US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
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US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)

The United States on Friday announced some $45 million in aid as it tries to bolster a fragile truce between Thailand and Cambodia.

Michael DeSombre, the top State Department official for East Asia, was visiting Thailand and Cambodia to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire, which President Donald Trump has sought to highlight as an achievement.

DeSombre said the United States would offer $20 million to help both countries combat drug trafficking and cyber scams, which have become a major concern in Cambodia.

He also said the United States would give $15 million to help support people displaced by the recent fighting as well as $10 million for demining, AFP said.

"The United States will continue to support the Cambodian and Thai governments as they implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords and pave the way for a return to peace, prosperity and stability for their people and the region," DeSombre said in a statement.

He was referring to an agreement signed between the two countries in the presence of Trump during an October visit to Malaysia, then head of the ASEAN regional bloc.

Major new clashes erupted last month. The two sides reached a truce on December 27 after three weeks of fighting, although Thailand accused Cambodia of violating in apparent accidental fire.

Cambodia has called on Thailand to pull out its forces from several border areas that Phnom Penh claims as its own.

The nations' long-standing conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.

Trump has listed the conflict as one of a number of wars he says he has solved as he loudly insists he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump on taking office drastically slashed foreign aid, including for months freezing longstanding assistance to Cambodia for demining, with the administration saying it will provide money only in support of narrow US interests.



US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
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US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP

A US immigration judge has blocked the deportation of a Palestinian graduate student who helped organize protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza, according to US media reports.

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents last year as he was attending an interview to become a US citizen.

Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of demonstrations that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel began a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian born in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has been a legal US permanent resident since 2015 and graduated from the prestigious New York university in May. He has been free from federal custody since April.

In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said that President Donald Trump's administration did not provide sufficient evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States, multiple media outlets reported.

Froes reportedly questioned the authenticity of a copy of a document purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said Mahdawi's activism "could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment," according to the New York Times.

Rubio has argued that federal law grants him the authority to summarily revoke visas and deport migrants who pose threats to US foreign policy.

The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which marked a setback in the Republican president's efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus activists.

The administration has also attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, another student activist who co-founded a Palestinian student group at Columbia, alongside Mahdawi.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government's attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys and published Tuesday by several media outlets.

"This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice."


Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
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Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)

A fire broke out in Iran's Parand near the capital city Tehran, state media reported on Wednesday, publishing videos of smoke rising over the area which is close to several military and strategic sites in the country's Tehran province, Reuters reported.

"The black smoke seen near the city of Parand is the result of a fire in the reeds around the Parand river bank... fire fighters are on site and the fire extinguishing operation is underway", state media cited the Parand fire department as saying.


Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force it wants assurances from the United States that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three sources told Reuters.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the first formal meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, alongside delegations from at least 20 countries.

Trump, who will chair the meeting, is expected to announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave.

Three government sources said during the Washington visit Sharif wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before making a decision on deploying troops.

"We are ready to send troops. Let me make it clear that our troops could only be part of a peace mission in Gaza," said one of the sources, a close aide of Sharif.

"We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question," he said.

Analysts say Pakistan would be an asset to the multinational force, with its experienced military that has gone to war with arch-rival India and tackled insurgencies.

"We can send initially a couple of thousand troops anytime, but we need to know what role they are going to play," the source added.

Two of the sources said it was likely Sharif, who has met Trump earlier this year in Davos and late last year at the White House, would either have an audience with him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day at the White House.

Initially designed to cement Gaza's ceasefire, Trump sees the Board of Peace, launched in late January, taking a wider role in resolving global conflicts. Some countries have reacted cautiously, fearing it could become a rival to the United Nations.

While Pakistan has supported the establishment of the board, it has voiced concerns against the mission to demilitarize Gaza's militant group Hamas.