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France 24
40 minutes ago
- France 24
Trump says Thailand and Cambodia agree to immediate ceasefire talks
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire, as he sought to broker peace after three days of fighting along their border. Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, thanked Trump and said Thailand "agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place" but "would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side." Phumtham was responding in a Facebook post to a series of social media posts by Trump during a visit to Scotland. Trump said he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham and warned them that he would not make trade deals with either if the border conflict continued. "Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace," Trump wrote as he gave a blow-by-blow account of his diplomatic efforts. Phumtham also said he had asked Trump "to convey to the Cambodian side that Thailand wants to convene a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to bring forth measures and procedures for the ceasefire and the eventual peaceful resolution of the conflict." More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years. Before Trump spoke to the two leaders, clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border persisted into a third day and new flashpoints emerged as both sides said they had acted in self-defense in the border dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations. There were clashes early on Saturday, both sides said, in the neighbouring Thai coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's Pursat Province, a new front more than 100 km (60 miles) from other conflict points along the long-contested border. The countries have faced off since the killing of a Cambodian soldier late in May during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. As of Saturday, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed, while Cambodia said five soldiers and eight civilians had been killed. Trump's direct involvement on Saturday followed US calls for restraint on both sides. He said he spoke to each leader and relayed messages back and forth. "They have agreed to immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE!," Trump wrote, saying both countries wanted to get back to the "Trading Table." He has sought to reach separate deals with dozens of countries in response to his announcement of wide-ranging tariffs on imports to the US. 01:46 "When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!" Trump said. He offered no details on the ceasefire negotiations he said Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to hold. The White House did not immediately respond to questions on the timing and venue for talks and the Thai and Cambodian embassies in Washington also did not immediately respond. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, said he would continue to push a ceasefire proposal. Cambodia has backed Anwar's plan, while Thailand has said it agreed with it in principle. "There is still some exchange of fire," Anwar said, according to state news agency Bernama. He said he had asked his foreign minister "to liaise with the respective foreign ministries and, if possible, I will continue engaging with them myself – at least to halt the fighting". Security Council Meeting Thailand's ambassador to the United Nations told a Security Council meeting on Friday that soldiers had been injured by newly planted land mines in Thai territory on two occasions since mid-July - claims Cambodia has strongly denied - and said Cambodia had then launched attacks on Thursday morning. "Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith," Cherdchai Chaivaivid told the council in remarks released to media. In a statement on Saturday, Cambodia's defense ministry said Thailand had launched "a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack" and was mobilizing troops and military equipment on the border. "These deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand's intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia's sovereignty," it said. Cambodia called for the international community to "condemn Thailand's aggression in the strongest terms" and to prevent an expansion of its military activities, while Bangkok reiterated it wanted to resolve the dispute bilaterally. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tension escalated in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. That led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia in June said it had asked the court to resolve its disputes with Thailand, which says it has never recognized the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.
Local France
an hour ago
- Local France
French left urges Macron to act over US plan to destroy contraceptives
A State Department spokesperson told AFP this week that "a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain" birth control products from "terminated Biden-era USAID contracts." The US Agency for International Development, the country's foreign aid arm, was dismantled by Donald Trump's administration when he returned to office in January, replacing former president Joe Biden. Under the plan, some $9.7 million worth of implant and IUD contraceptives stored in Belgium are reportedly set to be incinerated in France. An open letter signed by French Green leader Marine Tondelier and several female lawmakers called the US decision "an affront to the fundamental principles of solidarity, public health and sexual and reproductive rights that France is committed to defending." In the letter, they urged the French president "not to be complicit, even indirectly, in retrograde policies," saying women's contraception products such as IUDs and implants were intended for "low- and middle-income countries." "Cutting aid for contraception is shameful, destroying products that have already been manufactured and financed is even more mind-boggling," Tondelier told AFP. The Greens urged Macron to request the suspension of the plan "as part of a joint initiative with the European Commission." They also called on him to back humanitarian organisations that say they are ready to redistribute the contraception products. Separately, Mathilde Panot, parliamentary leader of the hard left France Unbowed (LFI) party, also urged Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou to take action. "You have a responsibility to act to prevent this destruction, which will cost lives," she said on X. Advertisement "These resources are vital, particularly for the 218 million women who do not have access to contraceptive care." The US plan has sparked outrage from global health NGOs, with Doctors Without Borders denouncing the "callous waste." "It is unconscionable to think of these health products being burned when the demand for them globally is so great," said Rachel Milkovich of the medical charity's US office. The State Department spokesperson said the destruction will cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." Doctors Without Borders says that other organisations have offered to cover the shipping and distribution costs of the supplies, but the US government declined to sign off. US lawmakers have approved slashing some $9 billion in aid primarily destined for foreign countries.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Britain leads calls for airdrops as Gaza hunger crisis deepens
The UK decision to support the plans of regional partners Jordan and the United Arab Emirates came as pro-Palestinian activists piloted a symbolic aid vessel towards the shores of Gaza in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade. On the ground, the territory's civil defence agency said at least 40 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli military strikes and shootings. Humanitarian chiefs are deeply sceptical that airdrops can deliver enough food to tackle the deepening hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants and are instead demanding that Israel allow more overland convoys. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the idea, vowing to work with Jordan to restart airdrops -- and with France and Germany to develop a plan for a lasting ceasefire. An Israeli official told AFP on Friday that airdrops in Gaza would resume soon, adding they would be conducted by the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Starmer's office said that in a call with his French and German counterparts, the "prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance". The United Arab Emirates said it would resume airdrops "immediately". "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level," Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a post on X. "Air drops are resuming once more, immediately." 'Starving civilians' A number of Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, at a time when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel imposed a total blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a ceasefire in the now 21-month-old conflict broke down. In late May, it began to allow a trickle of aid to enter. Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into the Gaza Strip, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting the aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organisations accuse the Israeli army of imposing excessive restrictions, while tightly controlling road access within Gaza. A separate aid operation is under way through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points. Naval blockade On Saturday, pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla said its latest aid boat, the Handala, was approaching Gaza and had already got closer than its previous vessel, the Madleen, which was intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces last month. The Israeli military said it was monitoring the situation and was prepared to enforce what it called its "legal maritime security blockade". Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 40 people on Saturday, including 14 killed in separate incidents near aid distribution centres. One of the 14 was killed "after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid" northwest of Gaza City, the agency said. Witnesses told AFP that several thousand people had gathered in the area. Abu Samir Hamoudeh, 42, said the Israeli military opened fire while people were waiting to approach a distribution point near an Israeli military post in the Zikim area, northwest of Sudaniyah. The Israeli military told AFP that its troops fired "warning shots to distance the crowd" after identifying an "immediate threat". It added that it was not aware of any casualties as a result of the fire. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. © 2025 AFP
