Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand – A court is poised to decide whether Thailand’s most consequential and controversial political figure of the past 25 years, Thaksin Shinawatra, insulted the country’s revered monarchy, a crime that can land a culprit in jail for up to 15 years.

The charge, under Thailand’s strict “lese-majeste” royal defamation law, stems from an interview the 76-year-old business tycoon and former prime minister gave to a South Korean newspaper in 2015 regarding a military coup that toppled his sister and then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014.

Though holding no official role in government, Thaksin remains a towering figure bearing over Thailand’s stormy politics, and the verdict on Friday will test the state of his long-fraught relationship with the country’s powerful royalist establishment.

“The prosecution is of great political significance,” said Verapat Pariyawong, a Thai law and politics scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London.

“If found innocent, Mr Thaksin would rely on the verdict as proof that he has always been a loyalist, contrary to the accusations by his political opponents which inflamed conflicts over the past two decades,” Verapat told Al Jazeera.

A guilty verdict, on the other hand, could “trigger a new round of political conflicts”, he said.

“Some would see it as a breakdown of the so-called grand compromise that paved the way for Mr Thaksin’s return to Thailand, and undoubtedly many will link the guilty verdict to other pending major court decisions not just against Mr Thaksin but also his daughter and suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra,” he added.

After 15 years in self-imposed exile, Thaksin returned to Thailand in 2023.

That lengthy absence from Thailand helped him to avoid a prison sentence on a prior corruption charge, though he was still forced to complete a commuted term in custody on his return home.

His latest tribulations stem from a royal defamation charge in June 2024, and he is also on trial for allegedly faking ill health in order to serve his sentence for corruption outside of jail.

Thaksin’s daughter and currently the country’s suspended prime minister, Paetongtarn, is being prosecuted for an alleged breach of ethics over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former prime minister and strongman Hun Sen.

A court suspended Paetongtarn from her duties as premier on ethical grounds last month after Hun Sen leaked their phone conversation, in which the Thai prime minister spoke reverentially to the Cambodian leader.

During the call, Paetongtarn referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and criticised a Thai army commander.

Her political adversaries and other people said it was unbecoming of a Thai premier to have addressed a foreign leader so deferentially, and criticising the military is also a red line in a country where the politically powerful armed forces are held in high esteem.

A court is due to rule in Paetongtarn’s case on August 29, a verdict which could see her removed from office permanently.

Power player

Thaksin’s path to the pinnacle of Thai politics started modestly, with a stretch in the national police force beginning in the early 1970s.

With the help of a government scholarship, he earned a master’s degree and then a doctorate in criminal justice in the United States before returning to public service in Thailand and resigning from the police force as a lieutenant colonel in 1987.

Leveraging his professional contacts, Thaksin tried his hand at a number of business ventures before striking gold in telecommunications, founding and, in time, building his Shin Corp into an industry leader.

It also launched Thaksin onto Thailand’s richest list.

Last month, Forbes ranked Thaksin 11th among the country’s wealthiest families or people, with a personal net worth of $2.1bn.

In the 1990s, Thaksin started parlaying his business success into a political career, founding his first of many parties by the end of the decade.

On the back of a populist platform that promised affordable healthcare and debt relief, he landed in the prime minister’s office with a resounding general election win in 2001 and another in 2005.

But mounting scandals cut his second four-year term short.

Amid accusations of corruption over the $1.9bn sale of Shin Corp and an unrelated land deal that prompted mass protests, the Thai military removed Thaksin and his government in a 2006 coup.

A Thai court convicted him over the land deal the next year. To avoid jail, he fled into self-imposed exile in 2008.

Wanwichit Boonprong, a Rangsit University lecturer, says Thaksin had made powerful enemies within the country’s military – a force that has grown accustomed to managing its internal affairs largely independent of the government – by trying to steer the appointment and transfer of high-ranking officers.

By seeming to meddle in the military’s work, Wanwichit told Al Jazeera, Thaksin raised fears that he was bent on both “undermining the military and weakening the monarchy”.

The military has long prided itself as the ultimate protector of the Thai monarchy, a touchstone of the country’s influential conservative movement.

Thaksin also pulled off the rare feat in 2005 of winning enough seats in the House of Representatives to form a government without the need for any coalition partners, making him uncommonly potent as a political force.

That popularity scared his critics, says Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, an assistant professor at Chulalongkorn University.

“That popularity, combined with his quick and outspoken manner, raised a lot of people’s suspicion that he might want to or he might try to compete with King Bhumibol [Adulyadej],” he said.

While there was little, if any, proof to back that up, Khemthong said, “it became a very convenient tool to mobilise people” against Thaksin.

‘Super active’

But even in exile overseas, Thaksin continued to dominate Thai politics.

Parties tied to the Shinawatra family kept winning elections and forming governments, only to be thwarted by the military or the courts each time.

With a prison sentence hanging over him, the tech mogul stayed abroad for 15 years, until returning to Bangkok to cheering crowds on August 22, 2023.

Before leaving the airport, Thaksin ostentatiously prostrated himself before a portrait of the country’s new king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, son of the late King Bhumibol.

The very same day, the Shinawatras’s latest party, Pheu Thai, secured the premiership for its candidate, Srettha Thavisin, by backing out of a planned coalition with the more progressive Move Forward party, which had won that year’s general election.

Pheu Thai rejected speculation that it had struck a “grand bargain” with the conservative establishment by pulling away from Move Forward, which had campaigned on reining in the military and the monarchy’s powers, in exchange for Thaksin’s safe return.

However, only nine days later, King Vajiralongkorn commuted Thaksin’s prison sentence from eight years to one, and he was out on parole within months. He had also spent his entire six months in custody in a private room in the luxury wing of a state hospital.

Now, with Thaksin on the brink of another conviction that could again send him to jail, the “grand bargain” is seen to be fraying.

“A lot of people understand that when Thaksin came back he would lay low, that he was allowed to come back but he wasn’t allowed to be politically active, he should stay at home, be quiet. But instead of that he was super active,” said Chulalongkorn University’s Khemthong.

Despite having no official role in the Pheu Thai party or the government it now leads, Thaksin has spent little time out of the spotlight since returning home less than two years ago – proposing grand policy prescriptions at public fora, touring constituencies with reporters in tow, conferring with domestic and international leaders alike.

“So, a lot of people speculate that the [defamation] charge was to put more control over him, to control his behaviour, his political activism,” Khemthong said.

Thaksin’s continued high-profile lifestyle has also led to the popular belief that he, not his daughter, is still the real power behind the party, and by extension the government.

“Everyone knows that Thaksin is the spiritual leader and the real owner of the Pheu Thai Party,” said Rangsit University’s Wanwichit.

“Using this [defamation] case is akin to trying to keep Thaksin in check in the conservative power play,” and amounts to insisting that “he must obey the conservatives’ established guidelines,” Wanwichit added.

‘Court battle’

Critics of Thailand’s royal defamation law, or of how the courts use it, say it has long been swung like a cudgel against threats – real or imagined – to the conservative establishment’s political power and privilege.

The law, under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, prescribes up to 15 years in jail for anyone who “defames, insults or threatens” the king, queen, heir apparent or regent.

