Free Republic

President Trump has begun mediating the deadly conflict between Cambodia and Thailand over a border dispute and demanded that the two sides reach a ceasefire to avert a full-blown war. Trump revealed that he held a call with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Saturday and is planning to speak with Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai in an effort to broker peace. “We happen to be, by coincidence, currently dealing on Trade with both Countries, but do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting,” Trump announced on Truth Social Saturday. “And I have...

Thailand will negotiate with the United States on tariffs, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from many countries to the US. 'We won't let it get to where GDP will miss the target,' Ms Paetongtarn told reporters. 'We have a strong plan.' 'We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them. … I think we can still negotiate.' Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government was not surprised to be hit with tariffs, though the 36% level was higher than anticipated. 'We...

I’m hoping to hear from some fellow freeper thoughts on retiring in Thailand. We’re looking at Chiang Mai as our target destination. We’ve been to Thailand before; 1989, 1992 and most recently in 2014 (so we know what it is like right now - big changes lol). I know there is a lot of info available on YouTube and other sites, but I want to check here with anyone who may have actually made the move and what their suggestions may be.

"Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire - unconditionally - and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," said Phnom Penh's UN ambassador.Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day on Saturday (Jul 26), as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on Friday. After the closed meeting in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire. "Cambodia...

Demilitarization and regime change might be in the cards...The latest clashes between Cambodia and Thailand over their decades-long border dispute, which were arguably initiated by the Thai military to restore its damaged prestige amidst a recent political scandal as explained here, could “move towards war” according to its acting Prime Minister. Thailand doesn’t recognize the International Court of Justice’s 1962 ruling in favor of Cambodia and rejects third-party mediation in the current conflict so the fighting will likely continue until it achieves some tangible goal.That scenario would naturally raise the question of Thailand’s endgame. It’s officially only defending itself from...

On Thursday, simmering tensions between Thailand and Cambodia exploded into a deadly battle at the border. At least 12 Thai nationals, most of whom are civilians, have been killed, Thai authorities have said. How many people - if any - have lost their lives on the Cambodian side is not known. Each side is blaming each other for causing the escalation, which reportedly began with gunfire over the border. Thailand has accused Cambodia of then firing rockets, while Bangkok carried out air strikes on Cambodian military targets. So how did we get here - and where is it going? This...

An ex-CIA analyst was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday for leaking top secret documents about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran last year. Asif William Rahman, 34, had pleaded guilty in January to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information after he was arrested for absconding with records from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency last October that indicated Israel was planning to launch airstrikes in response to a massive Iranian missile attack. Rahman, who had been a CIA employee since 2016 and had access to top secret documents, leaked the stolen information on social...

Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jessica Aber, who was found dead at the age of 43 by Virginia authorities on Saturday, was at the helm of high-profile investigations into intelligence leaks, allegations of war crimes against Russian-linked individuals and people suspected of providing sensitive U.S. technology to Moscow before she stepped down at the start of the year. Why It Matters Aber, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, resigned in January after President Donald Trump was inaugurated. She had risen to lead one of the most important federal prosecutor's offices and roughly 300 prosecutors, civil...

Domestic regime change is no stranger to Thailand, which has had at least 12 successful coups and 31 Prime Ministers since the founding of its current constitutional monarchy in 1932—itself the product of a coup. It’s for that reason that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who took over after her fellow Pheu Thai party predecessor Srettha Thavisin was ousted from power last year, has sought to insulate the government against military takeovers, which have typically occurred in coordination with conservative, royalist elites. It’s likely, however, that she’s failed. Amid an escalating crisis sparked by border tensions with neighbor Cambodia, experts and...

As I've noted before, implicit in what we're seeing take place in California from the violent woketivists and their Democrat/media accomplices is that if they keep at it long enough, President Trump is going to get ICE to back down from the immigration sweeps that Democrats like Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have blamed for the start of the riots.Now, obviously, that's not going to happen, considering the National Guard is already on the ground in Los Angeles at his order, and the Marines are reportedly on their way as well.Nevertheless, the rioters kept proceeding with the...

