Bangladesh Jet Crash Triggers Student-Police Clashes
Hundreds of students clashed with security forces in Dhaka on Tuesday as they attempted to storm the Bangladesh Secretariat, the country's main government administrative complex, according to private broadcaster Jamuna TV. Live footage showed protesters hurling bricks at police and army personnel, who responded with tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd.
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Mayor Brandon Johnson pledges no push for property tax hike after CFO recently called one ‘likely'
Mayor Brandon Johnson is now ruling out seeking a property tax hike in his upcoming budget proposal, an apparent shift in course for his administration after a top city official said earlier in the week that they probably would do so. On Friday, Johnson said he will instead try again to tax the city's wealthiest residents and corporations. He added that he has 'a number' of ideas for progressive revenue, but did not answer when asked to share them. 'The ultra-rich in this city and this state have an opportunity to do a better job in investing in our infrastructure, investing in community safety,' he said. Johnson told the Tribune that 'nothing has changed' when asked about the apparent abrupt switch-up during a news conference. The mayor's attempts to raise property taxes to balance this year's budget were roundly rejected by aldermen. But he said he isn't turning away from property taxes to close the 2026 budget hole because he's worried he doesn't have the votes. 'We've always made it very clear from the very beginning that we are going to invest in people and use progressive revenue to ensure that we build the safest, most affordable big city in America,' he said. Just Tuesday, Chicago's Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski said 'it is likely that that will be part of the package' when asked about the mayor calling for a 2026 property tax increase. But the mayor delivered a clear rejection of the idea Thursday. 'I will not be proposing a property tax increase in my budget. I'm going to continue to work hard to find progressive revenue,' he told ABC-7 Chicago. The mayor similarly did not specify Thursday to ABC-7 what new taxes and other revenue-raisers he hopes to rely on to balance the city's budget. He also said it was too early to discuss potential furloughs and layoffs, adding 'our workforce is what makes our city strong.' The 2026 budget fight will begin in earnest after Labor Day. Johnson, who campaigned promising to not raise property taxes, proposed last year that the city raise them by $300 million to help close a budget gap near $1 billion. Aldermen rejected the plan in an unprecedented 50-0 vote. The mayor's administration then tried to negotiate several smaller property tax hikes with aldermen, but was rejected each time. The City Council's decision, alongside Johnson's opposition to city service and workforce cuts, resulted in a compromise to balance the budget with a fleet of smaller taxes and fees. The largest was a roughly $130 million hike to the personal property lease tax on cloud computing services, a move that affected software services, including many that businesses rely upon. Johnson notably failed in an earlier effort to tax the rich in 2023 when the 'Bring Chicago Home' plan lost in a citywide referendum. The proposal would have hiked taxes on real estate transfers over $1 million to raise money to pay for homelessness services. Many aldermen fear the sort of kitchen-sink approach they used to land the budget last year will be harder to use this year. Several easier-to-tap options have been exhausted, and the city's fiscal challenges have only grown as federal funding cuts threaten the city's already precarious financial position. Johnson's top budget officials have long described property taxes as an effective way to bring in predictable, long-term revenue and stabilize the city's budget. But in ruling out property taxes as part of the package this fall, the mayor may very well have sensed a trial balloon had popped after several aldermen quickly criticized the idea this week.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Hong Kong police offer rewards for tips leading to the arrest of 19 overseas activists
Advertisement According to a Facebook statement by the group on June 30, its election drew some 15,700 valid votes through mobile app and online voting systems. It said the candidates and elected members came from various regions, including Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, the US, Canada, and Britain. While the group calls itself Hong Kong Parliament, its electoral organizing committee was founded in Canada and its influence is limited. Among the 19 activists, police have already offered 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,400) for information leading to the arrest of Yuen, Ho, Fok, and Choi when previous arrest warrants were issued against them. For the remaining 15 people, rewards of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars ($25,480) were offered, urging residents to provide information about the case or the people. Advertisement 'The investigation is still ongoing. If necessary, police will offer bounties to hunt down more suspects in the case,' police said. They also called on those wanted to stop their actions while they still can, saying that they hoped the activists 'will take this opportunity to return to Hong Kong and turn themselves in, rather than making more mistakes.' Yuen said in a Facebook live broadcast that the election was not quite successful in drawing active participation, and that the police campaign would help the group rally support for the resistance movement. 