But Verapat, of SOAS, says many have “fallen victim” to the courts’ “expansive interpretation” of the law.

In January 2024, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the Move Forward party had breached the law by promoting a bill that proposed limits on how it could be used.

The panel of judges accused the party of harbouring a hidden agenda to undermine the country’s constitutional monarchy and ordered Move Forward to disband as a political movement.

When thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bangkok through much of 2020, calling on the military-aligned government at the time to step down, their list of demands grew to include reforms meant to rein in the monarchy’s alleged influence over politics in the military’s favour.

Since then, more than 280 people have been charged under Section 112, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a local advocacy group.

Among the most prominent of the 2020 protesters was lawyer Arnon Nampa, who has been sentenced to a cumulative 27 years and eight months following his 10th conviction on a royal defamation charge in July.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights has called the use of the law “a form of violence against those who exercise their right to freedom of expression”.

The defamation case against Thaksin, which is based on a 10-year-old interview in which he criticised no one strictly covered by Section 112, fits into that same, expansive “modus operandi”, Chulalongkorn University’s Khemthong said.

Whichever way the verdict goes on Friday, analysts say the fallout for Thaksin and the Shinawatra family is unlikely to be immediately known, as either side can and probably will appeal.

Khemthong said the case against Thaksin could continue to drag out for months, if not a year or more.

Rangsit University’s Wanwichit concurred.

“The appeals court battle will likely continue regardless of the verdict,” he said.

THERE are fears for a Thai princess after the royal palace shared a concerning health update following her three-year-long coma battle.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest daughter of King Vajiralongkorn, is said to have developed a severe infection.

5

5

5

The 46-year-old, affectionately known as Princess Bha, collapsed in December, 2022, while training her dogs in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast of Bangkok.

She has been in a coma ever since.

The Bureau of the Royal Household gave the first update on her condition in more than two years on Friday, saying she had suffered a “severe” blood infection.

The palace said in a following update that a team of doctors were closely monitoring her situation.

It read: “The medical team said that she remains in a state of low blood pressure, requiring continuous treatment.

“Doctors are administering medication to stabilise her blood pressure, along with medical equipment and antibiotics to support kidney function and breathing.”

Over the years, some reports have suggested her health condition is far more serious than the palace is letting on.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha was training her dogs at a working dog championship organised by the Thaiarmy when she collapsed.

Paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital before a helicopter took her to Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn health facility.

Bajrakitiyabha is the daughter of the king’s first wife, Princess Soamsawali.

She has been part of her father’s inner circle since he came to the throne in 2016 and is a senior officer in the king’s personal guard.

The fitness enthusiast is widely viewed as the most suitable successor for her father, who turned 70 this year.

She has post-graduate law degrees from two US universities and has long called for prison reforms in Thailand.

She was also the Thai ambassador to Austria between 2012 and 2014.

The 73-year-old king, who has seven children from four marriages, has not announced his chosen heir.

Though succession rules in Thailand favour men.

5

5

Cambodia dismisses Thai army accusation that it breached truce and international law after incident near border.

A Thai soldier has been seriously injured by a landmine near the Cambodian border, days after both countries agreed to a ceasefire following last month’s deadly border clashes.

The soldier’s left ankle was badly damaged on Tuesday after he stepped on the device while patrolling about 1km (0.6 miles) from the Ta Moan Thom Temple in Thailand’s Surin province, the army said. He is receiving treatment in hospital.

Thai army spokesperson Major General Winthai Suvaree said the incident proved Cambodia had breached the truce and violated international agreements, including the Ottawa Convention banning landmines.

“Cambodia continues to covertly plant landmines while the Thai army has consistently adhered to peaceful approaches and has not been the initiating party,” he said.

The statement warned that if violations continued, Thailand might “exercise the right of self-defence under international law principles to resolve situations that cause Thailand to continuously lose personnel due to violations of ceasefire agreements and sovereignty encroachments by Cambodian military forces”.

Phnom Penh dismissed the accusation, insisting it has not laid new mines.

“Cambodia, as a proud and responsible State Party to the Ottawa Convention, maintains an absolute and uncompromising position: we have never used, produced, or deployed new landmines under any circumstances, and we strictly and fully honour our obligations under international law,” the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence said in a social media post.

This is the fourth landmine incident in recent weeks involving Thai soldiers along the two Southeast Asian neighbours’ disputed border. On Saturday, three soldiers were injured in a blast between Thailand’s Sisaket province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.

Two earlier incidents on July 16 and 23 prompted a downgrade in diplomatic relations and triggered five days of fighting that erupted on July 24.

Those battles, the worst between the neighbours in more than a decade, saw exchanges of artillery fire and air strikes that killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 on both sides.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of planting mines on its side of the border, which stretches 817km (508 miles), with ownership of the Ta Moan Thom and 11th-century Preah Vihear temples at the heart of the dispute.

The fragile truce has held since last week when both governments agreed to allow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) observers to monitor contested areas to prevent further fighting.

A WOMAN’S body has been found chained by the neck and tied underwater with two concrete dumbbells at a popular fishing pier in Thailand.

The horror discovery was made after stunned locals spotted the corpse floating close to shore.

1

The body was found on Friday near Ban Tha Yai pier in Phang Nga’s Mueang district.

Police Lieutenant Pheerawit Chaichanyut of Khok Kloi Police Station said officers rushed to the scene with Kusoltham Foundation rescue workers after receiving an emergency call.

The victim – whose identity, address, and nationality are still unknown – was wearing grey shorts and a brown round-neck T-shirt.

Police believe she had been dead for around two days before being found in the murky waters.

A heavy chain had been wrapped tightly around her neck and secured to two concrete dumbbells in what investigators believe was a calculated attempt to keep the body hidden on the seabed.

But despite the grim effort, currents carried her to the surface and she drifted close to land.

“This is a serious case, and we are treating it as a possible murder,” Pol. Lt. Pheerawit said.

“The way the body was weighted down points towards an attempt to conceal it.”

The body has been sent for a full autopsy to determine the cause of death and whether the woman was alive before entering the water.

Local leaders and neighbouring districts have been told to check missing persons reports for anyone matching her description.

Cops will meanwhile scour CCTV from the pier and surrounding waterways for suspicious movements in the days before the grim find.

Anyone with information – particularly those who may have noticed unusual activity near Ban Tha Yai pier – is urged to contact police immediately.

The case echoes a similar discovery in February when a fisherman in Rayong found a woman’s decomposed body inside a locked suitcase weighted with two 10kg dumbbells.

Her identity also remains unknown.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.

Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun

It is the third incident in a few weeks in which Thai soldiers have been injured by mines around the border.

Three Thai soldiers have been injured by a landmine while patrolling the border with Cambodia, according to the army, days after the two neighbours agreed to a detailed ceasefire following a violent five-day conflict last month.

One soldier lost a foot and two others were injured after one of them stepped on a landmine as they patrolled an area between Thailand’s Sisaket and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear provinces on Saturday morning, the Royal Thai Armed Forces said.

One soldier suffered a severe leg injury, another was wounded in the back and arm, and the third had extreme pressure damage to the ear, it said.

There was no immediate comment from Cambodia’s defence ministry.

