Asia Pacific

Tensions soar at UN as Iran, allies condemn US military action, while US, Israel reject censure.

The United Nations Security Council has convened an emergency session following US-led strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, prompting sharp rebukes from several member states and renewed calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East, as allies Israel and the US lauded the attack.

Russia, China and Pakistan have proposed a resolution demanding an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire”, according to diplomats familiar with the draft circulated on Sunday. While the proposal does not explicitly name the United States or Israel, it condemns the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. A vote has not yet been scheduled.

To pass, the resolution requires the backing of at least nine members and no vetoes from the five permanent members — the US, UK, France, Russia and China, which makes it a non-starter since the US will not censure itself.

Speaking to the Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the region stood “on the brink of a deadly downward spiral.”

“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” Guterres said. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation. We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme.”

Acting US ambassador Dorothy Shea defended the military action, stating that Washington had moved to dismantle Iran’s enrichment capacity in order to protect both its citizens and allies.

“The time finally came for the United States, in defence of its ally and our own interests, to act decisively,” Shea told the chamber. “Iran should not escalate… any Iranian attack, direct or indirect, against Americans or American bases will be met with devastating retaliation.”

Iran’s Ambassador Ali Bahreini said the Israeli and US attacks on Iran did not come about “in a vacuum”, adding that they are the result of “politically motivated actions” of the US and its European partners.

He said the US “decided to destroy diplomacy” and pointedly made it clear that the Iranian military will decide on the  “timing, nature and scale” of its response.

Meanwhile, Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon said the attacks had made the world “a safer place”, rejecting calls for condemnation. “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us,” he said when asked whether Israel supported regime change in Tehran

China’s ambassador Fu Cong condemned the US strikes and urged restraint. “We call for an immediate ceasefire,” he said. “China is deeply concerned about the risk of the situation getting out of control.”

Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya described the attacks as yet another sign of Washington’s disregard for global norms. “The US has opened a Pandora’s box,” he said. “No one knows what catastrophe or suffering will follow.”

Pakistan’s ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad also condemned the US bombing, calling it deeply troubling. “The sharp rise in tensions and violence as a result of Israeli aggression and unlawful actions is profoundly disturbing,” he said. “Pakistan stands in solidarity with the government and brotherly people of Iran during this challenging time.” This came the day after Pakistan suggested US President Donald Trump be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump’s announcement that American forces had “obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear sites marked the most significant Western military action against Tehran since the 1979 revolution.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told the Council that while the scale of underground damage remains unclear, impact craters were visible at the Fordow enrichment site. The entrances to tunnels at Isfahan appeared to have been struck, while Natanz — long a target of Israeli sabotage — had been hit again.

Iran has castigated Grossi for being complicit in paving the way for Israel and the US to attack it.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors approved a resolution declaring Iran was not complying with its commitment to international nuclear safeguards the day before Israel launched its initial attack on June 13.

Cambodia’s PM Hun Manet announced that the decision would take effect from midnight on Sunday.

Cambodia has announced it will stop all fuel imports from its neighbour Thailand as relations have plunged to their lowest ebb in more than a decade after a Cambodian soldier was killed last month in a disputed area of the border.

Prime Minister Hun Manet announced the decision on Sunday, posting on social media that it would take effect from midnight.

Manet said energy companies would be able to “import sufficiently from other sources to meet domestic fuel and gas demands” in the country.

Separately, on Sunday, Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens not to travel to Thailand unnecessarily. Concurrently, Thailand’s consular affairs department warned Thais in Cambodia to avoid “protest areas”.

The ongoing escalation between the two countries began last month after a brief exchange of gunfire in the disputed border area killed a Cambodian soldier.

For more than a century, Cambodia and Thailand have contested sovereignty at various un-demarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border, which was first mapped by France when it colonised Cambodia in 1907.

But following the soldier’s death, the two countries have taken several measures to secure their borders, with both announcing closures of border checkpoints and crossings.

Leaked phone call

The border dispute created wider political turmoil after a leaked phone call on Wednesday between Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the former Cambodian leader, Hun Sen, who remains a powerful influence in his nation.

During the call, the Thai premier told Hun Sen that she was under domestic pressure and urged him not to listen to “the opposite side”, including a prominent Thai military commander at the border.

Soon after the leak, a major coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai Party, quit the ruling alliance, overshadowing Paetongtarn’s premiership.

