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The Star
26 minutes ago
- The Star
Thai army accuses Cambodia of breaking truce
A view shows an empty street of Samraong, the capital of Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia, July 28, 2025. An AFP journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight, with the lull continuing until dawn. -Reuters SURIN, Thailand: Thailand's army accused Cambodia Tuesday (July 29) of violating an hours-old truce, saying clashes continued despite a deal meant to end the bloody fighting that has engulfed their jungle-clad frontier. Following peace talks in Malaysia on Monday, both sides agreed an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight to end fighting over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their 800-kilometre border. ALSO READ: Thai, Cambodian PMs welcome Malaysian-brokered peace "At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory," said Thai army spokesman Winthai Suwaree. "This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust, he added in a statement. "Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defence." In Cambodia's Samraong city - 20 kilometres from the border - an AFP journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight, with the lull continuing until dawn. "The frontline has eased since the ceasefire at 12 midnight," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Tuesday morning message on Facebook. Jets, rockets and artillery have killed at least 38 people since last Thursday and displaced nearly 300,000 more - prompting intervention from US President Donald Trump over the weekend. The flare-up was the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907. The peace deal was set to see military commanders from both sides meet at 07:00 am (0000 GMT), before a cross-border committee is convened in Cambodia to further salve tensions on August 4. "When I heard the news I was so happy because I miss my home and my belongings that I left behind," Phean Neth told AFP on Monday evening at a sprawling camp for Cambodian evacuees on a temple site away from the fighting. "I am so happy that I can't describe it," said the 45-year-old. A joint statement from both countries - as well as Malaysia which hosted the peace talks - said the ceasefire was "a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security". A spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement Monday evening that "he urges both countries to respect the agreement fully and to create an environment conducive to addressing long-standing issues and achieving lasting peace". Both sides are courting Trump for trade deals to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs, and the US State Department said its officials had been "on the ground" to shepherd peace talks. The joint statement said China also had "active participation" in the talks, hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister and Asean bloc chair Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his country's administrative capital Putrajaya. Hun Manet thanked Trump for his "decisive" support, while his counterpart, Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said it should be "carried out in good faith by both sides". "If they say they'll stop firing, they must stop completely," said 43-year-old Thai evacuee Prapakarn Samruamjit in the city of Surin. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn marked his 73rd birthday on Monday, but a notice in the country's Royal Gazette said public celebrations scheduled for Bangkok's Grand Palace had been cancelled amid the strife. Each side had already agreed to a truce in principle, while accusing the other of undermining peace efforts and trading allegations about the use of cluster bombs and targeting of hospitals. Thailand says 11 of its soldiers and 14 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed only eight civilian and five military deaths. More than 138,000 people have fled Thailand's border regions, while around 140,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia. - AFP
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Colombia ex-president Uribe convicted of bribery, abuse of process
BOGOTA: A Colombian judge on Monday convicted former President Alvaro Uribe of abuse of process and bribery of a public official, marking the first time an ex-president in the country has been found guilty at trial. Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia delivered the verdict after a lengthy legal battle spanning 13 years. Uribe, 73, was acquitted of a separate bribery charge. The ruling remains subject to appeal. The case has been highly politicized, with Uribe and his supporters denouncing it as persecution while critics view it as long-overdue accountability for his alleged ties to right-wing paramilitaries. 'Justice does not kneel before power,' Heredia told the court before reading her 1,000-page decision over nine hours. 'It is at the service of the Colombian people.' She added, 'We want to say to Colombia that justice has arrived.' Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of 6 to 12 years. Heredia will determine Uribe's sentence in a later hearing. The former president has consistently denied wrongdoing, framing the case as a political attack. - Reuters
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Colombia ex-president Uribe guilty of abuse of process, bribery of a public official
BOGOTA (Reuters) -A judge on Monday found Colombian former President Alvaro Uribe guilty of abuse of process and bribery of a public official in a years-long witness-tampering case, making the right-wing politician the country's first ex-president ever convicted at trial. Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia read her decision aloud to the court. She found Uribe not guilty of a third charge, bribery. The ruling, which Uribe is expected to appeal, is the latest decision in a hugely politicized case that has run for some 13 years. Uribe, 73, and his supporters say the process is a persecution and that he is innocent. His detractors have celebrated it as the deserved downfall for a man who has been repeatedly accused of close relationships with violent right-wing paramilitaries, but never convicted of any crime. Each charge carries a jail sentence of between six and 12 years. Heredia is expected to sentence Uribe in a later hearing. "Justice does not kneel before power," Heredia told the court on Monday morning, before spending about nine hours reading her decision. "It is at the service of the Colombian people." "We want to say to Colombia that justice has arrived," she said, adding that her full decision is some 1,000 pages long. Uribe and one of his lawyers, Jaime Granados, joined the hearing via video link, while another lawyer, Jaime Lombana, appeared in person. Granados said the presumption of Uribe's innocence should be maintained and asked for him to remain free during the remainder of the process, a decision Heredia said she will take on Friday. Both detractors and supporters of the former president gathered outside the court, with some Uribe backers sporting masks of his face. Even if the conviction is eventually upheld, Uribe may be allowed to serve his sentence on house arrest because of his age. Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010 and oversaw a military offensive against leftist guerrilla groups, was investigated along with several allies over allegations of witness tampering carried out in an attempt to discredit accusations he had ties to paramilitaries. Judges have twice rejected requests by prosecutors to shelve the case, which stems from Uribe's allegation in 2012 that leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda had orchestrated a plot to tie him to paramilitaries. The Supreme Court said in 2018 that Cepeda had collected information from former fighters as part of his work and had not paid or pressured former paramilitaries. Instead, the court said it was Uribe and his allies who pressured witnesses. Cepeda attended the hearing in person with his counsel. Uribe's trial triggered sharp criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the judge's decision. Uribe had a close relationship with the U.S. during his two terms as president. "Uribe's only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland. The weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisomeprecedent," Rubio said on X. "A decision against the ex-president could generate some kind of reprisal by the government of the United States," Banco de Bogota said in a note on Monday, referring to a proposal by U.S. Republican lawmaker Mario Diaz-Balart to cut non-military aid to Colombia next year, partly on concerns of due process violations in the Uribe case. Uribe, who was placed under house arrest for two months in 2020, is head of the powerful Democratic Center party and was a senator for years both before and after his presidency. He has repeatedly emphasized that he extradited paramilitary leaders to the United States. Colombia's truth commission says paramilitary groups, which demobilized under deals with Uribe's government, killed more than 205,000 people, nearly half of the 450,000 deaths recorded during the ongoing civil conflict. Paramilitaries, along with guerrilla groups and members of the armed forces, also committed forced disappearances, sexual violence, displacement and other crimes. Uribe joins a list of Latin American leaders who have been convicted and sometimes jailed, including Peru's Alberto Fujimori, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Argentina's Cristina Fernandez and Panama's RicardoMartinelli. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Carlos Vargas, Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Leslie Adler)
