Category: 2. World

Getty Images

Getty Images

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WARSAW, Poland — An F-16 pilot was killed Thursday when his jet crashed during preparations for an air show in central Poland, a government spokesperson said.

Spokesperson Adam Szłapka confirmed the death in a social media post. Polish news agency PAP reported that the plane was part of the Polish Air Force.

The crash occurred ahead of the AirSHOW Radom 2025, which was scheduled to occur this weekend.

Other details were not immediately available.

Bangkok, Thailand
 — 

A Thai court removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday, ruling that her controversial phone call with Cambodia’s former leader breached ethics rules, in a move that plunges the kingdom into fresh political turmoil.

Paetongtarn, a member of the powerful Shinawatra political family dynasty, became the country’s youngest prime minister in August 2024 and has served only a year in office.

In a ruling of 6 to 3, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that Paetongtarn “lacks the qualifications and possesses prohibited characteristics” under the Thai constitution, leading to the end of her time in office.

In the leaked call, which took place on June 15 as border tensions with Cambodia escalated, Paetongtarn could be heard calling former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen “uncle” and appeared to criticize her own army’s actions in the border clashes that had led to the death of a Cambodian soldier.

Paetongtarn also added that if Hun Sen “wants anything, just tell me, and I will take care of it” — contentious remarks that became the center of the case against her.

The court added that Paetongtarn “lacked demonstrable honesty and integrity, and seriously violated or failed to comply with ethical standards” in the phone call.

Her comments in the leaked audio, which was confirmed as authentic by both sides, struck a nerve in Thailand. Nationalist fervor was already running high over the border dispute, and opponents accused her of compromising the country’s national interests.

Weeks later the two countries engaged in a five-day conflict that killed at least 38 people, mostly civilians, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Paetongtarn apologized to the Thai people “who may feel uneasy or upset about this matter” and said her remarks were a negotiating technique used to defuse tensions.

On Friday, she thanked her country in a news conference held after the court’s ruling was announced.

“This is another time that the court’s decision has created a sudden political change,” she said. “As a Thai, I love my nation, religion and the king. Thank you everyone who gave me knowledge and experience.”

On July 1, the court suspended Paetongtarn from prime ministerial duties, though she remained in the Cabinet as culture minister following a reshuffle.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Friday represents another wave on the turbulent rapids of Thai politics, in which those pushing for change have frequently run foul of the establishment – a small but powerful clique of military, royalist and business elites.

Last week, Paetongtarn’s father, the influential and divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, survived a lese majeste case against him that could have seen him jailed for up to 15 years.

Over the past two decades, dozens of lawmakers have faced bans, parties have been dissolved and prime ministers have been overthrown in coups or by court decisions – with the judiciary playing a central role in the ongoing battle for power.

In the past three years alone, the kingdom has seen two prime ministers removed from office and an election-winning party dissolved. Before that, former army commander Prayut Chan-o-cha ruled as prime minister for nine years after seizing power in a coup in 2014.

Paetongtarn is the latest in her family to be dismissed as premier – political parties allied to Thaksin have repeatedly won elections but struggled to hold on to power.

Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck Shinawatra was removed from office before the military seized power in a 2014 coup, and her father went into self-imposed exile in 2006 for more than 15 years to escape corruption charges after the military toppled his government.

Her uncle Somchai Wongsawat was briefly prime minister in 2008 but was removed in a court ruling.

Paetongtarn herself came to power after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was removed from office in a shock court ruling last year by the same Constitutional Court.

Srettha had led the Pheu Thai Party in forming a government with its conservative and pro-military rivals following the 2023 election. The uneasy coalition was forged to prevent the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most votes, from taking office after it promised deep-seated reforms to Thai ruling institutions, including the monarchy.

With Pheu Thai in power again, Thaksin — who continued to play an outsized role in politics behind the scenes despite his absence — was allowed to return to his home country.

The verdict against Paetongtarn could spell trouble for the powerful Shinawatra family’s political fortunes.

