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Trump Says He Will Make Telephone Call to Stop Renewed Thailand-Cambodia Fighting 

Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Says He Will Make Telephone Call to Stop Renewed Thailand-Cambodia Fighting 

Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of targeting civilians in border attacks on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump said he would make a telephone call to stop the fighting and salvage a ceasefire he brokered in July.

The Southeast Asian neighbors have blamed each other for the clashes that started on Monday, and remain at odds over a diplomatic solution to months of simmering tension.

Asked about the prospect of further intervention by Trump, a Thai government spokesperson said there had been no talks with him so far, while Bangkok's position was that negotiations should not be initiated by a third party.

"It should not start with a mediator, but it must start with Cambodia changing its stance, stopping threatening Thailand and formally requesting negotiations with Thailand," Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters.

Cambodian government spokesperson Pen Bona said Phnom Penh's position remained the same, that it wanted only peace, and had only acted in self-defense.

The responses followed Trump's offer to halt the renewed Southeast Asian hostilities, made at a rally in Pennsylvania after enumerating the wars he claimed to have helped stop, such as those between Pakistan and India, and Israel and Iran.

"I hate to say this one, named Cambodia-Thailand, and it started up today, and tomorrow I am going to have to make a phone call," he added.

"Who else could say, 'I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?'"

In an interview on Tuesday, Thailand's foreign minister had said he saw no potential for negotiations, adding that the situation was not conducive to third-party mediation.

A top adviser to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet told Reuters that day his country was "ready to talk at any time".

CLAIMS CIVILIAN AREAS HIT

On Wednesday, Cambodia withdrew its athletes from the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, citing safety reasons and their families' concern.

Thailand's military said BM-21 rockets fired by Cambodian forces landed near the Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Surin district on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of patients and staff to a shelter.

Drones and BM-21 rockets and tanks were used at other border points, including the vicinity of the contested Preah Vihear temple complex, it added.

"Our forces destroyed an anti-drone position to the south of Chong Chom in order to support operations to clear Cambodian elements in a mango plantation ... across the line of operations," the military said in an update, referring to a Thai border town.

Cambodia's military said Thailand used artillery fire and armed drones in attacks in Pursat province, fired mortars into homes in Battambang province, while its F-16 fighter jets entered Cambodian airspace to drop bombs near civilian areas.

LAND MINE ALLEGATIONS RAISED TENSION

Trump has previously spoken to leaders of both countries and been central to the fragile truce between them since five days of fighting in July, which killed at least 48 people and was their heaviest conflict in recent history.

In July, Trump used the leverage of trade negotiations to broker a ceasefire. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Reuters on Tuesday he did not think tariff threats should be used to pressure his country into talks.

Last month, Thailand suspended de-escalation measures agreed at an October summit in Trump's presence, after a Thai soldier was maimed by a landmine that Bangkok said was newly laid by Cambodia, which rejects the accusation.

Both countries have said they have evacuated hundreds of thousands from border areas, though some people have stayed behind, hoping to avoid the fighting.

"I have to stay behind," said Wuttikrai Chimngarm, as he hunkered down behind a makeshift bunker of tires stacked six high while shelling shook Thailand's border province of Buriram.

"I'm the head of the village, if not me, then who? Who will be safeguarding the houses and belongings of the villagers from looters?"

As soon as Monday's fighting erupted, wary residents fled the disputed village of Kaun Kriel, about 25 km (15 miles) northwest of Cambodia's city of Samraong.

"This is my second run because the place I live ... was under attack both times," said Cambodian Marng Sarun, a 31-year-old harvester who left with his wife and two children.

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World

US Backs Japan in Dispute with China Over Radar Incident 

An undated photograph taken and provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense shows China’s aircraft carrier "Liaoning", issued on 08 December 2025. (EPA/Japan’s Defense Ministry via Jiji Press)
An undated photograph taken and provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense shows China’s aircraft carrier "Liaoning", issued on 08 December 2025. (EPA/Japan’s Defense Ministry via Jiji Press)
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US Backs Japan in Dispute with China Over Radar Incident 

An undated photograph taken and provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense shows China’s aircraft carrier "Liaoning", issued on 08 December 2025. (EPA/Japan’s Defense Ministry via Jiji Press)
An undated photograph taken and provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense shows China’s aircraft carrier "Liaoning", issued on 08 December 2025. (EPA/Japan’s Defense Ministry via Jiji Press)

The United States has for the first time criticized China for aiming radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, an incident over which the Asian neighbors have given differing accounts amid escalating tensions.

The run-in near Japan's Okinawa islands comes after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km (62 miles) from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes on which Tokyo relies.

"China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability," a State Department spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident.

"The US-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara welcomed the comments, saying they "demonstrate the strong US-Japan alliance".

BEIJING DEFENDS MILITARY DRILLS

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun avoided direct criticism of the US remarks, reiterating that China's training and exercise activities were in line with international law and conducted safely in a restrained manner.