'It helps us with a lot of advertising,' Yuen said. During the live chat with Yuen on Facebook, Sasha Gong, another person targeted by the bounties, accused Hong Kong of becoming a police state. She said she is US citizen and would report her case to the US authorities and lawmakers. Over the past two years, Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants for various activists based overseas, including former pro-democracy lawmakers Nathan Law and Ted Hui. They also canceled the passports of some of them under a recent security law introduced in the city last year. The moves against overseas-based activists have drawn criticism from foreign governments, especially given the former British colony was promised that its Western-style civil liberties and semi-autonomy would be kept intact for at least 50 years when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. In March, the United States sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in 'transnational repression' and acts that threaten to further erode the city's autonomy. But Beijing and Hong Kong insist the national security laws were necessary for the city's stability. Hong Kong police have maintained that the Beijing-imposed law applies to permanent residents in Hong Kong who violate it abroad. Advertisement In retaliation for the US move, China in April said it would sanction US officials, lawmakers, and leaders of non-governmental organizations who it says have 'performed poorly' on Hong Kong issues.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Thailand-Cambodia Clash Tests US Against Growing China Influence in Asia
Based on factual reporting, incorporates the expertise of the journalist and may offer interpretations and conclusions. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A deadly and dramatic escalation in a decades-long border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is the latest challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to enforce a more peaceful international order. But the fiery bout in Southeast Asia also marks a test for Washington's waning influence in a region viewed as a crucial theater in a geopolitical competition between the United States and China. "This crisis represents a critical test of American and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia," Sophal Ear, a regional expert and associate professor at Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Management, told Newsweek. "For the U.S., Thailand is a key strategic partner, essential to sustaining American military and diplomatic presence in the region," Ear said. "For China, Cambodia is a central player in its regional ambitions under the Belt and Road Initiative, serving as a strategic foothold." He argued that "both powers recognize significant stakes: instability could undermine their respective regional alliances and economic interests, while an overly aggressive stance risks deepening geopolitical competition." A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher traveling along a street in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher traveling along a street in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images Another U.S. Setback The latest Thailand-Cambodia border dispute dates back to 1907, when a map drawn during French colonial rule in Cambodia marked a boundary still cited by Cambodian officials today. Thai officials dispute this demarcation and claim territory beyond it, including ancient Khmer-era Hindu temples, such as Preah Vihear, despite two International Court of Justice rulings favoring Cambodia's claims. Their rivalry has played out against the backdrop of broader international conflicts among world powers, including World War II and the Cold War. A decade before the U.S. war in Vietnam, then divided between a communist north and a nationalist south, Thailand joined the U.S.-backed Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), serving as a bulwark against the spread of communism in the region. North Vietnam would emerge victorious against the U.S., uniting the nation and quickly going to war with the rival China-backed Khmer Rouge communist leadership of Cambodia, leading to its downfall. Thailand, meanwhile, remained a staunch ally of the U.S. anti-communist posturing in Asia. However, its prominence in Washington's foreign policy has declined in recent decades, particularly as the U.S. has intensified its relations with its former foe, Vietnam. China, meanwhile, has invested heavily in ties with all countries in the region, including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. However, as Beijing's growing global presence occupies a larger space in U.S. foreign policy, some argue that its attention to Thailand has been sidelined. "I think the U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department, told Newsweek. "Because if the U.S. frame on Southeast Asia is that it's all about fighting the proxy fight with China for influence," he said, "the fact that the U.S. is now missing in action and really has no leverage to bring to bear on either party, should tell you everything." Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on U.S.