It is the third incident in a few weeks in which Thai soldiers have been injured by mines while patrolling along the border.

Two previous similar incidents led to the downgrading of diplomatic relations and triggered five days of fighting.

The Southeast Asian neighbours were engaged in deadly border clashes from July 24-28, in the worst fighting between the two in more than a decade.

The exchanges of artillery fire, infantry battles and jet fighter sorties killed at least 43 people.

The clashes halted with a ceasefire on July 28 after United States President Donald Trump warned both sides that he would not conclude trade deals with them if fighting continued.

A meeting of defence officials in Kuala Lumpur ended on Thursday with a deal to extend the ceasefire, and the two sides also agreed to allow observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to inspect disputed border areas to ensure hostilities do not resume.

Bangkok accused Cambodia of planting landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border that injured soldiers on July 16 and July 23. Phnom Penh denied it had placed any new mines and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered old landmines left from its decades of war.

Bangkok, Thailand – A surge in rare earth mining in rebel-held pockets of Myanmar supplying Chinese processing plants is being blamed for toxic levels of heavy metals in Thai waterways, including the Mekong River.

China dominates the global refining of rare earth metals – key inputs in everything from wind turbines to advanced missile systems – but imports much of its raw material from neighbouring Myanmar, where the mines have been blamed for poisoning local communities.

Recent satellite images and water sample testing suggest the mines are spreading, along with the environmental damage they cause.

“Since the mining operation started, there is no protection for the local people,” Sai Hor Hseng, a spokesman at the Shan Human Rights Foundation, a local advocacy group based in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state, told Al Jazeera.

“They don’t care what happens to the environment,” he said, or those living downstream of the mines in Thailand.

An estimated 1,500 people rallied in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province in June, urging the Thai government and China to pressure the mining operators in Myanmar to stop polluting their rivers.

Villagers in Chiang Rai first noticed an odd orange-yellow tint to the Kok River – a tributary of the Mekong that enters Thailand from Myanmar – before the start of this year’s rainy season in May.

Repeated rounds of testing by Thai authorities since then have found levels of arsenic and lead in the river several times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) deems safe.

Thai authorities advised locals living along the Kok to not even touch the water, while tests have also found excess arsenic levels in the Sai River, another tributary of the Mekong that flows from Myanmar into Thailand, as well as in the Mekong’s mainstream.

Locals are now worried about the harm that contaminated water could do to their crops, their livestock and themselves.

Arsenic is infamously toxic.

Medical studies have linked long-term human exposure to high levels of the chemical to neurological disorders, organ failure and cancer.

“This needs to be solved right now; it cannot wait until the next generation, for the babies to be deformed or whatever,” Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia campaign director at the advocacy group International Rivers, told Al Jazeera.

“People are concerned also about the irrigation, because … [they are] now using the rivers – the water from the Kok River and the Sai River – for their rice paddies, and it’s an important crop for the population here,” Pianporn said.

“We learned from other areas already … that this kind of activity should not happen in the upstream of the water source of a million people,” she said.

‘A very good correlation’

Thai authorities blame upstream mining in Myanmar for the toxic rivers, but they have been vague about the exact source or sources.

Rights groups and environmental activists say the mine sites are nestled in pockets of Shan state under the control of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a well-armed, secretive rebel group that runs two semi-autonomous enclaves in the area, one bordering China and the other Thailand.

That makes the sites hard to access. Not even Myanmar’s military regime dares to send troops into UWSA-held territory.

While some have blamed the recent river pollution on the UWSA’s gold mines, the latest tests in Thailand lay most of the fault on the mining of rare earth minerals.

In a study commissioned by the Thai government, Tanapon Phenrat, an associate professor of civil engineering at Naresuan University, took seven water samples from the Kok and surrounding rivers in early June.

Tanapon told Al Jazeera that the samples collected closest to the border with Myanmar showed the highest levels of heavy metals and confirmed that the source of the contamination lay upstream of Thailand in Shan state.

Significantly, Tanapon said, the water samples contained the same “fingerprint” of heavy metals, and in roughly the same concentrations, as had earlier water samples from Myanmar’s Kachin State, north of Shan, where rare earth mining has been thriving for the past decade.

“We compared that with the concentrations we found in the Kok River, and we found that it has a very good correlation,” Tanapon said.

“Concentrations in the Kok River can be attributed about 60 to 70 percent … [to] rare earth mining,” he added.

The presence of rare earth mines along the Kok River in Myanmar was first exposed by the Shan Human Rights Foundation in May.

Satellite images available on Google Earth showed two new mine sites inside the UWSA’s enclave on the Thai border developed over the past one to two years – one on the western slope of the river, another on the east.

The foundation also used satellite images to identify what it said are another 26 rare earth mines inside the UWSA’s enclave next to China.

All but three of those mines were built over the past few years, and many are located at the headwaters of the Loei River, yet another tributary of the Mekong.

Researchers who have studied Myanmar’s rare earth mining industry say the large, round mineral collection pools visible in the satellite images give the sites away as rare earth mines.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation says villagers living near the new mines in Shan state have also told how workers there are scooping up a pasty white powder from the collection pools, just as they have seen in online videos of the rare earth mines further north in Kachin.

‘Zero environmental monitoring’

Patrick Meehan, a lecturer at the University of Manchester in the UK who has studied Myanmar’s rare earth mines, said reports emerging from Shan state fit with what he knows of similar operations in Kachin.

“The way companies tend to operate in Myanmar is that there is zero pre-mining environmental assessment, zero environmental monitoring, and there are none of those sorts of regulations or protections in place,” Meehan said.

The leaching process being used involves pumping chemicals into the hillsides to draw the rare earth metals out of the rock. That watery mixture of chemicals and minerals is then pumped out of the ground and into the collection pools, where the rare earths are then separated and gathered up.

Without careful attention to keeping everything contained at a mine, said Meehan, the risks of contaminating local rivers and groundwater could be high.

Rare earth mines are situated close to rivers because of the large volumes of water needed for pumping the extractive chemicals into the hills, he said.

The contaminated water is then often pumped back into the river, he added, while the groundwater polluted by the leaching can end up in the river as well.

“There is definitely scope for that,” said Meehan.

He and others have tracked the effect such mines have already had in Kachin – where hundreds of mining sites now dot the state’s border with China – from once-teeming streams now barren of fish to rice stalks yielding fewer grains and livestock falling ill and dying after drinking from local creeks.

In a 2024 report, the environmental group Global Witness called the fallout from Kachin’s mining boom “devastating”.

Ben Hardman, Mekong legal director for the US advocacy group EarthRights International, said locals in Kachin have also told his team about mineworkers dying in unusually high numbers.

The worry now, he adds, is that Shan state and the neighbouring countries into which Myanmar’s rivers flow will suffer the same fate as has Kachin, especially if the mine sites continue to multiply as global demand for rare earth minerals grows.

“There’s a long history of rare earth mining causing serious environmental harms that are very long-term, and with pretty egregious health implications for communities,” Hardman said.

“That was the case in China in the 2010s, and is the case in Kachin now. And it’s the same situation now evolving in Shan state, and so we can expect to see the same harms,” he added.

