in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress.

Trump’s bill, which could define his second presidency,
has faced an uneasy passage so far.

Several members of his own Republican Party
have joined opposition Democrats in criticising the bill for a variety of
reasons – including the impact on US national debt, and healthcare.

However, in the past hour, those Republican holdouts flipped
– meaning that a key procedural hurdle was passed, setting up the final ballot.

That will be welcome news for the president, who has personally
put pressure on rebel Republicans to try to get this sprawling legislation signed
off by Friday – when the US celebrates Independence Day.

The ongoing proceedings represent the second gruelling overnight
session for Congress members this week, after the bill ground through the
upper chamber, or Senate, about 24 hours ago.

JUBA: With South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir undergoing medical tests abroad after years of rumors about his health, analysts say a long-gestating plan has been set in motion to secure his succession.

Kiir returned from at least 10 days in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, with state media saying he had been “exploring new avenues for economic cooperation.”

But members of his entourage, speaking on condition of anonymity, previously told AFP he was there for medical tests — reinforcing long-held concerns about the 73-year-old’s health.

The world’s youngest country, South Sudan has been plagued by poverty and violence since gaining independence in 2011, including a civil war that killed some 400,000 people in 2013-2018.

After a few relatively calm years, the country has been thrown back into turmoil in recent months, prompted, say analysts, by Kiir’s declining health and his efforts to install his heir-apparent, businessman Benjamin Bol Mel, in power.

Bol Mel is a controversial figure, who gained prominence as a construction magnate and was said to handle the Kiir family’s finances.

He was placed on a sanctions list by the United States in 2017 for corruption.

For months, Kiir has been manoeuvring to sideline rivals.

His old foe, Riek Machar, against whom he fought the civil war, was placed under house arrest in March and many of his political allies disappeared into detention.

Kiir’s forces have attacked Machar’s military bases and other armed groups drawn from his ethnic group, the Nuer.

More than 700 people were killed in clashes between January and March alone, according to the United Nations.

Rumours about Kiir’s health have long circulated but the topic is absolutely off-limits for discussion in official circles.

“If you want to visit a grave quickly, talk about it,” said a local activist, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

Nonetheless, the frailty was obvious in April when Kiir hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who walked briskly despite his 80 years while Kiir moved in tiny steps.

In May, the foreign ministry had to issue a statement assuring that the head of state was still alive following rumors to the contrary on social media.

State media footage of Kiir’s return from the UAE on Wednesday cut away every time he was about to take a step.

During his absence, it was Bol Mel — who was named second vice president in February and deputy head of the ruling party in May — who chaired last week’s cabinet meeting.

“It seems to be a script written a long time ago and being implemented in phases,” said Wani Michael, a former activist now in exile.

“They had to take away Riek Machar to pave the way for Bol Mel because… Riek would give Bol Mel a hard time,” he added.

In October, Kiir also fired his intelligence chief, Akol Koor, another potential rival who held that post for 13 years.

Bol Mel “has taken control of the security forces by installing loyalists. He has taken over the security and financial apparatus since last November-December,” said a diplomat based in Juba, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

Despite an uptick in violence, the moves have not triggered renewed war as many feared.

“It’s devastating on a humanitarian level, but it’s nothing compared to the colossal massacres of a few years ago when thousands died each month,” said the diplomat, adding that the government “has been fairly successful in subduing the various rebellions.”

Machar’s forces have barely retaliated to attacks and his party is split on the way forward.

But success is not guaranteed for Bol Mel, either, warned local analyst James Boboya.

“The government has not gained legitimacy at home or internationally,” he told AFP.

There is particular disillusionment at the failure to hold the country’s first-ever elections, which were again postponed last year to 2026.

“Elections are the only viable way for a peaceful transfer of power,” said Edmund Yakani, president of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a local NGO.

“We need the power of our vote in shaping the future. Not the bullet, and not leaders imposed on us.”

A Palestinian girl looks the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, on July 3, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters