Czech populist billionaire Andrej Babiš sworn in as new prime minister

PRAGUE (AP) — Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš was sworn in Tuesday as the Czech Republic's new prime minister, following October’s parliamentary election, in a return to power for the businessman.

Babiš, who was previously prime minister from 2017-2021, promised Czechs that he “will fight for their interests at home and anywhere in the world” and will do his utmost for the Czech Republic to become “the best place for life on earth.”

President Petr Pavel swore in Babiš as prime minister. Pavel had asked him to form a new government after his ANO, or YES, movement won big in the Oct. 3-4 ballot and agreed to form a majority coalition government with two other small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves.

The parties have agreed to create a 16-member Cabinet, with ANO holding eight posts and the prime minister's office. The Motorists would have four and the Freedom party three.

The new partnership makes up 108 seats in the 200-seat lower house of parliament, relegating the four center-right parties of the pro-Western government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala to the opposition.

It wasn't immediately clear when Pavel might appoint the entire Cabinet. Its appointment is expected to change the government’s policies.

The new coalition is set to follow Hungary and Slovakia, and steer the country away from supporting Ukraine in Russia's nearly four-year war. The coalition members are critical of the European Union, rejecting its policies, particularly on environment and migration.

Babiš, 71, still faces fraud charges in a case involving EU subsidies, and the new parliament will have to lift his official immunity for a court to issue a verdict.

After he lost the 2021 parliamentary election, he was beaten by Pavel, a retired army general, in a vote for the largely ceremonial post of president.

Babis was appointed after he met a condition set by Pavel and publicly announced that he would get rid of his major businesses to avoid a conflict of interest that could arise from his private dealings and his political status.

Babiš owns around 200 companies under the Agrofert conglomerate. He said an independent trustee will be in charge of Agrofert in a trust fund, while it will be under control of an independent protector until he dies, and then his descendants will inherit it.

Babiš also owns a network of clinics and labs, while his close ally from ANO is a candidate for the hew health minister.

Leader of ANO political movement Andrej Babis, left, toasts with Czech Republic's President Petr Pavel after being sworn in as the country's new prime minister at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Leader of ANO political movement Andrej Babisn holds a glass of champagne after being sworn in as the country's new prime minister at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Leader of ANO political movement Andrej Babis, left, is sworn in as the country's new prime minister by Czech Republic's President Petr Pavel at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Leader of ANO political movement Andrej Babis, left, is sworn in as the country's new prime minister by Czech Republic's President Petr Pavel at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Leader of ANO 2011 political movement Andrej Babis arrives to be sworn in as the country's new prime minister at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Cambodia’s powerful Senate President Hun Sen on Tuesday vowed that his country would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the Southeast Asian neighbors drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas.

Fighting broke out following a skirmish in which one Thai soldier was killed Sunday night, despite a ceasefire that ended fighting in July over competing territorial claims. The five days of fighting then left dozens dead on both sides, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.

In a sign that neither side was willing to back down, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday that Cambodia had not yet contacted Thailand about possible negotiations and the fighting would continue.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “The government will support all kinds of military operations as planned earlier.” He had said Monday that military action was necessary to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and ensure public safety.

In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from retaliating on Monday, but overnight began to fire back at Thai forces, saying Cambodia would "weaken and destroy enemy forces through counterattacks.”

Thailand’s military said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery and rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. Thailand says that Cambodian forces also fired at its troops Sunday and Monday, but each side blames the other for firing the first shots.

“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was Cambodia’s long-serving prime minister until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.

Cambodia’s military announced Tuesday that the new fighting had killed seven civilians and wounded 20. A Thai military spokesperson announced Tuesday that three soldiers have been killed in the new fighting.

Thailand on Monday carried out airstrikes along the frontier, which it said were a defensive action targeting military installations. Thai military spokesperson Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Tuesday that such operations would continue “until attacks stop.”

Ordinary citizens meanwhile had to deal with life after being relocated from the danger zones.

An evacuation shelter at a university in Thailand's northeastern city of Surin is hosting more than 3,600 people. Evacuees sit or lie on thin mats spread across the floor, and several have set up small tents in their allotted areas as sleeping spaces.

At lunchtime, some line up with their own plates to receive cooked rice, while others wait in place to be served ready-to-eat meals packed in small plastic bags. An army band plays for their entertainment.

Portable fans cool them during the day. Blankets, in piles beside them, keep them warm at night, when temperatures can fall to as low as 18 C (64 F).

“We were preparing to evacuate. We hadn’t left yet. But when we heard shots we hurried out immediately," cassava farmer Pan-ngam Kanchangthong told The Associated Press. "I was scared. Who wouldn’t be scared of shelling?”

The Thai army said almost 500 temporary shelters have been set up in four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people. Additional refugees from the fighting are expected to stay with relatives in safe areas.

Evacuees on the Cambodian side had similar experiences.

“I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the shelling. At that time, I was working at the garment factory," said 44-year-old Vach Neang, a father of seven.

“I called my wife and my kids but couldn't reach them, and by that time the sound of explosions was getting louder, so the factory owner let us go home," said Vach Neang, speaking at a former market in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey that has been repurposed as a shelter, He added that he packed just a few clothes before leaving his home.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said almost 55,000 people have been evacuated and the numbers are mounting.

Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity over centuries and experience periodic tensions along their land border of more than 800 kilometers (500 miles). Centuries ago both were powerful empires, but Thailand's size and greater development over the past century give it the military advantage.

Some of the disputed territory hosts centuries-old temples that both nations covet as part of their legacy.

The ceasefire that ended July’s fighting was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed to it.

A more detailed agreement signed in October called for removing heavy weapons from the border; desisting from disseminating false information and harmful rhetoric; implementing measures to restore mutual trust; and coordinating operations to remove land mines.

None of these actions appear to have been fully implemented by either side. After the ceasefire, both nations continued to fight a bitter propaganda war using disinformation, alongside minor outbreaks of cross-border violence.

A major Cambodian complaint has been that Thailand continues to hold 18 prisoners who were taken captive the same day the ceasefire went into effect. Thailand claims they approached its positions in a threatening manner, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile, Thailand accuses Cambodia of laying new land mines in the areas under dispute, in several cases maiming Thai soldiers. Cambodia says the mines are left over from decades of civil war that ended in 1999.

The mines issue caused Thailand to declare earlier this month that it was indefinitely pausing implementation of the details of the ceasefire until Cambodia apologized for the latest incident wounding Thai soldiers.

Sopheng Cheang reported from Mongkol Borey, Cambodia.

Thai people, who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, takes shelter in Buriram province, Thailand. Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A Thai Buddhist monk uses his computer while taking shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, after he fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Thai residents, who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, takes shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian villagers sit on tractors as they flee from the home in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AKP via AP)

A Thai resident who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, uses mobile phone while taking shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)