‘You need to stop it at the source’

Most, if not all, of the rare earths mined in Myanmar are sent to China to be refined, processed, and either exported or put to use in a range of green-energy and, increasingly, military hardware.

But, unlike China, neither Myanmar, Laos nor Thailand have the sophisticated processing plants that can transform raw ore into valuable material, according to SFA (Oxford), a critical minerals and metals consulting firm.

The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, a local think tank, says Chinese customs data also show that Myanmar has been China’s main source of rare earths from abroad since at least 2017, including a record $1.4bn-worth in 2023.

Myanmar’s exports of rare earth minerals were growing at the same time as China was placing tough new curbs on mining them at home, after witnessing the environmental damage it was doing to its own communities. Buying the minerals from Myanmar has allowed China to outsource much of the problem.

That is why many are blaming not only the mine operators and the UWSA for the environmental fallout from Myanmar’s mines, but China.

The UWSA could not be reached for comment, and neither China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its embassy in Myanmar replied to Al Jazeera’s emails seeking a response.

In a June 8 Facebook post, reacting to reports of Chinese-run mines in Myanmar allegedly polluting Thai rivers, the Chinese embassy in Thailand said all Chinese companies operating abroad had to follow local laws and regulations.

The embassy also said China was open to cooperating with Mekong River countries to protect the local environment, but gave no details on what that might entail.

Thailand has said it is working with both China and Myanmar to solve the problem.

In a bid to tackle the problem, though, the Thai government has proposed building dams along the affected rivers in Chiang Rai province to filter their waters for pollutants.

Local politicians and environmentalists question whether such dams would work.

International Rivers’ Pianporn Deetes said there was no known precedent of dams working in such a manner in rivers on the scale of the Mekong and its tributaries.

“If it’s [a] limited area, a small creek or in a faraway standalone mining area, it could work. It’s not going to work with this international river,” she said.

Naresuan University’s Tanapon said he was building computer models to study whether a series of cascading weirs – small, dam-like barriers that are built across a river to control water flow – could help.

But he, too, said such efforts would only mitigate the problem at best.

Dams and weirs, Tanapon said, “can just slow down or reduce the impact”.

“You need to stop it at the source,” he added.

Both sides agree to extend truce, though Thailand still holds 18 Cambodian soldiers taken hours after truce implemented.

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to allow observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to monitor a fragile ceasefire that ended five days of deadly border clashes last month.

Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand’s acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit concluded four days of talks in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday aimed at thrashing out the terms of the Malaysia-brokered truce, with a joint pledge to continue a freeze on border troop movements and patrols.

The two countries have quarrelled for decades over their 817km (508-mile) undemarcated land border, the latest dispute breaking out after a landmine explosion on the border wounded five Thai soldiers last month, with the resulting fighting killing at least 43 people.

According to a joint statement of the so-called General Border Committee, each country will set up its own interim observer team comprised of defence officials from the ASEAN regional bloc and coordinated by current chair Malaysia, pending the deployment of a formal observer mission.

The United States welcomed the developments as an “important step forward in solidifying the ceasefire arrangement and establishing the ASEAN observation mechanism”, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Thursday.

“President Trump and I expect the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict,” Rubio noted.

The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had warned the nations that he would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Washington subsequently lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36 percent to 19 percent at the beginning of this month.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, lauding him for his “extraordinary statesmanship” and his “visionary and innovative diplomacy” in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

“This timely intervention, which averted a potentially devastating conflict, was vital in preventing great loss of lives and paved the pay towards the restoration of peace,” he said.

Shaky deal

Implementation of the deal was initially bumpy, with both Thailand and Cambodia accusing each other of violating international humanitarian laws and breaching the truce in the first few days of its implementation.

While both sides have now extended the shaky deal, the issue of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured just hours after the ceasefire took effect remains a sticking point.

Cambodia had accused Thailand of mistreating the captured men, who initially numbered 20, with two wounded members repatriated on Friday. Thai authorities called the group “prisoners of war” and said they would only be freed and repatriated following an end to the conflict.

The joint statement did not directly mention them, but it noted that the captives should be “immediately released and repatriated after the cessation of active hostilities”.

Tensions have been growing between the two countries since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.

Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand – As Thai and Cambodian officials meet for talks in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to cement a fragile ceasefire, sources on the ground say troops continue to build up on both sides of their disputed border.

Malaysia helped mediate a truce on July 28 that brought to an end five days of fierce clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces.

But the two neighbouring countries have accused the other of violating the terms of the shaky ceasefire, even while their officials attend border talks in Kuala Lumpur that began on Monday.

The four-day summit will conclude on Thursday with a meeting scheduled between Thai Deputy Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha, which will also be attended by observers from Malaysia, China and the United States.

“It can erupt at any time; the situation is not stable,” said Wasawat Puangpornsri, a member of Thailand’s parliament whose constituency includes Ubon Ratchathani province’s Nam Yuen district on the border with Cambodia.

On Tuesday, Wasawat Puangpornsri visited the area and said a large number of Thai and Cambodian troops were stationed some 50 metres away from each other around the Chong Anma border crossing in Nam Yuen district.

The ongoing tension has stymied efforts to return some 20,000 Thai people to their homes in Ubon Ratchathani, which came under attack on July 24 when simmering tensions exploded into heavy fighting between the two countries.

Wasawat Puangpornsri and other representatives from Thailand’s government were inspecting civilian homes damaged in the area during the fighting to assess reparation payments.

Residents of the area told Al Jazeera that they were already on high alert after a brief firefight in May left one Cambodian soldier dead and diplomatic relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh soured as a result.

Both militaries blamed each other for firing the first shots during the May incident and also the all-out clashes that erupted on July 24, which included Cambodian forces firing artillery and rockets into civilian neighbourhoods in Thailand and Thai fighter jets bombing Cambodia.

Local Thai resident Phian Somsri said she was feeding her ducks when the explosions started in July.

“I prepared for it, but I never really thought it would happen,” she said, sitting on the tile floor of a Buddhist pagoda where she has been sheltering for more than 10 days.

“Bombs were falling in the rice fields,” Phian Somsri said, recounting to Al Jazeera how she received a frantic phone call while gathering her belongings to flee.

One of her closest friends, known affectionately as Grandma Lao, had just been killed when a rocket struck her house.

“I was shocked and sad, I couldn’t believe it, and I hoped it wasn’t true. But I was also so scared, because at that same time I could hear the gunfire and bombs, and I couldn’t do anything,” she said.

‘I pray everything will be all right and peaceful’

When the guns fell silent on July 28 after five days of fighting, at least 24 civilians had been killed – eight in Cambodia and 16 in Thailand – and more than 260,000 people had been displaced from their homes on both sides of the border.

While the ceasefire is holding, both countries continue to accuse the other of violations since the ceasefire went into effect – even while the General Border Committee meeting talks in Kuala Lumpur got under way this week to prevent further clashes.

Cambodia’s former longtime leader Hun Sen claimed on Sunday that a renewed Thai offensive was imminent, although it never materialised.

Despite handing power to his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in 2023, Hun Sen is largely seen as being the country’s real power and continuing to call the shots.

The head of a district in Ubon Ratchathani, located away from the fighting and where displaced Thai people evacuated to, also confirmed that people are not yet returning home due to the ongoing tension and reports of renewed troop build-ups.

