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Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
What is the Emerald Triangle that may lead to a war between two neighbors and bring down a prime minister
The Emerald Triangle dispute: Could this border clash bring war and topple a prime minister? Tensions are rising fast around the Emerald Triangle, a remote but highly sensitive area where Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet. It may look like a quiet border zone on the map, but recent clashes and military moves have made it a flashpoint that's now threatening to spark a regional conflict—and possibly bring down Thailand's Prime Minister. The Emerald Triangle came into global headlines when Cambodian and Thai troops exchanged fire near the disputed border in late May 2025. Since then, both countries have fortified positions, villagers have been caught in fear, and political pressure is mounting. At the heart of the issue: a long-standing disagreement over where exactly the border lies in this mountainous zone. But now, it's not just a cartography issue—it's a test of leadership, diplomacy, and peace in Southeast Asia. Why is the Emerald Triangle suddenly a crisis point? The Emerald Triangle border dispute isn't new. Thailand and Cambodia have had overlapping claims in this forested, rugged area for years. But things turned dangerous on May 28, when both sides confirmed that troops had exchanged gunfire, leading to injuries and panic among border communities. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 'Swing is King': Mr. Hemant's Strategy Finally Explained in Free Session TradeWise Learn More Undo According to Thailand's military, Cambodian soldiers had started digging trenches in the disputed zone. Cambodia later said this was to protect its border post. In response, Thailand deployed reinforcements, closed local checkpoints, and put residents on alert. Some families began digging bunkers, fearing the worst. By early June, Cambodia agreed to stop the trench digging and restore the land, but not before the conflict stirred up political debate at home and across the region. Former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, now President of the Senate, claimed the land was rightfully Cambodian, based on internationally recognized maps. He also urged both countries to take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to settle it legally. Live Events Why did a leaked call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen cause such a storm? The phone call, reportedly shared by Hun Sen with 80 politicians before being leaked, featured Paetongtarn speaking candidly about a sensitive border dispute. She addressed Hun Sen — a long-time friend of her family — as 'uncle' and criticized a Thai army officer involved in managing the flare-up at the Thai-Cambodian border. 'He just wanted to look cool and said things that are not useful,' she said of the Thai military commander, sparking a backlash over perceived disrespect to the powerful Thai military. While Paetongtarn later defended her comments as a 'negotiation technique,' critics say the call showed weakness in leadership and compromised Thailand's stance on a long-standing territorial dispute. Who has left Paetongtarn's coalition and why does it matter? On Wednesday, the Bhumjaithai Party, Thailand's second-largest political party and a key member of the ruling coalition, officially withdrew support for Paetongtarn's government. With its departure, the Peu Thai-led coalition now holds a razor-thin majority in parliament. Two more coalition parties are scheduled to meet later today to decide their stance — meaning a complete collapse of the ruling alliance is a real possibility. Paetongtarn apologized on Thursday, stating, 'I would like to apologise for the leaked audio… which has caused public resentment,' but the damage might already be done. Is this dispute putting Thailand's Prime Minister in danger? The Emerald Triangle conflict has become a serious test for Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin , who is already under pressure from coalition struggles and growing economic challenges. With the military on alert and the public nervous, any misstep could cost him his job—or worse, risk dragging the country into a deeper conflict. Srettha's government is still new and doesn't have full control over the military, which has a history of acting independently. The Thai armed forces are monitoring the border closely and may push for more aggressive moves if tensions flare up again. If the military loses faith in Srettha's handling of national security, it could spark calls for a change in leadership. Political analysts in Bangkok have warned that the Emerald Triangle issue could become a "trigger event" —something that starts as a local skirmish but ends up breaking apart the government . And in Thailand's history, military pressure has often led to either reshuffling the Cabinet or full-blown coups. Can this be resolved without war? There's still hope that diplomacy will win. On June 12, both Cambodia and Thailand agreed to de-escalate after a high-level meeting. Cambodia promised to fill the trenches, and both countries said they'd avoid further moves in disputed areas. But the story isn't over. Hun Sen continues to press the ICJ route, saying only the international court can fairly settle the boundary issue. Thailand, on the other hand, hasn't yet confirmed if it will agree to ICJ arbitration. Both sides claim to have official documents and maps backing their claims, and neither wants to back down publicly. That means the peace is fragile. While both governments may want to avoid war, border tensions can escalate quickly , especially if local commanders or military units act on their own. That's why experts are calling for immediate talks, a ceasefire agreement, and third-party observers —possibly from ASEAN or the UN. How