As Hamas supporters hurl bogus charges against Israel.Last month, Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology class of 2025, denounced the “genocidal Israeli military” and contended that the MIT community “would never tolerate a genocide.” Such proclamations, widely repeated on Ivy League campuses, invite a look at the actual genocide going on 50 years ago.In April, 1975, troops of the communist Khmer Rouge occupied Cambodia’s capital of Phom Penh. One of the last correspondents to leave was David Aikman of Time magazine, author of “Cambodia: An Experiment in Genocide.” As Aikman recalled:After a few hours, the black-uniformed troops...

Ron Dellums, who served as Oakland's 48th mayor and served 13 terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has died, his nephew said. Ben Bartlett, Dellums' nephew and a Berkeley city councilman, told KTVU on Monday that Dellums died of cancer in Washington, D.C. on Sunday evening. He was 82.

The spread of Chinese overseas police service stations around the world raises concerns among human rights campaigners. The Chinese government is opening illegal police posts all over the world. China claims that these posts are capable of cracking down on global and multinational crimes. These checkpoints have been opened in many countries around the world including developed countries like Canada and Ireland. According to local media reports, Fuzhou has established informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) across Canada. At least three of these stations are located in the Greater Toronto Area only. Chinese Police Station...

The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to permit the firing of the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, according to documents obtained Sunday that would mark the first appeal to the justices since President Donald Trump took office. The emergency appeal is the start of what probably will be a steady stream from lawyers for the Republican president and his administration seeking to undo lower court rulings that have slowed his second-term agenda. The Justice Department's filing obtained by The Associated Press asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judge's court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger...

The leak of high-classified U.S. intelligence documents to the Iranian regime last week has triggered a much-needed counter-intelligence investigation to identify the source -- either a mole who has betrayed their country, or a cyber-hack. The documents, which bore Top Secret/NOFORN and compartmented intelligence headers, described U.S. satellite spying on Israeli airfields as the IDF conducted exercises believed to foreshadow a massive airstrike on Iran. The NOFORN designation means that the document cannot be shared with foreign nationals other than members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing arrangement the United States has crafted with the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and...

Who were the agents who vetted Asif Rahman? Information about this federal worker who wanted to harm Israel can be found here: “US government worker charged with leaking classified documents on Israel’s plans to strike Iran,” by Eric Tucker, Associated Press, November 13, 2024:Now let me guess…A man who worked for the U.S. government has been charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel’s earlier plans to attack Iran, according to court papers filed Wednesday.The man, identified as Asif William Rahman, was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia and was due to make his first court appearance in Guam.He...

CIA official Asif W. Rahman was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia on Tuesday and charged with disclosing classified documents allegedly showing Israel's retaliation plans against Iran, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. He was brought to a federal court in Guam to face charges. Rahman was indicted by a US federal court in Virginia with charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, the report said. According to the New York Times, the documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes US spy satellite information and photos. CIA official had top-secret security clearance Rahman...

Analysts say the twin moves could be part of a deal to secure China preferential rights to use Ream Naval Base in southern Cambodia. The question is how much access China will have to the military installation, and to what ends.As a Chinese-funded upgrade of a naval base in Cambodia inches closer to completion, recent confirmation that Beijing will gift two warships to Phnom Penh has stirred further suspense and questions over China’s intent, and the role it wants to play in the region. Analysts say the overhaul of Ream Naval Base - situated off the Gulf of Thailand in...

According to a Xinhua report, a sandstone door guardian statue, or Dvarapala, has been uncovered near the second gate at the Banteay Prei temple in northwestern Cambodia's Angkor Archaeological Park by researchers from the Apsara National Authority (ANA). The temple was constructed by the Khmer king Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1218) in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. When the second gate's upper structure collapsed, the statue, which stood about five feet tall, was knocked over, said ANA archaeologist Chea Sarith. "Despite this, the statue remains in relatively good condition," he said. "However, it was found head down facing west,...

Forty-five years ago last Sunday, Vietnamese troops seized Phnom Penh and ended Cambodia's 45-month reign of terror known as the "killing fields." Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge government implemented policies—forced labor, resettlements, torture, starvation—that led to the death of 1.7-to-3 million people, or at least 20 percent of the nation's population. The regime destroyed the country, caused untold suffering, and left permanent scars. Painful as it is, we should not let these grim anniversaries go unremembered. For context, imagine a "political experiment" that obliterated our society and left a quarter of our 331-million population dead....