"We hope that the international community can tell right from wrong and not be hoodwinked by the Japanese side. Japan's allies, in particular, should heighten their vigilance and not be manipulated by Japan," he added.

Japan late on Tuesday scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country. On Wednesday, Japan's coast guard said its ships spotted four Chinese coast guard vessels inside what it says is its territory near the disputed but Japan-administered Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, and that it was attempting to make them leave.

China's coast guard said it was carrying out a "legal" operation to safeguard the country's rights and interests. China calls the uninhabited islands the Diaoyu.

MOST SERIOUS INCIDENT IN YEARS

The Chinese fighter jets aiming their radars at the Japanese planes on Saturday was the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years.

Such moves are seen as a threatening step because they signal a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Tokyo blasted the moves as "dangerous".

Beijing, however, said that the Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said China's drills were "very inappropriate behavior".

"We also call upon China to demonstrate the responsibility befitting a major power. Peace is priceless; war has no winners. Peace must be fostered by all parties, and China shares this responsibility," he said.

Relations between Asia's two largest economies have soured sharply since Takaichi told parliament last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation" and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.

Beijing has demanded she retract the remarks, accusing Tokyo of threatening it militarily and advising its citizens not to travel to Japan.

US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have remained silent.

Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, phoned Takaichi last month, urging her not to escalate the dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

World

US Imposes Sanctions on Network it Accuses of Recruiting Colombians in Support of Sudan’s RSF

Sudanese refugee children from el-Fasher stand at sunset in the Tine transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Sudanese refugee children from el-Fasher stand at sunset in the Tine transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Imposes Sanctions on Network it Accuses of Recruiting Colombians in Support of Sudan’s RSF

Sudanese refugee children from el-Fasher stand at sunset in the Tine transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Sudanese refugee children from el-Fasher stand at sunset in the Tine transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in eastern Chad, November 23, 2025. (Reuters)

The US imposed sanctions on Tuesday on actors it accuses of fueling the war in Sudan, taking aim at what it said was a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military personnel and trains soldiers, including children, to fight for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that it imposed sanctions on four individuals and four entities that were part of the network, which it said was largely comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

“The RSF has shown again and again that it is willing to target civilians, including infants and young children. Its brutality has deepened the conflict and destabilized the region, creating the conditions for terrorist groups to grow,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said in the statement.

It said since the beginning of the conflict in April 2023, the RSF and its allied militias have repeatedly targeted civilians, systematically killing men and boys, even infants, and deliberately assaulting women and girls through rape and other forms of sexual violence. “Despite recent attempts to downplay its misdeeds, the RSF continues to perpetrate these atrocities, most recently in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur,” the statement continued.

It said that supported by Colombian fighters, the RSF captured El Fasher on October 26, 2025, after an 18-month siege, and subsequently engaged in mass killings of civilians, ethnically targeted torture, and sexual violence.

On January 7, 2025, the State Department announced its determination that members of the RSF committed genocide.

The US said it remains committed to the principles outlined in the September 12, 2025, Joint Statement on Restoring Peace and Security in Sudan, which calls for a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transparent transition process leading to an independent, civilian-led government.

The Treasury statement said that since September 2024, hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have traveled to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF.

These Colombians provide the RSF with tactical and technical expertise, serving as infantry and artillerymen, drone pilots, vehicle operators, and instructors, with some even training children to fight in the RSF.

The Colombian fighters have participated in numerous battles across Sudan, including in its capital, Khartoum, as well as Omdurman, Kordofan, and el-Fasher. The presence of Colombian fighters in Sudan would not be possible without the assistance of numerous individuals and companies, mostly from Colombia.

Among those targeted was Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national, is a retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates who plays a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian military personnel to Sudan.

Quijano, a former associate of the Colombia-based Notre del Valle Cartel, is supported by a network of associates and companies that specializes in recruiting fighters and facilitating the movement of funds related to their deployment.

In Colombia, Bogota-based International Services Agency (A4SI), an employment agency that Quijano co-founded, is the main recruiting node, having engaged in campaigns via its website, group chats, and townhalls to fill positions, including drone operators, snipers, and translators.

Quijano’s wife, Colombian national Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, is A4SI’s owner and manager.

As for Maine Global Corp SAS (Maine Global Corp), it is a Bogota, Colombia-based employment agency managed by dual Colombian-Spanish national Mateo Andres Duque Botero, who serves as the shareholder, president, director or manager of firms in Colombia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Maine Global Corp manages and disburses funds for Global Staffing and the company that hired the Colombians, with the support of US-based firms associated with Duque.

This includes processing payroll payments for the Colombian fighters and serving as a foreign exchange intermediary, converting euros and Colombian pesos to US dollars, the Treasury statement showed.

It said in 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totaling millions of US dollars, with Maine Global Corp, Global Staffing, and the company hiring the Colombian fighters.