The clan have dominated Thai politics for more than 20 years, but the government is now on shaky ground. Internal conflict in the ruling coalition and the delayed rollout of flagship policies has dented its ability to govern at a time when the economy is faltering. The leaked phone call plummeted the party’s already declining popularity.

Now that Paetongtarn has been removed from office, her cabinet will also be dismissed. Those employed as ministers will be placed in acting roles until a new prime minister is voted in, when the cabinet will be reappointed.

Pheu Thai must nominate a new candidate for prime minister, which will be voted on by the 500-seat parliament. Their last remaining choice is former justice minister Chaikasem Nitisiri, though it is unclear whether he would get the necessary votes from the party’s coalition partners.

Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul, who would be another candidate for prime minister, quit the coalition and resigned as deputy prime minister and interior minister over Paetongtarn’s leaked phone call.

If the party fails to put forward a new prime minister, it raises the prospect of new elections, with Pheu Thai in a much weaker position.

Some analysts say the establishment would still favor the Thaksin-backed party as it would act as a firewall against the main opposition People’s Party, which is seen as a major disrupter to the Thai establishment with its reformist agenda and high approval ratings.

This story has been updated with developments.

A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed during a rehearsal for an airshow in Radom, central Poland, and the pilot died, the army said on Thursday.

“A Polish Army pilot died in the crash of an F-16 aircraft -an officer who always served his country with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X after arriving at the crash scene.

The General Command of the Armed Forces said that the accident involved an aircraft from the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznan and that there were no injuries to any bystanders.

“Rescue operations were immediately initiated at the scene,” it said in a statement.

Footage obtained by Polish media showed the F-16 performing a barrel roll aerobatic manoeuvre, and then crashing in flames as it slid on the ground.

Local media said the aircraft crashed into the runway around 1730 GMT and damaged it, and the Radom Airshow planned for the weekend has been cancelled.

ISTANBUL: Archaeologists in southeastern Turkiye have unearthed a set of carved stone animals — a fox, a vulture and a wild boar — that is offering new insights into how prehistoric people told stories.

Dating back roughly 11,500 years, the figurines discovered at the Karahantepe archaeological site are believed to be the earliest known example of objects arranged deliberately to convey a narrative, according to researchers.

“Telling a story undoubtedly brings storytellers to mind, and carving them into stone reveals the existence of artists. But it also proves that communities who know those stories share a common memory,” said Necmi Karul, who leads the excavations at Karahantepe, considered one of the world’s oldest Neolithic settlements.

The artefacts, unearthed late last year, are now being exhibited for the first time at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, alongside other discoveries from the site, which dates back to 9,500 BC.

The set of animal figures – each one about 3.5 cm (1.38 inches) tall – was found in a small container, covered with a stone lid, and placed inside another, larger vessel. Each of the three figurines had its head placed into a limestone ring.

The intricacies of the arrangement reflect the figurines’ use as part of a carefully prepared composition, Karul said, adding that previously only two-dimensional and often independent depictions had been found on immovable artefacts.

“With the Neolithic period and sedentism, we see a fundamental shift in narrative language,” he said.

Sedentism, or living in one place for long periods, replaced millions of years of hunter-gatherer culture and gave rise to a new social order.

“These narratives must have been the social bonds that held this new order together,” Karul said, describing the figurines as “one of the most important discoveries from a prehistoric perspective”.

Prehistoric success story

Karahantepe is one of the earliest settlements of the Neolithic period. Nearby Gobeklitepe, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is believed to be the world’s oldest.

Both sites are a part of a wider Neolithic research project called Tas Tepeler, or “Stone Hills”, that includes various settlements dotted across the Turkish province of Sanliurfa and where excavations are ongoing.

Karahantepe covers 14 hectares (35 acres) but excavation work carried out there since 2019 has covered only a tiny fraction of the site, Karul said.

Pillars decorated with reliefs and a complex of circular communal buildings were also found there, with a human head carved into the bedrock on one of the walls.

Karul said he planned to seek different kinds of Unesco recognition for the site as a way to increase global interest in his team’s work.

“Modern people always place themselves at the pinnacle when compared to the past,” he said. “Karahantepe shows us how successful people were in art and storytelling 11,000-12,000 years ago.”