did the leaked call impact Thai-Cambodian relations? The leak added fuel to a simmering border row between the two nations. In May, a deadly clash at a contested border zone led to the death of a Cambodian soldier. Since then, tensions have escalated. In response to Thai restrictions, Cambodia banned the import of Thai fruits and vegetables, halted Thai dramas on TV and in cinemas, and reduced Thai internet and power usage. Meanwhile, Thailand also imposed tighter border controls and entry restrictions on Cambodian citizens. In a diplomatic letter, Thailand's foreign ministry called the leak 'deeply disappointing,' adding it 'will severely affect ongoing efforts… to resolve the problem in good faith.' What's behind the long-running border dispute? The Thailand-Cambodia border dispute stretches back more than a century, linked to a 1907 map drawn under French colonial rule. Cambodia has cited that map to support its territorial claims, while Thailand rejects it as inaccurate. Disputed areas include sites like Mom Bei (Chong Bok) — where the May clash happened — and three ancient temples, including the Preah Vihear Temple, which was awarded to Cambodia in a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Thailand accepted that ruling, but disputes about land surrounding the temple have continued to spark violence. Most recently, Cambodia submitted a new case to the ICJ over four disputed border points. Thailand, however, does not accept the court's jurisdiction and prefers bilateral negotiations. Could Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign over the controversy? The pressure on Paetongtarn, the youngest and only the second female prime minister in Thailand's history, is growing. She took office in August 2024 after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was removed by the Constitutional Court for violating appointment rules. Opposition leaders and even some of her own coalition members have called for her to step down. Paetongtarn, daughter of exiled and now-returned former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, also faces scrutiny over her family's close ties with the Cambodian Hun political dynasty. Hun Sen, Cambodia's former leader, has said he will no longer engage in private phone calls with Paetongtarn. He also admitted sharing the leaked audio and later posted the full 17-minute conversation on his official Facebook page. What's next for the Thai-Cambodian border conflict? The fallout from the leaked call could shift regional dynamics. Cambodia has asked the ICJ to intervene, while Thailand remains firm in preferring bilateral talks. Both countries have shortened visa stays for each other's citizens, and economic retaliation continues on both sides. Tensions remain high, with mass rallies in Phnom Penh on Wednesday drawing tens of thousands of Cambodians in support of their government's firm stance. Hun Manet, Cambodia's new Prime Minister and son of Hun Sen, addressed the crowds, saying, 'When the country faces a threat… we will stand up in united spirit.' With national pride and political futures at stake in both nations, observers say the situation could deteriorate further unless cooler heads prevail. FAQs: Q1: Why is Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra under pressure to resign? Because of a leaked phone call with Hun Sen that upset the public and political allies. Q2: What triggered the latest Thailand-Cambodia border tensions? A fatal border clash in May and fallout from the leaked call escalated the dispute.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt asks all departments to maintain e-service book of employees
All central government departments have been asked to maintain digital service books of employees and phase out the physical ones, the Personnel Ministry has said. The service book of a government servant is a document to record all the events in his/her entire service period and career recording each and every administrative action right from the stage of recruitment till retirement to reflect the history of service. As per rules, a service book is to be maintained for a government servant and is required to be kept in the custody of the head of office in which he is serving and needs to be transferred along with the employee, upon transfer. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Prime Swing Trader Mr. Hemant Shares His Winning Strategy for Free! TradeWise Learn More Undo "It has now been decided to maintain the e-service book on e-HRMS 2.0 portal," the ministry said in an order dated June 17, issued to all government departments "Hence, all the ministries/departments, further to their onboarding on e-HRMS 2.0, are requested to maintain e-service books on e-HRMS 2.0 only and phase out physical service books ," the order said. Live Events Physical service books should be phased out after ensuring the completeness and accuracy of data in the e-service books on e-HRMS 2.0, as the same will be treated legally tenable for all purposes, it added.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Bumrah is same with Glenn McGrath in having most balanced delivery stride: Stuart Broad
