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Palestinian Activist Expecting US Citizenship Interview Is Arrested Instead by ICE in Vermont 

Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
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Palestinian Activist Expecting US Citizenship Interview Is Arrested Instead by ICE in Vermont 

Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)
Mohsen Mahdawi, center, looks on during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. (AP)

A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalizing his US citizenship, his attorneys said.

Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said.

The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.

"The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional," attorney Luna Droubi said in an email.

According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master's degree program there in the fall.

The petition describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in "non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion."

As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US and graduate student who recently was detained by ICE.

Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza. On Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk.

Christopher Helali, a friend of Mahdawi who lives near him in Vermont, was present outside the immigration office when Mahdawi was detained and recorded a video of Mahdawi being led away by authorities. In the video, which Helali released on social media Monday, Mahdawi is shown giving a peace sign with his hands and being led away to a car.

Helali described Mahdawi as a peaceful demonstrator who has worked to foster dialogue about the struggle of Palestinians in his homeland. Helali said he and Mahdawi were aware that Mahdawi could be detained today and that his friend went forward with the appointment anyway.

"And rightfully so, he was nervous for what was going on around him. But he was very much resolute in coming to this interview and coming today because he didn’t do anything wrong and was a law-abiding citizen, or soon-to-be citizen," Helali said.

Vermont's congressional delegation issued a statement condemning Mahdawi's arrest, saying that instead of taking one of the final steps in his citizenship process, he was handcuffed by armed officers with their faces covered.

"This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention," said the statement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint.

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World

Ukraine Can Hold Elections within Months if Security Is Ensured, Zelenskyy Says 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, looks back at the media in Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, looks back at the media in Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP)
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Ukraine Can Hold Elections within Months if Security Is Ensured, Zelenskyy Says 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, looks back at the media in Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, looks back at the media in Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP)

Ukrainian officials were expected to hand their latest peace proposals to United States negotiators Wednesday, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also said Ukraine would be ready for elections within three months if partners can guarantee a safe vote during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered.

Zelenskyy was responding to comments by US President Donald Trump in which he questioned Ukraine’s democracy and suggested the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to hold an election.

Zelenskyy told reporters late Tuesday that he is “ready” for an election but would need help from the US and possibly Europe to ensure security for a vote to happen. He suggested that Ukraine could be ready to hold balloting in 60 to 90 days if that proviso is met.

“To hold elections, two issues must be addressed: primarily, security — how to conduct them, how to do it under strikes, under missile attacks; and a question regarding our military — how they would vote,” Zelenskyy said.

“And the second issue is the legislative framework required to ensure the legitimacy of elections,” he said.

Previously, Zelenskyy had pointed out that a ballot can’t legally take place while martial law imposed due to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago is in place. He has also asked how a vote could happen when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombarded by Russia and almost 20% of the country is under Russian occupation.

Zelenskyy said he has asked lawmakers from his party in Parliament to draw up legislative proposals that would allow elections while Ukraine is under martial law.

Ukrainians have on the whole supported Zelenskyy’s arguments, and there has been no clamor in Ukraine for an election. Under the Ukrainian law that is in force, Zelenskyy’s rule is legitimate.

But with Trump pressing hard for a deal between Kyiv and Moscow, Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing the American president that he is willing to make some compromises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly complained that Zelenskyy can’t legitimately negotiate a peace settlement because his five-year term in office that began in 2019 has expired.

“I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election,” Trump said in an interview with Politico, echoing Moscow’s stance.

US, Russia seek closer ties

A new US national security strategy released last Friday made it clear that Trump wants to improve America’s relationship with Moscow and “reestablish strategic stability with Russia.”

The document also portrays European allies as weak.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday praised Trump’s role in the Ukraine peace effort, saying in a speech at the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s Parliament, that Moscow appreciates his “commitment to dialogue.”

Trump, Lavrov said, is “the only Western leader” who shows “an understanding of the reasons that made war in Ukraine inevitable.”

While Trump’s decisions are likely to be pivotal for Ukraine, Washington’s peace efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

Trump’s initial peace proposal was heavily slanted toward Russia’s demands. To counter that, Zelenskyy has turned to his European supporters.

In recent days, Zelenskyy met the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, and the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, before traveling on to Rome for talks with the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.

Zelenskyy said three documents were being discussed with American and European partners — a 20-point framework document that is constantly changing, a document on security guarantees, and a document about Ukraine’s recovery.

Military aid for Ukraine declines

Europe’s support is uneven, however, and that has meant a drop-off in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kyiv unless they were paid for by other NATO countries.

Foreign military help for Ukraine fell sharply over the summer, and that trend continued through September and October, a German body that tracks international help for Ukraine said Wednesday.

Average annual aid, mostly provided by the US and Europe, was around 41.6 euros billion ($48.4 billion) between 2022–2024. But so far this year Ukraine has received just 32.5 billion euros ($37.8 billion), the Kiel Institute said.

“If this slower pace continues in the remaining months (of the year), 2025 will become the year with the lowest level of new aid allocations” since the war began, it said.

This year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have substantially increased their help for Ukraine, while Germany nearly tripled its average monthly allocations and France and the UK both more than doubled their contributions, according to the Kiel Institute.

On the other hand, it said, Spain recorded no new military aid for Kyiv in 2025 while Italy reduced its low contributions by 15% compared with 2022–2024.

World

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.

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.