Thai prime minister visits border with Cambodia after leaked conversation triggers resignation calls
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited the border with Cambodia on Friday as she faced resignation calls following a leaked phone call between her and Cambodia's former leader discussing recent border tensions.
Paetongtarn traveled to a border town in northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province, near a small contested territory with Cambodia where a brief confrontation between the two sides on May 28 killed one Cambodian soldier.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
18 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge rules Trump administration can't require states to help on immigration to get transport money
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from withholding billions of dollars in transportation funds from states that don't agree to participate in some immigration enforcement actions. Twenty states sued after they said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to cut off funding to states that refused to comply with President Donald Trump's immigration agenda. U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. barred federal transportation officials from carrying out that threat before the lawsuit is fully resolved. 'The Court finds that the States have demonstrated they will face irreparable and continuing harm if forced to agree to Defendants' unlawful and unconstitutional immigration conditions imposed in order to receive federal transportation grant funds,' wrote McConnell, the chief judge for the federal district of Rhode island. 'The States face losing billions of dollars in federal funding, are being put in a position of relinquishing their sovereign right to decide how to use their own police officers, are at risk of losing the trust built between local law enforcement and immigrant communities, and will have to scale back, reconsider, or cancel ongoing transportation projects.' On April 24, states received letters from the Department of Transportation stating that they must cooperate on immigration efforts or risk losing the congressionally appropriated funds. No funding was immediately withheld, but some of the states feared the move was imminent. Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont filed the lawsuit in May, saying the new so-called 'Duffy Directive' put them in an impossible position. 'The States can either attempt to comply with an unlawful and unconstitutional condition that would surrender their sovereign control over their own law enforcement officers and reduce immigrants' willingness to report crimes and participate in public health programs — or they can forfeit tens of billions of dollars of funds they rely on regularly to support the roads, highways, railways, airways, ferries, and bridges that connect their communities and homes,' the attorneys general wrote in court documents. But acting Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom told the judge that Congress has given the Department of Transportation the legal right to set conditions for the grant money it administers to states, and that requiring compliance and cooperation with federal law enforcement is a reasonable exercise of that discretion. Allowing the federal government to withhold the funds while the lawsuit moves forward doesn't cause any lasting harm, Bloom wrote in court documents, because that money can always be disbursed later if needed. But requiring the federal government to release the money to uncooperative states will likely make it impossible to recoup later, if the Department of Transportation wins the case, Bloom said.
Winnipeg Free Press
32 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Zambia's ex-President Lungu will be buried in South Africa due to family's feud with Zambia
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu will be buried in South Africa instead of his homeland because of a disagreement between his family and Zambia's government over his funeral. Lungu died from an undisclosed illness at a hospital in South Africa early this month and the process to repatriate his body for burial in Zambia has been marred by a bitter feud between his family and the current Zambian government. It included the family's demand that Lungu's political rival and current President Hakainde Hichilema should not attend his funeral. The spokesperson and lawyer for the Lungu family, Makebi Zulu, said the decision to bury him in South Africa is 'in accordance with the family's wishes for a private ceremony.' 'We would especially like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of South Africa for their respectful support and for honoring the family's decision to hold a private funeral and burial here in South Africa,' Zulu said. On Thursday, Hichilema, in a televised address to the nation, canceled the 16-day national mourning that he had declared earlier. 'Our country cannot afford a state of indefinite mourning,' he said. 'We have done everything possible to engage the family of our departed sixth Republican President, and we have reached a point where a clear decision has to be made.' Hichilema also apologized to the the South African government for the inconvenience. Lungu, 68, had ruled the southern African country from 2015 to 2021, when he lost power to Hichilema. He remained an influential figure in the Zambian politics ahead of elections scheduled for next year. Lungu and Hichilema were bitter rivals. Their conflict culminated in Hichilema's imprisonment in 2017, when Lungu was president. Hichilema was accused of treason after his motorcade failed to give way to Lungu's presidential convoy. Last year, Lungu accused Hichilema's government of using police to harass him and restrict his movements. His family also said the government had initially prevented him from traveling to South Africa for treatment, a charge the government denied.
Toronto Star
40 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Rwandan opposition leader arrested over alleged plot against authorities
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A prominent opposition leader in Rwanda has been arrested on charges she assisted an alleged plot to incite public unrest. Victoire Ingabire was arrested on Thursday and is being detained in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Her team of international lawyers in a statement called her arrest 'baseless and politically motivated.'
