Cambodian and Thai leaders hold cease-fire talks in Malaysia as border violence enters fifth day
Troops from both sides reported ongoing fighting Monday along border areas. Gunfire could be heard as dawn broke in Samrong in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, Associated Press reporters covering the conflict said.
Anwar said late Sunday that both sides would present their conditions for peace but 'what is important is immediate ceasefire.'
'I hope this can work,' Anwar was quoted as saying by Malaysian national news agency Bernama. 'Although it's not as bad as many other countries, we have to put a stop (to the violence).'
The meeting followed direct pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has warned that the United States may not proceed with trade deals with either country if hostilities continue.
Before departing for Kuala Lumpur, Phumtham told reporters in Bangkok that the U.S. and China representatives will also attend as observers. He said the key focus would be on an immediate ceasefire, but noted trust could be an issue as Cambodia has not stopped its strikes.
Advertisement
'We have informed that we don't have trust in Cambodia. All they have done reflect that they are not sincere in solving this problem. So they have to show the detail how they will do to prove their sincerity,' he said.
The violence marks a rare instance of open military confrontation between ASEAN member states, a 10-nation regional bloc that has prided itself on non-aggression, peaceful dialogue and economic cooperation.
In a statement Monday, ASEAN foreign ministers reiterated concern over the rising death toll, destruction of public properties and displacement of a large number of people along the disputed border areas. They urged the two countries to resolve their disputes through negotiations and expressed support for efforts to find a middle ground during Monday's talks.
The conflict also drew the attention of Pope Leo XIV. At the Vatican on Sunday, the pontiff said he was praying for all those affected by war in the world, including 'for those affected by the clashes on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, especially the children and displaced families.'
At an evacuation shelter in Cambodia's Siem Reap province far away from the border, Ron Mao, 56, prays for a ceasefire deal during the leaders' meeting Monday. She and her family fled their home a kilometer (0.6 mile) away from the front line when fighting broke out Thursday. They took refuge in a shelter but moved again to another camp further away after hearing artillery shelling.
Advertisement
'I don't want to see this war happen. It's very difficult and I don't want to run around like this,' she said, 'When I heard our Prime Minister go to negotiate for peace, I would be very happy if they reached the deal as soon as possible, so that I and my children can return home as soon as possible.'
The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
Eileen reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Cheang from Samrong, Cambodia. Associated Press writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
a few seconds ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows States Where IRS Tax Returns Could Change for 2026
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Options for filing tax returns are likely to change in 2026 for taxpayers in 25 states. IRS Commissioner Billy Long, whom President Donald Trump appointed to head the federal tax agency last month, appeared to confirm that Direct File—which offers free tax filing directly with the IRS—won't be an option for the next filing season. On Monday, at the National Association of Enrolled Agents' tax summit, he said: "You've heard of Direct File. That's gone. Big beautiful Billy wiped that out." Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress and signed by the president earlier this month, the Treasury has been directed to form a task force to replace the program, which has been running for only two years. Newsweek has contacted the IRS for comment via email. What Is Direct File? Direct File is a web-based service that allows taxpayers to submit simple returns directly with the government agency free of charge, eliminating the need for a third-party tax preparation service. The IRS launched its Direct File pilot in 12 U.S. states in March 2024, expanding it to 25 states for the 2025 tax season. These are the states: Alaska Arizona California Connecticut Florida Idaho Illinois Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Washington state Wisconsin Wyoming The program, created under the Biden administration, served 141,000 taxpayers across the initial 12 states it was available for in 2024. The Economic Security Project has estimated that the program saved an average of $160 in tax preparation fees for its users. Republicans and private tax preparation companies have derided the program, saying free options already exist for filers and that it is a waste of taxpayer money. Is Direct File Finished? The IRS has not announced that the program is shutting down, but provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act show that the administration is looking for a replacement. Under the legislation, which Trump signed into law on July 4, the Treasury has 90 days from the law's passage to send Congress a report that includes the following: How much it would cost to expand or create public-private partnerships that offer free tax filing for up to 70 percent of taxpayers based on their income. These partnerships would take the place of any IRS-run free filing programs. What taxpayers think about using a free, government-run tax filing system versus one provided by private companies. Whether a new system is possible, how to make all filing options simple and consistent for users, and how to meet different taxpayer needs. The estimated cost of creating and managing a free IRS-run online tax filing system, including options for adjusting the system based on a person's income and how complex their tax return is. Is Direct File Still Open? Direct File remains open through October 15, 2025, for anyone who has yet to file a 2024 tax return. But it is looking unlikely it will be in place for 2026. Given that the administration is looking to replace it, it is also unlikely that it will be expanded to any further states if it remains active for the next tax season. What Other Free Filing Options Are There? The longer-standing Free File program appears to be unaffected. Under that program, companies participating in a public-private partnership with the IRS offer free tax preparation software. IRS Free File offers guided tax software to taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less. For those who don't qualify, IRS Free File still provides fillable forms that any taxpayer, regardless of income, can use if they prefer to prepare their own return.