Star India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah 's ability to deceive batters and his excellent balance in delivery stride makes him the player to watch out for in the upcoming marquee Test series against England, feels fast bowling great Stuart Broad . Broad compared Bumrah with the legendary Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath in having the "most balanced delivery stride" in world cricket. "He (Bumrah) jogs in, you will be thinking 'this will be 70 miles an hour' and it hits you at 90 and you don't get a real flow. When I faced Shoaib Akhtar, he sprint in at a hundred miles an hour and delivered at a hundred miles an hour," Broad said in the podcast 'For the Love of Cricket' which also featured England batter Jos Buttler . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Successful Way of Intraday Trading is "Market Profile" TradeWise Learn More Undo "You were ready, but Bumrah is so balanced, in his run-up, it's a short-stride pattern, so he never gets over stride and of balance. I look at Glenn McGrath (who) had the most balanced delivery stride that I watched and Bumrah is the same." Bumrah is not expected to play all the five-Tests of the series which has been confirmed by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir as a part of workload management . Live Events Broad, who took 604 wickets from 167 Tests before retiring in 2023, said Burmah will take a "shedload of wickets" if he plays in all the five matches of the series starting in Leeds on Friday. "He is going to be certainly one to watch and certainly someone that England won't want to play five Tests, because if he does, he's going to pick up a shedload of wickets, isn't he? "There was that great bit of play in Australia wherein he got in a scrap in the last over with (Sam) Konstas and (Usman) Khawaja was on strike. He nicked Khawaja off, got him out. He was screaming and roaring. "He has definitely got that; every fast bowler has to have that emotion in him, but there is a real sharpness to his competitive spirit (and) that he has grown up in that (Virat) Kohli (captaincy) era." Buttler said there isn't a bigger superstar in the touring Indian side than Bumrah. "I don't think there's a bigger star in that touring squad than Jasprit Bumrah," he said. "But facing him, he creates awkward angles, the run-up is unique, the action is unique. I think it have seen the side-ons (bowlers) but he delivers the ball from about a foot or even a bit more closer to the batsman than the average bowler so the ball feels quicker even than the pace he is actually bowling at." Buttler said Bumrah's action could make one feel like a sitting target. "For me as a right-hander, it always felt like it was coming in, but he could beat me on the outside, and you sort of find yourself in a horrible position, squared up and a bit of a sitting target," said the former England white-ball captain. "He is a superstar bowler, and that's what you expect in international cricket, you are going to come up against great players and certainly someone England will need to play well to have good success," he said.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Israel's next target is Fordo, a nuclear site hidden in a mountain
After striking sites critical to Iran's nuclear weapons program early Friday, Israel indicated it would next set its sights on the enrichment facility known as Fordo, Iran's second-largest and most fortified nuclear complex. The Fordo facility, built deep underground to thwart such an attack, is where Iran has stockpiled weapons-grade uranium and could quickly produce a bomb, experts said. Fordo, they added, is Israel's most formidable impediment to halting Iran's nuclear program altogether. As Israel continued attacking Iran, Michael Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the United States, confirmed his country's intention to target the site. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like "No.1 Swing Trader Mr. Hemant Reveals His Winning Strategy for Free! TradeWise Learn More Undo "The entire operation," he told Fox News in an interview, "really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo." Here is what we know about the site: Live Events Where is the Fordo enrichment facility? The facility, buried deep underground in a mountain in the village of Fordo, is roughly 20 miles from the holy city of Qom. While it is likely that construction on the plant began as early as 2006, the existence of the facility was publicly revealed in 2009. What is done there? Fordo is a uranium enrichment facility where Iran has developed centrifuges to process weapons-grade uranium up to 60% purity, an amount far higher than the 3.7% purity levels needed for civilian use. The site was built to hold roughly up to 3,000 centrifuges, which spin quickly to produce fuel for nuclear weapons or reactors, said Richard Nephew, an Iran expert at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. Iran, he said, had planned to install even more advanced centrifuges, called IR6s, that could process uranium three to five times more efficiently than the technology currently at the facility. Considering the facility's size and configuration, Nephew said it was well-suited to producing weapons. "If you don't deal with Fordo," Nephew said, "it's got enough centrifuges that it could produce a nuclear weapon pretty quickly," Who runs the facility? While it is not exactly clear who manages operations at the facility, experts said it was likely that a combination of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, the military and scientists at the plant were in charge. The security around the facility is maintained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , Nephew said. Can Israel destroy Fordo? Given the facility's location and fortifications, it would be difficult for Israel to penetrate it with traditional strikes, said Daniel Shapiro, a security expert at the Atlantic Council. Compared to Natanz, the largest Iranian nuclear facility, which Israel struck early Friday, Fordo is much less exposed. Its destruction would require much more specific bunker-busting equipment . "If you were to just sort of drop bombs on it, it wouldn't penetrate it," Nephew said. However, even if Israel doesn't breach the parts deepest underground, it still may be able to make Fordo inaccessible, by destroying the entrance to it. Experts agreed that a plan to disable the site -- perhaps a combination of special and covert operations, they said -- would be essential to stopping Iran's nuclear program. "The Israelis have got a multiday campaign plan," Nephew said. "It is inconceivable to me that Israelis would launch this attack without an idea of how to deal with Fordo." This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Foreign students scrub social media as US expands visa vetting