-built M1126 armored vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province on July 24, 2025. Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on U.S.-built M1126 armored vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province on July 24, 2025. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images China's Balancing Act Both the U.S. and China have called for de-escalation since the fighting first erupted Thursday, with at least 15 killed and dozens wounded. The Thai military has since claimed that more than 100 Cambodian soldiers have been killed as fighting spread throughout their rugged border, spanning some 500 miles. "The United States is gravely concerned by reports of the escalating fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border," the State Department said in a statement issued Thursday. "We are particularly alarmed by reports of harm to innocent civilians," the statement added. "We express our deepest condolences on the loss of life. We strongly urge the immediate cessation of attacks, protection of civilians, and peaceful settlement of disputes." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the situation "deeply distressing and concerning" and urged a "calm and careful handling." At the same time, he argued that the "issue lies in the legacy left by Western colonial powers." "As a mutual neighbor and friend to both Cambodia and Thailand, China is committed to maintaining an objective and impartial stance, and will continue to play a constructive role in helping to de-escalate tensions and ease the situation," Wang said Friday during a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Kao Kim Hourn, who is seeking to mediate the conflict. While Cambodia is traditionally viewed as a close partner of China, Beijing's neutrality is also informed by its efforts to maintain and develop close relations with Thailand. "The more logical model for [China], where their interests are threatened is to just kind of bring the hammer down quietly," Feigenbaum said. "But I think their calculation would be that they would pay a cost with both they really don't want to take sides between these two, because they want good relations with both of them." "So, they'd either have to bring pressure to bear on both of them simultaneously, or choose a side," he added. "The latter is not an option for them." Further complicating any external role are the charged domestic politics that have helped fuel tensions to the point of open conflict. After frictions intensified in May when an exchange of cross-border fire led to the death of a Cambodian soldier, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was caught in a leaked phone call addressing Cambodian Senate President and former Prime Minister Hun Sen with terms of endearment and criticizing Thai military leadership. The incident led to her suspension from office and has threatened her already fragile ruling coalition. As for whether the U.S. could step in where China was hesitant, Feigenbaum was doubtful, seeing Beijing as now closer to Washington's oldest ally in Asia. "The U.S. really doesn't have the influence anymore on Thailand, so the idea that Thailand is some kind of U.S. proxy is nonsense," he said. "And meanwhile, China has a good relationship with the royal family in Thailand, they're the number one trading partner. They're the number one investment partner." "The U.S. is still important economically," he said," but in relative terms, China, in a lot of ways, has become much more important." Risk of Escalation Derek Grossman, a former U.S. intelligence official now serving as a professor at the University of Southern California, also believed that the Thailand-Cambodia conflict had yet to escalate to a Cold War-style proxy conflict, similar to the one the U.S. engaged in against China and the Soviet Union in Vietnam. At the same time, he warned that the situation had the potential to further drag in the world's top two powers should it continue to escalate. "While it is true that Thailand is a security ally of the U.S. and Cambodia is a close partner of China, both Washington and Beijing have called for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation," Grossman told Newsweek, "and thus there isn't a proxy struggle playing out to achieve strategic advantage in Indochina—at least not yet." "That said, if the conflict worsens, it's likely that the U.S. and China would deepen their support for their respective friends," Grossman added. "Beijing has already said, for example, that the reason for the conflict was due to Western colonialism—a clear knock against powers external to the region." Grossman also noted how Thailand has thus far turned down international mediation efforts in favor of direct talks, a tactic he said could be attributed to the belief that it "has the upper hand militarily and that it has Washington in its corner if the crisis escalates." Meanwhile, Ear warned that, "if China hawks frame it as U.S.-ally Thailand v. China-backed Cambodia, this might be seen as a proxy war brewing even though this has nothing to do with China," while noting the most likely path for both Beijing and Washington was "to encourage diplomacy and de-escalation." "The career diplomats are busy writing their statements, I'm sure," Ear said. "I just hope the politicos aren't too preoccupied between Epstein files, to pay the attention to this regional conflict."