Newsweek
a few seconds ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Approval Rating Sinks to New Low
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Donald Trump's public approval has dropped to its lowest level in months, according to newly released polling data. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Trump's approval rating has dropped to 40 percent, with 56 percent disapproving, giving him a net approval rating of -16 points. Trump previously had a net approval rating of -16 in late June. But at that point, 41 percent approved and 57 percent disapproved, so the latest result marks his lowest approval rating of his second term. The latest YouGov/Economist poll also showed Trump's approval rating at its lowest level yet, with 40 percent approving and 55 percent disapproving. The polls are in line with other recent surveys which have also shown Trump's support drop to its lowest point so far. A recent Navigator Research put the president at 42 percent approval and 54 percent disapproval, bringing his net approval rating down to -12 points, while Gallup and The Bullfinch Group report even lower ratings, with net approval as low as -21. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House on July 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House on July 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Trump's Approval Rating Stagnates The surveys also mirror recent polls, which show Trump's approval rating stagnating. The YouGov/Economist poll only showed a marginal change in Trump's approval rating from last week when 41 percent approved and 55 percent disapproved of his job performance. The president's approval rating has remained between 40 and 42 percent since mid -June, while his disapproval rating has remained between 53 and 55 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed slightly more movement, with Trump's approval rating decreasing by 1 point and his disapproval increasing by 2 points since last week. But like the YouGov/Economist polls, his approval rating has remained between 40 and 42 percent since mid-May, while his disapproval rating has sat between 52 and 56 percent. Similarly, McLaughlin & Associates, Quantus Insights, RMG Research, and Emerson College all show his approval holding steady between 46 and 52 percent in recent months, with little movement in net approval. According to Quantus pollster Jason Corley, that is because Trump is still overwhelmingly popular among Republicans, but his support has not seen much of a boost among key demographics such as women, young voters and independents. "For a president who thrives on momentum, the static nature of these numbers is a signal: the base is holding, but the middle isn't moving," Corley wrote in a blog post. The Reuters/Ipsos survey reflects this trend, showing a highly polarized electorate. According to the poll, 83 percent of Republicans back Trump, compared to just 3 percent of Democrats and about one-third of independents. That is largely unchanged from a month ago, when 84 percent of Republicans said they approve of Trump, as well as 4 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of independents. The latest YouGov/Economist poll also underscores the deep polarization that continues to define the American electorate, with support for Trump largely divided along partisan lines. However, support has only shifted marginally since June. Republican approval of Trump remains overwhelmingly high, though it dipped slightly from 89 percent in June to 86 percent in July. Among Democrats, approval rose modestly from 3 percent to 6 percent, while independents showed a slight decline, from 34 percent to 29 percent. And both polls showed only marginal changes in Trump's approval on issues like the economy, inflation and immigration—which were cornerstones of his campaign. The Economist/YouGov poll found that approval of Trump's handling of the economy—long seen as one of his strongest areas—dipped slightly from 43 percent in June to 40 percent in July, while disapproval remained at 51 percent. On inflation and prices, where voter concern remains especially high, approval declined from 35 percent to 34 percent, and disapproval stayed at 59 percent. Similarly, on immigration, a central pillar of Trump's platform, approval dropped from 47 percent to 44 percent, while disapproval remained at 50 percent. All of these movements