Nigerian student Owolabi has been meticulously scrubbing his X feed, deleting tweets and comments about U.S. policies, especially those relating to then President Donald Trump's 2018 reference to "shithole countries" in Africa. Owolabi, 23, got a place at the University of New Haven in Connecticut for a master's degree in cybersecurity this year, but with the Trump administration pausing student visa appointments ahead of new social media vetting guidelines, he is worried. "I don't know what to write on Facebook or X now that won't put me in trouble. It feels like someone is watching my every move," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 'Swing is King': Mr. Hemant's Strategy Finally Explained in Free Session TradeWise Learn More Undo Owolabi, who only wanted to be identified by his last name for fear of repercussions, was about to schedule a visa interview at the U.S embassy in the capital Abuja when he heard about the appointment pause for all applicants. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Around 50,000 students from sub-Saharan Africa come to the United States every year to study, though China and India send many more. Live Events Around 20,000 Nigerian students went to study at U.S. colleges in 2024 - the highest number from Africa. The United States is a top destination for international students because of the post-degree career opportunities. In May, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed embassies to stop scheduling new visa appointments, saying the Trump administration would review the process and expand vetting of students' social media profiles. The directive is part of a broader crackdown on international students with the administration seeking to revoke visas, and increasing deportations of international students. The U.S. administration has also taken aim at elite universities, notably Harvard. In early June, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump from barring U.S. entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programmes at the Ivy League school. The policies on foreign students are part of a broader immigration crackdown, which the White House says aims to tighten borders and enhance national security. UNWARRANTED DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE Since 2019, most U.S. visa applicants have been required to disclose their social media identifiers, such as their Facebook or X handles. But Rubio's announcement marks an escalation of the scrutiny applicants will face and raises questions about digital surveillance and the data privacy of applicants, according to digital rights lawyers. They argue that the level of scrutiny that appears to be under consideration could set a dangerous precedent for digital surveillance in immigration processes. While details about the new procedures have yet to be revealed, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the United States was prepared to use "every tool" to vet anyone who wanted to enter the country. Scrutinising visa applicants' social media activities as part of the immigration process blurs the line between legitimate security concerns and unwarranted digital surveillance, said Khadijah El-Usman, a digital rights lawyer from Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise. El-Usman said profiling applicants based on their online activity meant innocuous posts on X or Facebook might be misinterpreted, and applicants could be denied visas based on opinions or political jokes. "We've seen how even social media companies, mostly U.S.-based, misinterpret posts. What this means is that attempts at humour or political critique can be unfairly flagged as security threats," El-Usman said. 'CHILLING EFFECT' Digital rights campaigners warned the U.S. move could prompt other countries to normalise digital surveillance as part of immigration processes. If that happens, all social media users are at risk of being wrongly profiled, said Mojirayo Ogunlana, executive director of Nigeria-based DiGiCiVic Initiative. "If someone in a moment of anger says, 'Why is America supporting Israel?' and they post that on X or Facebook, does that mean they are a terrorist? Or that they are a national security threat? Is that a legitimate reason to deny them visas?" Ogunlana said. She said people would increasingly self-censor online by sharing content that aligned with the religious and political ideologies of the U.S government in case they needed to apply for visas. This has a "chilling effect on freedom of expression" globally, she said adding that young people, who use social media to express frustrations and draw the world's attention to specific causes, will be afraid to do so. "Knowing that a foreign government might review their tweets or Instagram stories would lead to self-censorship," El-Usman said. "It encourages the idea that being authentic about your thoughts is risky and forces potential visa applicants and asylum seekers to conform to a government agenda - the U.S in this case." Barbadian student Blackman, who lives in the capital Bridgetown and also only wanted to give his last name, said he deleted his X and Facebook accounts after receiving an email in May saying his visa application was on administrative hold. Blackman, 20, who has been accepted for a master's degree in pharmacy at the University of Massachusetts, said classes start in August, but he has yet to hear back about his application. He has deleted his social media accounts, but is worried about his blog posts in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States as they are still visible online. "The internet gave young people like me a voice to speak about racism and police brutality. Now, I feel silenced and monitored," Blackman said.
