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Through the Lens: Thai-Cambodian border dispute and floods in China

Through the Lens: Thai-Cambodian border dispute and floods in China

Nikkei Asia12 hours ago

Through the Lens: Thai-Cambodian border dispute and floods in China
The Thai government's decision to close all land borders with Cambodia has cast a shadow over an estimated 1.2 million Cambodian migrant workers - and the Thai economy.
Cambodians carrying their belongings prepare to cross the border to Cambodia during a temporary opening that enabled stranded Thais to come the other way. The Ban Khlong Luk border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, and other crossing points was closed by the Thai military following a border spat. This was presented by the Thai army as part of a broader crackdown on multiple transnational scam centers operating along the border. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrait/EPA/Jiji)
Cambodians queuing at Ban Khlong Luek, a border checkpoint in eastern Thailand's Sa Kaeo province. The Thai military closed all border crossings into Cambodia to virtually everyone, including tourists and traders. (Photo by Gobthanadesh Toraksa/Reuters)
A fleeing Cambodian hauls his possessions toward the border at Aranyaprathet during a temporary reopening on June 24 for Cambodians to leave and Thais to return home. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Jiji)
Thai police officers check the documents of departing Cambodians during a temporary reopening of the Ban Khlong Luk border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, Thailand, on June 24. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Jiji)
A royalist activist holds a placard that reads "Thai government with Khmer heart Get Out" during an anti-government protest, following a leak of a phone call between Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen near the Government House, in Bangkok on June 19. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, foreground, delivers a speech in front of his troop during his visit to Preah Vihear, near Cambodia-Thailand border in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, on June 23. (Photo by AKP/AP)
Nationalist protesters march through Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, on June 18. (Photo by Kyodo)
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra speaks during a press conference on June 19 following the leak of a private phone call between her and Hun Sen, Cambodia's senate president and former prime minister. (Photo by Panumas Sanguanwong/Reuters)
Thailand's Suranaree Task Force personnel stand guard at Morakot Operations Base in Ubon Rathchathani province during a visit by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. (Photo by Government House of Thailand/Reuters)
Thai police officers talk to people near a border checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia, in Sa Kaeo province on June 24. (Photo by Royal Thai Army/AP)
Cambodians prepare to cross the border at the Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Jiji)
Cambodians wave travel documents at the Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Jiji)
Thai paramilitary personnel at Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint 0n June 24 during the Thailand-Cambodia border closure. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Jiji)
Severe flooding in China's southwestern province of Guizhou has forced more than 80,000 people out of their homes, Beijing's state media reported on June 25.
Flooded buildings in Rongjiang in China's Guizhou province on June 24. (Photo by AFP/Jiji)
Residents clear away mud after a flood in Congjiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province, on June 25. (Photo by CNS/Reuters)
A debris-strewn street after floodwaters receded in Rongjiang county on June 25. (Photo by CNS/Reuters)
Rescue workers evacuate a resident from a flood-affected area in Rongjiang county on June 24. (Photo by China Daily/Reuters)
People gather their belongings in a flood-affected area in Congjiang on June 25. (Photo by STR/AFP/Jiji)

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Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants

The Mainichi

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  • The Mainichi

Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end -- a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. "Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids," said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. "The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need." The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. "We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health," Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. "The rhetoric is just false," Lustica said. "I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program." The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. "At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible," state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. "Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services," American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk." Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. "We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers," Lustica said. "School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need." Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. "Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital," Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. "It just feels, to me, really catastrophic," McGowan said of the grant cancellation. "These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers."

On Regional Tensions, Don't Expect Too Much of ASEAN
On Regional Tensions, Don't Expect Too Much of ASEAN

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On Regional Tensions, Don't Expect Too Much of ASEAN

In the last week of May, Southeast Asia witnessed a series of significant diplomatic developments. Multiple ASEAN-led meetings were convened in Kuala Lumpur, including the ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN-GCC Summit, and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit. Immediately following these meetings, the Shangri-La Dialogue defense conference 2025 took place in Singapore. During the same week, Thai and Cambodian troops skirmished along a disputed part of their nations' border, leaving one Cambodian soldier dead. These incidents – alongside the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and persistent maritime clashes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea – underscore the increasingly dynamic and complex security environment facing the region. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is well-positioned to play an active role in managing, though not solving, these regional conflicts. While some believe that ASEAN should attempt to resolve such conflicts, it is important to clarify that ASEAN was established primarily as a conflict management platform. It is not structured, nor is it equipped, for conflict resolution in the traditional sense, given the nature of its operating and decision-making mechanisms. To understand ASEAN's limitations in resolving conflicts, we must revisit the rationale behind its formation and the foundational principles that guide its operations. ASEAN was founded in August 1967, in the aftermath of the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi and during the intensification of the Vietnam War. Its aim was to foster peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. Its five founding members – Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines – envisioned it as a platform for regional confidence-building. Initially, ASEAN focused on cooperation on socio-economic and cultural matters. Since the end of the Cold War, ASEAN has expanded to include all Southeast Asian nations, with the last remaining outlier, Timor-Leste, expected to become a full member by the end of 2025. It has also broadened its multilateral engagements through various mechanisms – such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting, the ASEAN Political-Security Community, and the ASEAN Community – which aim to facilitate dialogue on security and economic cooperation. These forums allow for inclusive discussions and trust-building but often stop short of producing concrete and binding outcomes, particularly on contentious geopolitical matters. Two core principles define ASEAN's identity: non-intervention in the internal affairs of member states, and consensus-based decision-making. These enduring and pragmatic principles have enabled ASEAN to remain an inclusive and sustainable organization. ASEAN's approach to regional disputes stems from these principles, as demonstrated in the Five-Point Consensus plan addressing the Myanmar conflict, and in the ongoing negotiations over an ASEAN-China Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. The Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar was adopted in April 2021, three months after the Myanmar military's coup d'état, when ASEAN leaders reached a collective agreement on how to manage the Myanmar crisis, though the Consensus lacks binding and enforceable actions. Meanwhile, negotiations for the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct have spanned over two decades, illustrating both the inclusive nature of ASEAN's consensus-based approach, which values every member's input, and the inherent difficulty of reaching unified agreement on complex and sensitive issues. Moreover, external actors such as China, the United States, and the European Union continue to exert influence on ASEAN's internal dynamics, further complicating the process of establishing unified regional positions. It is therefore necessary to temper expectations regarding ASEAN's capacity to resolve deeply rooted regional issues. ASEAN and its mechanisms were never intended for such a role. The bloc lacks binding legal instruments and enforcement capabilities, and its consensus-based approach means that it is often hampered by divergent political priorities among member states, particularly on issues that touch upon their core national interests. In light of these structural limitations, ASEAN cannot be expected to assume a greater role in managing today's regional security challenges. Instead, its value lies in providing an important platform for fostering dialogues and confidence-building measures. While limited in yielding immediate and context-specific tangible outcomes, these remain essential for long-term regional stability.

Israel-Iran clashes escalate as civilians urged to leave target areas
Israel-Iran clashes escalate as civilians urged to leave target areas

Nikkei Asia

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Israel-Iran clashes escalate as civilians urged to leave target areas

BAT YAM, Israel/DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on Sunday, killing and wounding civilians and raising concerns of a broader regional conflict, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders convening in Canada on Sunday would reach an agreement to help resolve the conflict and keep it from escalating.

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