The district official, who asked that his name not be used as he was not authorised to talk to the media, said the Thai military is wary of its Cambodian counterpart.

“They don’t trust the Cambodian side,” he said, adding that many of the evacuees have been traumatised by their recent experience.

Netagit, 46, a janitor for a village hospital, told how he was taking refuge at a bomb shelter near a Buddhist temple when his house was destroyed by rocket fire on July 25.

“I have no idea what I’m going to do next,” he told Al Jazeera while inspecting the ruins of his home.

Netagit had lived here with his two children, his wife and her parents. Now his family’s personal belongings have spilled into the street and concrete walls painted a bright blue are crumbled, while a corrugated iron roof lies strewn across the ground in pieces.

At first, he tried to hide the news from his kids that their house had been destroyed.

“I didn’t want to tell them, but they saw the pictures and started crying,” Netagit said. “I’m just trying to prepare myself for whatever comes next,” he added.

Displaced residents in this district hope the outcome of the border talks in Kuala Lumpur will bring stability, but continued troop movements and diplomatic sparring are leaving them anxious.

After a week away from home, Phian Somsri’s husband was allowed to briefly return to check on their property.

By then, all of her ducks had died, she said.

“I feel really overwhelmed, and I just want to go home,” she said.

“I pray everything will be all right and peaceful between the two countries.”

A fragile truce between the Southeast Asian neighbours continues to hold, following five days of deadly border clashes.

Officials from Thailand and Cambodia have met in Malaysia for the start of border talks, a week after a fragile ceasefire brought an end to an eruption of five days of deadly clashes between the two countries.

The meeting on Monday came ahead of a key meeting on Thursday, which is expected to be led by the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers.

This week’s talks, which will be observed by representatives from China, Malaysia and the United States, aim to iron out plans to maintain the current truce and avoid future border confrontations.

They will include finalising details for a monitoring team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysian Chief of Defence Forces General Mohd Nizam Jaffar said on Monday.

The sessions in Malaysia follow the worst fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in more than a decade.

Clashes along the long-disputed border last month killed at least 43 people, including civilians, and left more than 300,000 others displaced, according to the Reuters news agency.

Relations between the neighbours deteriorated in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border skirmish, before worsening when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines in contested territory last month.

The Southeast Asian countries downgraded diplomatic relations and violence broke out, which both sides blamed the other for starting.

The recent fighting involved infantry clashes, artillery exchanges, air strikes and rocket fire.

A ceasefire was announced on July 28, in part following economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who warned both countries that they could not make trade deals with Washington without a ceasefire.

Despite the fragile truce, tensions remain high and mistrust between the two sides lingers.

Cambodia’s defence ministry has accused Thailand of violating the terms of the ceasefire by installing barbed wire in a disputed border area, while the Thai military has suggested that the Cambodian army has reinforced troops in key areas.

Both countries have given foreign observers tours of last month’s battle sites, while seeking to show the damage allegedly inflicted by the other nation.

Thailand and Cambodia also accuse each other of violating international humanitarian laws by targeting citizens.

Phnom Penh continues to demand the release of 18 of its captured troops, whom Bangkok says it will only release following “a complete cessation of the armed conflict, not just a ceasefire”.

On Friday, Thailand returned two wounded Cambodian soldiers through a border checkpoint connecting Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.

The neighbours dispute how the troops came to be captured, with Thailand rejecting Cambodia’s claims that the troops approached Thai positions to offer post-conflict greetings.

Behind a car repair business on an unremarkable Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: Two lions and a 200kg (440lb) lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George”.

Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers.

“They’re playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats,” he said from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Thailand’s captive lion population has soared in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes.

The boom is prompted by social media, where owners like Tharnuwarht post lighthearted content and glamour shots with lions.

Since 2022, Thai law has required owners to register and microchip lions, and inform authorities before moving them.

But there are no breeding caps, few enclosure or welfare requirements, and no controls on liger or tigon hybrids.

Tom Taylor, chief operating officer of conservation group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, and his colleagues have tracked the rise in lion ownership with on-site visits and by trawling social media.

They recorded about 130 in 2018, and nearly 450 by 2024. But nearly 350 more lions they encountered were “lost to follow-up” after their whereabouts could not be confirmed for a year.

That could indicate unreported deaths, an animal removed from display or “worst-case scenarios”, said Taylor. “We have interviewed traders (in the region) who have given us prices for live and dead lions and have told us they can take them over the border.”

As a vulnerable species, lions and their parts can only be sold internationally with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits.

Media reports and social media have documented lions, including cubs, in Cambodia multiple times in recent years, though CITES shows no registered imports since 2003.

There is also growing evidence that captive lion numbers in Laos exceed CITES import licences.

In Thailand, meanwhile, imports of lion parts like bones, skins and teeth have dropped in recent years, though demand remains, raising questions about how parts are now being sourced.

Thai trader Pathamawadee Janpithak started in the crocodile business, but pivoted to lions as prices for the reptiles declined. She sells one-month-olds for about 500,000 baht ($15,395), down from a peak of 800,000 baht ($24,638) as breeding operations like hers increase supply.

Pathamawadee’s three facilities house about 80 lions, from a stately full-maned nine-year-old to a sickly pair of eight-day-olds being bottle-fed around the clock.

He sells about half of the 90 cubs she breeds each year, often to other breeders, who are increasingly opening “lion cafes” where customers pose with and pet young lions.

The growing lion population is a problem for Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), admitted wildlife protection director Sadudee Punpugdee.

“But private ownership has existed for a long time… So we’re taking a gradual approach,” he said.

That includes limiting lion imports so breeders are forced to rely on the domestic population.

Already stretched authorities face difficult choices on enforcing regulations, as confiscated animals become their responsibility, said Penthai Siriwat, illegal wildlife trade specialist at WWF Thailand.

“There is a great deal of deliberation before intervening … considering the substantial costs,” said Siriwat. Owners like Tharnuwarht often invoke conservation to justify their pets, but Thailand’s captive lions will never live in the wild.

Sanctuary chief vet Natanon Panpeth treads carefully while discussing the lion trade, warning only that the “wellbeing of the animals should always come first”.

Sadudee is hopeful some provisions may be tightened, though a ban is unlikely for now. He has his advice for would-be owners: “Wild animals belong in the wild.

“There are plenty of other animals we can keep as pets.”

Houayxay, Laos – Fishing went well today for Khon, a Laotian fisherman, who lives in a floating house built from plastic drums, scrap metal and wood on the Mekong River.

“I caught two catfish,” the 52-year-old tells Al Jazeera proudly, lifting his catch for inspection.

Khon’s simple houseboat contains all he needs to live on this mighty river: A few metal pots, a fire to cook food on and to keep warm by at night, as well as some nets and a few clothes.

What Khon does not always have is fish.

“There are days when I catch nothing. It’s frustrating,” he said.

“The water levels change all the time because of the dams. And now they say the river is polluted, too. Up there in Myanmar, they dig in the mountains. Mines, or something like that. And all that toxic stuff ends up here,” he adds.