fall within the poll's margin of error. Findings from the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll reinforce the overall stability of public opinion. That survey showed a modest increase in Trump's economic approval—from 35 percent in June to 38 percent in July—and a 2-point rise on immigration, from 41 percent to 43 percent. But like the Economist/YouGov data, these changes remain statistically insignificant. Trump's Approval Rating Shows Signs Of Recovery Some polls, however, show signs of recovery for the president. Newsweek's approval tracker shows Trump's net approval at -6 (45 percent approve, 51 percent disapprove), up from -7 at the end of last week and -10 earlier in the week. The latest Morning Consult survey showed Trump's approval rising to 47 percent, up 2 points from the previous week, while his disapproval dropped to 50 percent, down 2 points. His net approval rating improved from -7 points to -3 points. It comes as the U.S. economy has mostly avoided a feared downturn from Trump's tariffs introduced earlier this year, ABC News reported. Meanwhile, unemployment remains near historic lows, and while job growth has cooled, it is still strong. However, inflation hit 2.7 percent in June, up from 2.4 percent the previous month, according to the Consumer Price Index, but is still lower than when Trump took office. Overall, economists estimate the economy grew at a 2.3-percent annual rate from April to June, bouncing back from a -0.5-percent decline in the previous quarter.
a few seconds ago
As Trump's tariff deadline looms, a clothing factory in the tiny African nation of Lesotho goes dark
MASERU, Lesotho -- The deafening roar of hundreds of sewing machines has gone silent. Spools of thread in every color are covered in dust. The warehouse is dark and empty. In the tiny African nation of Lesotho, clothing manufacturer Tzicc's business has dried up in the face of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. A few months ago, work was steady. The factory's 1,300 employees has made and exported sportswear to American stores, including JCPenney, Walmart and Costco. But when Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners in April, Lesotho found itself topping the list, with a rate of 50% — higher even than that of China, where the economy is 8,000 times larger. Officials here and economic experts said they were baffled. Since then, Trump backed off — temporarily. During a monthslong pause for trade talks, the U.S. has charged a baseline 10% tariff and announced new rates for dozens of countries starting Friday. Lesotho's rate will be set at Trump's whim, with aides suggesting that tariffs charged on goods from smaller African countries could top 10%. Many nations have received letters laying out a new tariff. With the pause set to expire Friday, Lesotho officials say they've not received one and they find themselves among the countries where Trump says officials simply don't have time for one-on-one negotiations. Leaders — and the 12,000 people employed by garment factories exporting to the U.S. market — are still waiting. The damage has already rippled through Lesotho's economy, where textile manufacturing comprises the largest private industry with more than 30,000 workers in 2024. For Tzicc and its customers, the threat and apparent singling out of Lesotho were enough. Management decided to rush to deliver preexisting orders before tariffs resumed. But American buyers stopped placing new orders. With no work left, virtually all the factory's employees were sent home — potentially permanently. 'Well, unfortunately, we finished,' factory compliance manager Rahila Omar said, pointing out the irony of the strategy as she walked among rows of silenced and covered machines. 