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NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
Thailand, Cambodia agree to maintain ceasefire
Thailand and Cambodia wound up four days of talks with an agreement to maintain a ceasefire brokered after deadly clashes erupted on their disputed border last month. They said an ASEAN team led by Malaysia will coordinate and observe the peacekeeping effort. Thursday was the final day of the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, attended by defense ministry chiefs from the two countries. Malaysia mediated the truce negotiations, joined by representatives of the United States and China. The two sides held separate press conferences after the talks. They said they had agreed to keep communications open. Thai acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Nakphanit said: If both countries can resolve this issue swiftly, peace will return to two countries' shared border area and people will be able to resume their normal lives in peace once again. Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha said: He wishes to reiterate Cambodia's determination to work constructively in good faith and in close cooperation with Thailand, Malaysia, and other fellow ASEAN member states. The two countries agreed to hold another round of talks within a month.
Japan Times
15 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israeli military chief opposes Gaza war expansion, raising pressure on Netanyahu
Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the Israeli prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad. During a tense, three-hour meeting on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the sources briefed on the meeting said. The Israeli military says it already controls 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when militant group Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023. It has repeatedly opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there — policies advocated by some government members. Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire in the coastal enclave, which has been reduced to rubble in the fighting. Most of the population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times and aid groups say residents are on the verge of famine. The U.N. has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true. The military, which accuses Hamas of operating amongst civilians, has at times avoided areas where intelligence suggested hostages were held and former captives have said their captors threatened to kill them if Israeli forces approached. Netanyahu told Zamir that so far the military had failed to bring about the release of the hostages, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved. The prime minister's office confirmed the meeting with Zamir on Tuesday but declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday. A fourth source said Netanyahu wants to expand military operations in Gaza to put pressure on Hamas. Eyal Zamir, Israel's military chief of staff, pushed back against plans to expand the war in Gaza, warning it could trap troops in the enclave and bring harm to the hostages. | REUTERS Netanyahu, who in May said that Israel would control all of Gaza, leads the most right-wing coalition government in Israel's history and some of his key partners have in the past threatened to quit if the government ended the war. Following a 40-minute meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid told reporters he had advised Netanyahu that the public was not interested in continuing the war and that a full military takeover would be a very bad idea. A public poll last month by Israel's Channel 12 also showed support for a diplomatic deal that would end the war and secure the release of the hostages. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. Videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, last week of two extremely emaciated captives triggered international condemnation. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, about half of them children, according to Gaza's health ministry. More than 20 died on Wednesday when a truck believed to be carrying food overturned as it was swarmed by a desperate crowd, according to local health authorities. The latest ceasefire talks in Qatar broke down last month. Hamas insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war, while Israel accuses the group of lacking sincerity about giving up power afterward and must be defeated. An expansion of the military offensive in heavily populated areas would likely be devastating. "Where will we go?" said Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced Palestinian living at the edge of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza. "Should people jump into the sea if the tanks rolled in, or wait to die under the rubble of their houses? We want an end to this war, it is enough, enough," he said by phone. The war in Gaza has also overextended Israel's military, which has a small standing army and has had to repeatedly mobilize reservists. It is not clear if more reservists would be needed to expand operations and take more territory. The military continued to carry out airstrikes across Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 135 people in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said, with the death toll since the beginning of the conflict now at more than 61,000, mostly civilians, it says. About 1,200 people were killed, including more than 700 civilians, and 251 hostages taken to Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
NHK
16 hours ago
- NHK
Trump-Putin meeting could take place as soon as next week, media report
Multiple media outlets say US President Donald Trump intends to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week. The New York Times and other outlets reported the plan on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The reports said Trump also seeks to hold three-way talks including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after the meeting with Putin. A White House spokesperson told NHK, "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump," adding that Trump is "open" to meeting with both Putin and Zelenskyy. The spokesperson did not mention when the meetings would take place. On Wednesday at the White House, responding to a reporter's question about whether Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to a summit, Trump said, "There's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon." He said no decision has been made about the location, and that there is a "very good chance" for reaching ''the end of that road." Trump is pressuring Moscow to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, threatening to slap "secondary tariffs" on countries that buy oil and other goods from Russia if it does not agree.