Khon lives in Laos’s northwestern Bokeo province on one of the most scenic stretches of the Mekong River as it meanders through the heart of the Golden Triangle – the borderland shared by Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

This remote region has long been infamous for drug production and trafficking.

Now it is caught up in the global scramble for gold and rare earth minerals, crucial for the production of new technologies and used in everything from smartphones to electric cars.

Over the past year, rivers in this region, such as the Ruak, Sai and Kok – all tributaries of the Mekong – have shown abnormal levels of arsenic, lead, nickel and manganese, according to Thailand’s Pollution Control Department.

Arsenic, in particular, has exceeded World Health Organization safety limits, prompting health warnings for riverside communities.

These tributaries feed directly into the Mekong and contamination has spread to parts of the river’s mainstream. The effects have been observed in Laos, prompting the Mekong River Commission to declare the situation “moderately serious”.

“Recent official water quality testing clearly indicates that the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border is contaminated with arsenic,” Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia campaigns director for the advocacy group International Rivers, told Al Jazeera.

“This is alarming and just the first chapter of the crisis, if the mining continues,” Pianporn said.

“Fishermen have recently caught diseased, young catfish. This is a matter of regional public health, and it needs urgent action from governments,” she added.

The source of the heavy metals contamination is believed to be upriver in Myanmar’s Shan State, where dozens of unregulated mines have sprung up as the search for rare earth minerals intensifies globally.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and an expert on Southeast Asia, said at least a dozen, and possibly as many as 20, mines focused on gold and rare earth extraction have been established in southern Shan State over the past year alone.

Myanmar is now four years into a civil war and lawlessness reigns in the border area, which is held by two powerful ethnic armed groups: the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Myanmar’s military government has “no real control”, Abuza said, apart from holding Tachileik town, the region’s main border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar.

Neither the RCSS nor the UWSA are “fighting the junta”, he said, explaining how both are busy enriching themselves from the chaos in the region and the rush to open mines.

“In this vacuum, mining has exploded – likely with Chinese traders involved. The military in Naypyidaw can’t issue permits or enforce environmental rules, but they still take their share of the profits,” Abuza said.

‘Alarming decline’

Pollution from mining is not the Mekong River’s only ailment.

For years, the health of the river has been degraded by a growing chain of hydropower dams that have drastically altered its natural rhythm and ecology.

In the Mekong’s upper reaches, inside China, almost a dozen huge hydropower dams have been built, including the Xiaowan and Nuozhadu dams, which are said to be capable of holding back a huge amount of the river’s flow.

Further downstream, Laos has staked its economic future on hydropower.

According to the Mekong Dam Monitor, which is hosted by the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington, DC, at least 75 dams are now operational on the Mekong’s tributaries, and two in Laos – Xayaburi and Don Sahong – are directly on the mainstream river.

As a rule, hydropower is a cleaner alternative to coal.

But the rush to dam the Mekong is driving another type of environmental crisis.

According to WWF and the Mekong River Commission, the Mekong River basin once supported about 60 million people and provided up to 25 percent of the world’s freshwater fish catch.

Today, one in five fish species in the Mekong is at risk of extinction, and the river’s sediment and nutrient flows have been severely reduced, as documented in a 2023–2024 Mekong Dam Monitor report and research by International Rivers.

“The alarming decline in fish populations in the Mekong is an urgent wake-up call for action to save these extraordinary – and extraordinarily important – species, which underpin not only the region’s societies and economies but also the health of the Mekong’s freshwater ecosystems,” the WWF’s Asia Pacific Regional Director Lan Mercado said at the launch of a 2024 report titled The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes.

In Houayxay, the capital of Bokeo province, the markets appeared mostly absent of fish during a recent visit.

At Kad Wang View, the town’s main market, the fish stalls were nearly deserted.

“Maybe this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow,” said Mali, a vendor in her 60s. In front of her, Mali had arranged her small stock of fish in a circle, perhaps hoping to make the display look fuller for potential customers.

At another market, Sydonemy, just outside Houayxay town, the story was the same. The fish stalls were bare.

“Sometimes the fish come, sometimes they don’t. We just wait,” another vendor said.

“There used to be giant fish here,” recalled Vilasai, 53, who comes from a fishing family but now works as a taxi driver.

“Now the river gives us little. Even the water for irrigation – people are scared to use it. No one knows if it’s still clean,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the pollution from Myanmar’s mines.

‘The river used to be predictable’

Ian G Baird, professor of geography and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said upstream dams – especially those in China – have had serious downstream effects in northern Thailand and Laos.

“The ecosystem and the lives that depend on the river evolved to adapt to specific hydrological conditions,” Baird told Al Jazeera.

“But since the dams were built, those conditions have changed dramatically. There are now rapid water level fluctuations in the dry season, which used to be rare, and this has negative impacts on both the river and the people,” he said.

Another major effect is the reversal of the river’s natural cycle.

“Now there is more water in the dry season and less during the rainy season. That reduces flooding and the beneficial ecological effects of the annual flood pulse,” Baird explained.

“The dams hold water during the rainy season and release it in the dry season to maximise energy output and profits. But that also kills seasonally flooded forests and disrupts the river’s ecological function,” he said.

Bun Chan, 45, lives with his wife Nanna Kuhd, 40, on a floating house near Houayxay. He fishes while his wife sells whatever he catches at the local market.

On a recent morning, he cast his net again and again – but for nothing.

“Looks like I won’t catch anything today,” Bun Chan told Al Jazeera as he pulled up his empty net.

“The other day I caught a few, but we didn’t sell them. We’re keeping them in cages in the water, so at least we have something to eat if I don’t catch more,” he said.

Hom Phan has been a fisherman on the Mekong his entire life.

He steers his wooden boat across the river, following a route he knows by instinct. In some parts of the river, the current is strong enough now to drag everything under, the 67-year-old says.

All around him, the silence is broken only by the chug of his small outboard engine and the calls of distant birds.

“The river used to be predictable. Now we don’t know when it will rise or fall,” Hom Phan said.

“Fish can’t find their spawning grounds. They’re disappearing. And we might too, if nothing changes,” he told Al Jazeera.

Evening approaches in Houayxay, and Khon, the fisherman, rolls up his nets and prepares dinner in his floating home.

As he waits for the fire to catch to cook a meal, he quietly contemplates the great river he lives on.

Despite the dams in China, the pollution from mines in neighbouring Myanmar, and the increasing difficulty in landing the catch he relies on to survive, Khon was outwardly serene as he considered his next day of fishing.

With his eyes fixed on the waters that flowed deeply beneath his home, he said with a smile: “We try again tomorrow.”

Cambodia demands return of more soldiers held by Thailand as border tensions simmer between the two countries.

Thailand has released two wounded Cambodian soldiers who were captured following intense clashes near a contested border area, as the neighbours prepare for talks next week aimed at maintaining a shaky truce.

The soldiers were returned on Friday through a checkpoint connecting Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey, the Cambodian Defence Ministry said.

Their homecoming comes amid continued accusations from both governments over alleged civilian targeting and breaches of international law during a five-day conflict that erupted last week.

Eighteen other Cambodian troops captured during skirmishes on Tuesday, hours after a ceasefire deal was reached, remain in Thai custody.