'That is why now we don't have any work.' Omar is one of a handful of employees left in the eerily quiet factory. A few remain in the accounting department; others empty leftover stock to a warehouse elsewhere. Officials and workers fear this may be a sign of what's to come for other factories in Lesotho, where poverty is widespread among the population of 2 million and most textile workers single-handedly support their families. In March, a month before slapping Lesotho with the 50% tariff, Trump described it as a place 'nobody has ever heard of," struggling to pronounce the nation's name in a speech criticizing U.S. foreign aid. It's true Lesotho is a 'very minuscule economy," as its own trade minister, Mokhethi Shelile, described it. But its relationship with Washington dates back decades. The U.S. was the first country to open an embassy in the capital, Maseru, after Lesotho declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The military received U.S. training, and hundreds of millions in U.S. funds were sent to Lesotho to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic via the now defunct USAID office and the PEPFAR program. As textiles grew to become Lesotho's main export, some 75% of its product went to the U.S. Lesotho became known as Africa's denim capital. If an American purchased jeans from a U.S. brand such as Wrangler or Levi's, they may have been 'Made in Lesotho,' as tags still note. In 2000, the U.S. signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act, allowing Lesotho and other African nations to export goods to the U.S. duty free. Shelile said he was in the process of negotiating AGOA's September renewal when he was awakened in the middle of the night by texts from aides bearing news of the 50% U.S. tariffs. 'No, this cannot be real,' Shelile remembers thinking. 'What did we do to deserve this?' According to the Trump administration, Lesotho charges a 99% tariff on U.S. goods. The government here said it doesn't know how the U.S. calculated that. In theory, the tariff decision was based on trade deficit: Lesotho's exports to the U.S. were around $240 million last year — mainly clothing and diamonds — and imports from the U.S. were only $2.8 million. But in practice, the math is more complicated than that. And in reality, Lesotho simply cannot afford to import more U.S. products. Nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. 'The trade deficit that exists between Lesotho and the U.S. is a natural trade deficit that can happen when you have these types of disparities between two economies," Shelile said. "It cannot be breached and certainly cannot be breached by imposing tariffs.' Last year, Lesotho's overall unemployment rate was about 30%, national data shows. For those 35 and younger, it was nearly 50%. The threat of tariffs has exacerbated the national unemployment troubles, prompting the government to declare a state of disaster this month. 'No matter how we slice it, we've already had a lot of losses," Shelile said. "People have lost quite a lot money. And to claw back and come back to where we were before this is going to take time.' Most of the 12,000 people hired by Lesotho's 11 factories exporting to the U.S. are women with children to feed and school fees to pay. Of those, 9,000 jobs are directly in the line of fire and an additional 40,000 will suffer indirectly from the U.S.-imposed tariffs, Shelile said. 'We're talking people in real estate that are leasing some rooms,' he said. 'We're talking people in transport, whether it's long-distance haulage to the port, or it is a taxi driver taking people to work in the morning. They are going be affected.' Mapontso Mathunya used to work on Tzicc's cutting room floor and is now unemployed. Her husband also is out of a steady job. With two young children, Mathunya was the family's breadwinner. She now tries to sell snacks and cigarettes on the street but finds it a daily struggle to bring home even a few cents. 'Our financial burden has been heavy," she said. 'Things are bad.' The future of the Tzicc factory depends on what happens Friday, compliance manager Omar said. Owned by a Taiwanese national, the factory has been open since mid-1999. In a peak month, it made up to 1.5 million pieces of clothing for JCPenney. Key U.S. customers for Tzicc — JCPenney, Walmart and Costco — did not reply to AP to comment. Pivoting to the neighboring South African market, one of the solutions proposed by the trade minister and industry consultants, wouldn't be enough to even cover the employees' payroll, Omar said. And even if American buyers return, it's unlikely the factory could rehire all its 1,300 workers, she added. Today, just a few blocks away, former employees try their luck looking for work at other factories that are still operating. Most are turned away. 'Life is difficult,' former worker Mathunya said. 'There is nothing, nothing at all. People don't have money.' Pascalinah Kabi in Maseru, Josh Boak in Washington and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed.
