Leaked call between Thai PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia'sHun Sen worsens tensions
Leaked call between Thai PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia'sHun Sen worsens tensions
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
20 minutes ago
- CNA
Civilians wounded as Cambodia, Thailand trade fire in fresh border clashes
PHNOM PENH: Thailand's army said three civilians were wounded in a Cambodian rocket strike on Thursday (Jul 24) as the two countries' militaries clashed again in an escalating row over a disputed border. The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples. The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight. Fresh fighting erupted on Thursday morning near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey. "The Thai military violated the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by launching an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend the nation's sovereign territory," defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said in a statement. "In response, the Cambodian armed forces exercised their legitimate right to self-defence, in full accordance with international law, to repel the Thai incursion and protect Cambodia's sovereignty and territorial integrity." The Thai army blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first, and later accused them of a "targeted attack on civilians", saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a community in Surin's Kap Choeng district, wounding three people. According to the Thai army, the clashes began around 7.35am (6.35am Singapore time) when a unit guarding Ta Muen temple heard a Cambodian drone overhead. Later, six armed Cambodian soldiers, including one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, approached a barbed-wired fence in front of the Thai post, the army said. Thai soldiers shouted to warn them, the army said, but around 8:20 am, Cambodian forces opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple, about 200 metres from the Thai base. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said "the situation requires careful handling, and we must act in accordance with international law". "We will do our best to protect our sovereignty," he embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia "as soon as possible" unless they had urgent reasons to remain, in a Facebook post. LONG-RUNNING ROW The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. Wechayachai said an investigation by the Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed border area -- a claim denied by Phnom Penh. On Thursday morning, Cambodia announced it was downgrading ties to "the lowest level", pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh. Recent weeks have seen a series of tit-for-tat swipes by both sides, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports. The Thai army said in a statement that one soldier lost his leg in the landmine blast, and others suffered ear injuries and chest pain. Cambodia's defence ministry on Wednesday night "categorically rejected the unfounded accusations" made by Thailand. The ministry said the border areas still contained "many landmines left over from past wars" which have not been fully cleared. The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct. A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia's former longtime ruler and father of Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
NZ government sporting body drops transgender directive
Find out what's new on ST website and app. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said that the "woke" transgender guidelines have been scrapped. WELLINGTON – A top New Zealand minister on Thursday declared 'biological males have no place in women's sports', as the government moved to scrap guidelines for transgender athletes in local competitions. Sports around the world are wrestling with how to govern transgender participation, with the US Olympic Committee and English Football Association among those to recently restrict trans athletes from women's sport. Government agency Sport NZ in 2022 developed 'guiding principles for the inclusion of transgender people in community sport'. But senior government minister Winston Peters – New Zealand's top diplomat – said on Thursday the 'woke' guidelines had been scrapped. 'The state has no place in people's bedrooms – and biological males have no place in women's sports,' Peters said in a statement. 'This is purely about ensuring there is safety and security for girls and women in the sports they play at every level.' New Zealand has for years been seen as a world leader in allowing transgender participation in sport. Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in 2021 at Tokyo became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics, entering the over-87 kilogramme women's category. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia At least 2 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border Asia Live: Thai-Cambodia border clash Singapore Boy, 15, charged after being caught with vapes 5 times; ordered to stay 2 years at S'pore Boys' Home Business MOM probing work injury claim flagged by late Sumo Salad boss Jane Lee: MOS Dinesh Business New tie-up offers insurance savings for SMEs committed to workers' health and well-being Singapore What's key to a good life? Most Singapore residents choose emotional and mental well-being Singapore Astronomer executives' Coldplay scandal: Why it went viral and the obsession with public shaming World Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports The now-dropped guiding principles included wellbeing and safety, anti-discrimination and anti-bullying. They gave advice on providing private spaces in bathrooms and using gender-inclusive language. 'Transgender people can take part in sports in the gender they identify with,' the guidelines read, according to national broadcaster Radio New Zealand. Sports organisations were not bound by the guidelines. Sport NZ chief executive Raelene Castle said the guidelines were dropped at the request of the government. 'The government has directed Sport NZ to stop all work on the Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport and remove them from our website,' Castle said. 'As a result of this decision, the guiding principles will no longer be available and the document has been removed from the Sport NZ website. 'Sporting organisations will continue to make their own decisions on the participation of transgender people in community sport and there are a range of expert organisations that can provide support.' In a statement, the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa said it was 'deeply disappointed' by the change. The decision would worsen an 'unwelcoming and isolating culture for trans and non-binary people in sport', it said. Benjamin Doyle, a member of the opposition Green Party, said the government was 'failing transgender people'. 'Everyone deserves to feel safe in sport,' Doyle said. 'These guidelines were just that – guidelines that could keep our communities safe, which no one was bound to adhere to, and now they've been scrapped.' AFP
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
2 soldiers wounded as Thai and Cambodia militaries clash at disputed border, Asia News
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH — Armed clashes broke out between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed area of their border on Thursday (July 24), both countries said, accusing each other of firing the first shots after weeks of simmering tension and diplomatic spats. The clash came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmines it said had been laid recently in the disputed area. Thailand's military on Thursday said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border, around 360 km from the capital Bangkok Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence. Cambodia's influential former premier Hun Sen in a Facebook post said two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. A spokesperson for Thailand's army said Cambodian troops Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. "We have to be careful," he told reporters. "We will follow international law." For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes. An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court. Chamnan Chuenta, governor of Thailand's Surin Province, in a Facebook post on Thursday asked residents of the district abutting the temple to shelter in their homes and prepare for evacuation. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations. [[nid:720548]]