The statement added that Colombian national Monica Munoz Ucros, is Maine Global Corp’s alternate manager and the manager of Bogota, Colombia-based Comercializadora San Bendito, which engaged in wire transfers with a US company associated with Duque and directly with Duque.

World

Why Japan Issued an Advisory for a Possible Megaquake in the Country’s North 

A car is stranded on a collapsed road in Tohoku, Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, 09 December 2025. (EPA/Jiji Press)
A car is stranded on a collapsed road in Tohoku, Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, 09 December 2025. (EPA/Jiji Press)
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Why Japan Issued an Advisory for a Possible Megaquake in the Country’s North 

A car is stranded on a collapsed road in Tohoku, Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, 09 December 2025. (EPA/Jiji Press)
A car is stranded on a collapsed road in Tohoku, Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, 09 December 2025. (EPA/Jiji Press)

Japan issued a megaquake advisory Tuesday after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main island of Honshu, and just south of the northern island of Hokkaido. Damage from this quake was modest — 34 mostly mild injuries and some damage to roads and buildings.

Officials said the advisory is not a prediction and the probability of a magnitude 8 or larger quake is only about 1%. But there’s hope the advisory will serve as a wake-up call for a quake that could have the devastation of the 2011 disaster that killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed a nuclear plant.

There's said to be an increased risk of a subsequent, magnitude-8 or larger quake within the next week. Officials are urging residents, especially along coastal areas, to be well prepared so they can grab an emergency bag and run as soon as possible if a bigger quake hits.

This advisory seemed mindful compared with another advisory last year. The southern half of Japan's Pacific coastline received a "Nankai Trough" megaquake advisory in the summer of 2024, but the ambiguity of that warning led to panic buying of emergency food, event cancellations and business closures.

A megaquake advisory for Japan's northeastern coast

The Japan Meteorological Agency says Monday's powerful quake temporarily increased potential risks in the regions of Hokkaido and the Sanriku coast. That's where the Pacific Plate beneath Japan forms the two trenches — the Japan Trench and Chishima Trench — that have caused many large quakes in the past.

Experts say the deadly quake and tsunami in 2011 was caused by movement associated with the Japan Trench. It spans from off the eastern coast of Chiba to Aomori, and the Chishima Trench goes from the eastern coast of Hokkaido to the northern islands and the Kurils.

In explaining the advisory, the JMA said the magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011, that devastated large swaths of Japan's northern coast occurred two days after a magnitude 7.3 temblor that occurred at the Japan Trench off the eastern coast of Iwate, one of the hardest-hit areas in that disaster as well as in Monday's quake.

The 2011 quake caused a tsunami that battered northern coastal towns in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The tsunami, which topped 15 meters (50 feet) in some areas, slammed into and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. That created deep fears of radiation that linger to this day.

A megaquake could cause a 98-foot tsunami and kill nearly 200,000

Another offshore megaquake in the Hokkaido-Sanriku area could cause up to a 30-meter (98-foot) tsunami in the region, kill as many as 199,000 people, destroy up to 220,000 houses and buildings, and cause estimated economic damages of up to 31 trillion yen ($198 billion), according to an estimate by the government. It says as many as 42,000 people could suffer from hypothermia in the winter.

The areas covered by the advisory extend across 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba prefecture.

Japan's separate advisory for an even more damaging megaquake stemming from the Nankai Trough, which affects the southern half of Japan's Pacific coast, was activated for the first time last August after a magnitude 7.1 quake occurred off the eastern coast of Miyazaki.

In a 2013 damage estimate for a possible Nankai Trough megaquake, the government said a magnitude 9.1 quake could generate a tsunami exceeding 10 meters (33 feet) within minutes, killing as many as 323,000 people, destroying more than 2 million buildings and causing economic damage exceeding 200 trillion yen ($1.28 trillion) in the region.

Officials call on people to be calm and prepared

Officials are stressing that the latest advisory has no prediction for any megaquake happening at any specific time or location, a Cabinet official for disaster prevention, Tsukasa Morikubo, told a news conference early Tuesday. He called on residents to be cautious and prepared while continuing their daily activity and work.

Officials urge people to keep an emergency bag containing a few days' worth of daily necessities along with shoes and helmets. People in the region are also advised to discuss evacuation procedures with family members and sleep in day clothes, not in pajamas, so they can flee immediately. Furniture should also be fixed to the floor or the wall.

The designated municipalities explained the advisory on their websites and started inspecting stocks of relief goods and equipment to be used at evacuation centers.

Iwaki City in Fukushima urged residents to register for emergency emails, while officials in the town of Oarai in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, inspected wireless communication devices.

Japan's first megaquake advisory in August of last year contained a lot of scientific jargon. It worried and baffled many across the country. Some towns closed beaches and canceled annual events, disappointing many travelers during local holidays.

Many people postponed planned trips and rushed to stock up on rice, dried noodles, bottled water and portable toilets, leaving shelves empty at many supermarkets in western Japan and even Tokyo, which is outside of the at-risk area.