“The wounded soldiers were returned through a designated border point,” said Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defence Ministry, urging Bangkok to repatriate the remaining captured troops “in accordance with international humanitarian law”.

The two governments have provided starkly contrasting versions of the soldiers’ capture.

Phnom Penh says its troops approached Thai positions with peaceful intentions, offering post-conflict greetings. But Bangkok disputes that account, alleging the Cambodian soldiers crossed into Thai territory with apparent hostility, prompting their detention.

Thai officials say they are adhering to legal protocols while assessing the actions of the remaining soldiers. No timeline has been given for their release.

The ceasefire has done little to ease simmering nationalist anger online, with social media platforms in both countries flooded by patriotic fervour and mutual recriminations.

Meanwhile, both nations have taken foreign diplomats and observers on guided tours of former combat zones. Each side has accused the other of inflicting damage, using the visits to bolster their narratives.

The recent round of violence involved infantry clashes, Cambodian rocket fire, Thai air strikes, and artillery exchanges. The fighting killed more than 30 people, including civilians, and forced more than 260,000 others from their homes.

Under the ceasefire terms, military officials from both countries are due to meet next week in Malaysia to discuss de-escalation measures.

However, these talks will exclude the underlying territorial dispute, which has remained unresolved for decades.

The General Border Committee, which coordinates on border security, ceasefires, and troop deployments, will meet between August 4 and 7, Thai acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit told reporters.

“Defence attaches from other ASEAN countries will be invited as well as the defence attaches from the US and China,” a Malaysian government spokesperson told reporters, referring to the Southeast Asian regional bloc that the country currently chairs.

Separately on Friday, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said Phnom Penh intends to nominate United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in brokering the ceasefire.

Speaking earlier in the capital, he thanked Trump for “bringing peace” and insisted the US leader deserved the award.

Similar nominations have recently come from Pakistan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both citing Trump’s interventions in regional disputes.

Thailand’s military said the detained Cambodian troops will be returned home after ‘legal procedures’ are completed.

Cambodia has called on Thailand to return 20 of its soldiers who were taken captive by Thai forces hours after a ceasefire that halted days of deadly cross-border clashes over disputed territory between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

Cambodian Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Maly Socheata said on Thursday that talks were under way for the release of 20 soldiers, though reports from Thailand indicate that the Royal Thai Army wants the detainees to face the “legal process” before repatriation.

“We will do our best to continue negotiations with the Thai side in order to bring all our soldiers back home safely and as soon as possible,” the spokesperson told a news briefing.

“We call on the Thai side to send all 20 military personnel back to Cambodia as soon as possible,” she said.

According to reports, the group of Cambodian troops were captured at about 7:50am local time on Tuesday (00:50 GMT) after crossing into Thai-held territory – nearly eight hours after a ceasefire came into effect between the two countries.

Speaking to the media at the headquarters of the Royal Thai Army on Thursday, army spokesperson Major-General Winthai Suvaree said the commander of Thailand’s Second Army Region had assured that the Cambodian detainees – which numbered 18 – would be dealt with under international legal conditions.

“The soldiers would be swiftly returned once the legal procedures are completed,” Thailand’s The Nation newspaper reported the army spokesperson as saying.

The Nation also added that the exact nature of the legal proceedings the Cambodian troops will face was not immediately known, but the Thai military’s “firm position suggests a comprehensive review of the incident is underway”.

Thailand’s government said on Wednesday that the detained Cambodian soldiers were being treated in line with international humanitarian law and military regulations, and that they would be returned to Cambodia when the border situation stabilises.

Nearly 300,000 people fled their homes on both sides of the Thai-Cambodia border as the two opposing armies clashed for days with long-range rockets and artillery in what is largely a border area of jungle and agricultural land. Thai jet fighters also attacked Cambodian positions.

Thailand has confirmed that 15 of its soldiers and 15 civilians were killed in the fighting – which was the heaviest in decades – while Cambodia said eight civilians and five of its soldiers died.

Despite accusations of truce violations by both sides, the ceasefire – which was facilitated by Malaysia – has held since Tuesday.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk has urged Bangkok and Phnom Penh to implement their ceasefire deal in full and take rapid steps to build confidence and peace with each other.

“This crucial agreement must be fully respected, in good faith, by both sides, as diplomatic efforts continue, in a bid to resolve the root causes of the conflict,” Turk said.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a ceasefire after clashes along their disputed border, home to centuries-old temples and decades-old tensions. The conflict is tied to political dynasties, shifting alliances and the growing influence of China. Can this ceasefire hold?

July 29 (UPI) — Thailand said Tuesday that Cambodia violated their hours-old cease-fire that ended days of fighting between the neighbors over their disputed border.

The cease-fire went into effect at midnight Monday, halting fighting that began Thursday, which caused the deaths of more than 30 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.

In a statement Tuesday, Thailand accused Cambodian forces of deliberately violating the cease-fire agreement by attacking several areas within Thai territory. The attacks consisted of weapon fire, which the Royal Thai Army said it responded to in defense.

“It is deeply regrettable that at the designated time, the Thai side continued to detect that the Cambodian side had used weapons to attack Thai territory at multiple points, which constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement with the intention of destroying the system of mutual trust,” the Royal Thai army said in a statement.

“The Royal Thai Army therefore condemns such actions, and the Thai side finds it necessary to implement appropriate retaliatory measures under the legitimate right of self-defense.”

Cambodia’s military has rejected the accusation, saying it has “strictly adhered to the orders and agreements under the cease-fire.”

“Cambodia has made a clear and firm commitment to respecting and implementing the terms of the Joint Cease-fire Declaration between the Cambodian and Thai armed forces,” a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The two neighbors have been battling for decades over their disputed border, but tensions spiked earlier this month when five Thai soldiers were injured, including one who lost a leg, due to a landmine within the Thai-Cambodian border region.

Fighting erupted Thursday, with each side blaming the other for firing first.

However, a cease-fire was reached Monday during a meeting in Malaysia that was brokered by the United States with China in attendance.

Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai of Thailand said in a statement that they have lodged a formal protest over Cambodia’s alleged violation of the cease-fire agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States and China “to make it clear that cease-fire violations stem from Cambodia’s lack of honesty and sincerity.”

“At present, the government has ordered all branches of the military to remain fully deployed in order to uphold Thailand’s sovereignty and protect the safety of the people,” he said. “Thailand will not allow any infringement on its sovereignty under any circumstances.”

Despite the alleged violation, regional military commanders from both sides held discussions to explore ways to resolve the conflict.

July 28 (UPI) — Cambodia and Thailand reached a cease-fire agreement to end fighting over their disputed border after meeting for negotiations in Malaysia on Monday.

The agreement is set to come into effect at midnight local time as Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a social media post that the two sides “agreed to end their hostilities.”

“I express my sincere appreciation to Thailand and Cambodia for choosing the path of diplomacy, and to President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping for their constructive support in advancing this peace initiative,” Ibrahim said.

The meeting came as fighting had continued between the Asian neighbors and after U.S. President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that they had agreed to “immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE.”

He added that China would also be participating.

“The United States applauds the ceasefire declaration between Cambodia and Thailand announced today in Kuala Lumpur,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Monday.

“We urge all parities to follow through on their commitments. The United States will remain committed to and engaged in the U.S.-Malaysia organized process to end this conflict.”

The cease-fire comes after days of deadly fighting over their disputed border.

Rubio confirmed late Sunday that his staff was “on the ground in Malaysia to assist in the peace efforts.”

The fighting began Thursday, with each side blaming the other for renewing a decades-old conflict over their disputed border.

Thailand has said that at least 14 civilians have been killed, and that it has returned the bodies of 12 slain Cambodians to their native country. Reports state at least 34 people have been killed in the fighting.

According to a Monday statement from the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, more than 134,707 people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 400,000 Cambodian workers in Thailand have returned to their native country in the past five days.

Brits who are planning to vape on holiday should check the rules before they travel or they could risk landing themselves in prison for breaking the law

Brits have been warned that vaping in a popular holiday hotspot could actually land them in prison.

UK travellers heading on Thailand holidays should take note that E-cigarettes are illegal across the whole country, with hefty fines and potential prison sentences for anyone caught using them.

That includes packing them in your suitcase, as it’s illegal to bring e-cigarettes and vape pens into Thailand too. Airport officials will often check passengers’ luggage and confiscate these devices, and you could land yourself in hot water if you’re found with them in your bags, such as an on-the-spot fine or even being arrested.

It’s not just vaping either; it’s illegal to smoke in public across Thailand with fines of up to 5000 baht (approximately £115) being handed out to those who flout the law. The ban has been in place since 2014, when the Thai government introduced the rules in a bid to improve people’s health.

The UK government has already warned Brits of the strict rules. The Foreign Office explains in its Thailand travel advice: “It’s illegal to smoke in public with a fine of up to 5,000 Thai baht. E-cigarettes are illegal. You could be fined or imprisoned for carrying or using them.”

It’s not just Thailand that has strict rules around vaping. In Singapore, anyone found possessing or using a vape could be fined up to £1,150.

Meanwhile in Mexico the sale of vapes is generally banned. Holidaymakers have been warned that if they have the devices in their luggage and are stopped by customs officials, they may be asked about the vape and its intended use, with some reports that these devices are often confiscated before travellers have even left the airport.

In Europe, countries such as France and Belgium already have a ban on disposable vapes in place. Meanwhile in Spain, vaping on beaches in Barcelona, Benidorm could mean fines of up to €750 (£650). Over in the Balearic Islands, there are a number of smoke-free beaches as visitors are urged not to litter the sands with cigarette butts.

There could be more rules to follow. Last year, the Canary Islands’ authorities began to consider proposals that would ban smoking on outdoor bar and restaurant terraces on the holiday islands, as well as a ban at bus stop shelters, outdoor sports areas and near entrances to buildings such as schools and hospitals. At the moment, smoking is prohibited in all indoor public spaces, including bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and workplaces.

You should also take note of the UK’s own laws when you head home. As of June 1, 2025, the UK government has banned disposable vapes. Anyone who is found with a single-use vape could find it gets confiscated at the border.

Do you have a travel story that you want to share with us? Email us at [email protected].

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire after five days of deadly border clashes. At least 35 people were killed and 270,000 displaced on both sides. The Malaysia-brokered truce follows talks involving US and Chinese diplomats.

The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to an “unconditional” ceasefire, effective on Monday at midnight, in a bid to bring an end to their deadliest border conflict in more than a decade.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to put down their arms after five days of fierce fighting that killed at least 36 people.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who hosted the talks in Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya, said that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire.

“This is a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security,” Anwar declared. A meeting between the military commanders of both nations will follow on Tuesday, he added.

The ceasefire will come into force at midnight (17:00 GMT) as Monday becomes Tuesday.

Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the border conflict that erupted on Thursday, July 24. The latest conflict, which dates back to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia 817-km (508-mile) land border.

What did rival leaders say?

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said: “Today we have a very good meeting and very good results … that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries and also caused displacement of people.”

“We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship, and as a foundation for future de-escalation of forces,” he added.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who had expressed doubts about Cambodia’s sincerity ahead of negotiations in Malaysia, said Thailand had agreed to a ceasefire that would “be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides”.

In a joint statement issued after the talks had finished, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia said their respective defence ministers “have been instructed to develop a detailed mechanism for the implementation, verification, and reporting of the ceasefire”.

The sides also agreed to move ahead with a meeting of their so-called “General Border Committee” on August 4, in Cambodia.

Why were the two countries fighting?

The Southeast Asian neighbours have accused each other of starting hostilities last week, before escalating the conflict with heavy artillery bombardments.

Fighting began between the South Asian neighbours on July 24, following weeks of tensions which had been brewing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation on the border.

In February, a dispute over Prasat Ta Moan Thom, a Khmer temple close to the border in Thailand, intensified when Thai police stopped Cambodian tourists from singing their national anthem near the holy site.

Since the start of the year, Thailand’s Interior Ministry says more than 138,000 people have been evacuated from regions bordering Cambodia. On the other side, more than 20,000 Cambodians have been evacuated, according to local media.

Reporting from Thailand’s border province of Surin on Monday, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng said the ceasefire announcement is welcome news for many people, especially those living along the border who have been displaced.

“There are so many people who have been affected by this, and they just want to go home so badly,” he said on Monday.

But Cheng also reported that clashes were still occurring on both sides of the border, even as the talks in Malaysia had concluded.

What role did the US and China play?

Diplomats from the United States and China were also present at the meeting in Malaysia.

Hun Manet, Cambodia’s PM, said on Monday that the meeting had been “co-organised by the United States and with participation of China”.

China has strong economic links to Thailand and Cambodia, and is a close political ally of the latter.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday welcomed the ceasefire. “The United States applauds the ceasefire declaration between Cambodia and Thailand announced today in Kuala Lumpur,” Rubio said in a statement.

“We urge all parties to follow through on their commitments.”

In separate calls with Phumtham and Hun Manet on Saturday, Trump had threatened that Washington would not reach trade deals with either country as long as fighting continued.

“We’re not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war,” Trump said on Sunday, adding that both leaders expressed willingness to negotiate after speaking with him directly.

Both Thailand and Cambodia face the prospect of a 36 percent US tariff from August 1.

In their remarks after the meeting, both Phumtham and Hun Manet thanked Anwar and Trump, as well as China, for helping reach the ceasefire.

Police say they are working to identify deceased suspect.

Five people have been killed and one person wounded in a shooting in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, police say.

The shooting occurred at Or Tor Kor Market in the Bang Sue district of northern Bangkok at 12:31pm (05:31 GMT) on Monday, the Royal Thai Police said.

All five of the deceased victims were security guards at the market, and the suspected perpetrator took his own life, according to police.

“Police are investigating the motive. So far, it’s a mass shooting,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief in the Bang Sue district, was quoted as telling the AFP news agency.

The police are working to identify the suspect and investigating “any possible link” to the current border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, the official said.

The shooter was seen in surveillance footage wearing a black T-shirt, a cap, camouflage shorts and a backpack hung over his chest, the Thai Public Broadcasting Service reported.

Gun violence is relatively common in Thailand compared to much of the rest of Southeast Asia.

In 2020, a junior army officer killed 29 people and wounded 58 in a shooting rampage in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.