But on Sunday, the Thai leader said all coalition partners have pledged support for her government, which she said would seek to maintain political stability to address threats to national security.

Following a meeting with her coalition partners, she said, “The country must move forward. Thailand must unite and push policies to solve problems for the people.”

A rally has, nevertheless, been called for June 28 to demand that Paetongtarn, the daughter of influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, resign.

Taipei says an estimated 15 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Friday.

Taiwan‘s defence ministry says that it has detected more than 70 Chinese military aircraft around the island in the last 24 hours, just days after a British naval vessel sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

The latest sightings reported on Friday come as Beijing continues to ramp up the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent months to press its claim of sovereignty of the island, which Taipei rejects.

Along with 50 aircraft, six Chinese naval vessels were detected in the 24 hours to 6am on Friday (22:00 GMT on Thursday), the defence ministry said.

An additional 24 Chinese aircraft, including fighters and drones, were spotted since 08:50am (00:50 GMT) on Friday, the ministry said in a separate statement.

Among the second batch of aircraft, 15 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait in conducting air-sea joint training with Chinese naval vessels, the ministry said, adding it “monitored the situation and responded accordingly”.

China insists that democratic, self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan has allied itself with the United States, angering Beijing.

The latest incursions came after the British Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait on June 18, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

China strongly condemned Britain’s latest move as a deliberate attempt to “cause trouble”.

Britain’s Royal Navy said the patrol vessel conducted a routine navigation through the narrow waterway that was part of a long-planned deployment and took place in full compliance with international law.

The Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army said the Wednesday sailing of the ship was “public hyping” and that its forces followed and monitored the Spey.

The UK, United States and other countries view the 180km (112-mile) Taiwan Strait as international waters that should be open to all vessels.

In February, a Canadian warship also passed through the Strait, days after a US destroyer and a US ocean survey ship made the passage.

The last time a British Navy ship transited the Taiwan Strait was in 2021, when the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed with Britain’s aircraft carrier strike group, sailed through from Japan to Vietnam.

In April, Taiwan detected 76 Chinese aircraft and 15 naval vessels around the island, when Beijing conducted live-fire exercises that included simulated strikes aimed at the island’s key ports and energy sites.

The highest number of Chinese aircraft recorded was 153 on October 15, 2024, after China staged large-scale military drills in response to a speech by Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te on National Day, days earlier.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that the relationship between the two countries was ‘getting stronger again’.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto as Moscow bids to strengthen ties in the Global South amid Western efforts to isolate the country following its war on Ukraine.

On Thursday, Putin and Prabowo met in the Russian city of St Petersburg and signed a declaration on strategic partnership.

Danatara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, whose CEOs were also in Saint Petersburg, signed an agreement to create an investment fund worth 2 billion euros ($2.29bn).

In a statement after the talks, Prabowo said that the relationship between the two countries was “getting stronger again”.

“My meeting with President Putin today was intense, warm and productive. In all fields of economics, technical cooperation, trade, investment, agriculture – they all have experienced significant improvements,” he said.

Moreover, during the meeting at the Konstantin Palace, Putin acknowledged Indonesia’s entry into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping of emerging economies as a full member.

“Our relations with Indonesia are developing steadily. Trade turnover is growing. We have good prospects in a number of promising and very interesting areas of cooperation,” Putin said, according to Russian state news outlet TASS.

“This includes agriculture, space, and energy, as well as military-technical cooperation. Our interaction is very great, and it is growing,” he added.

As Southeast Asia’s largest economy relies primarily on coal as a source of power, despite its massive potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, and geothermal, Indonesia is seeking to boost power generation while capping its carbon emissions, considering nuclear power as a solution.

With Jakarta maintaining a neutral foreign policy, it has walked a delicate balance between regional competitors, China and the United States.

But Prabowo, who came to power last year, has looked to diversify the country’s alliances instead of relying heavily on Western partners.

His decision to skip the G7 summit in Canada this week in favour of talks with Putin raised fears of a tilt towards Moscow, analysts have said, after the two countries held their first joint naval drills last year.

Meanwhile, the Russian leader said that on Friday, he and Prabowo will take part in the plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel has conferred an unusual degree of power for United States President Donald Trump after the Japanese company’s 18-month struggle to close the purchase.

The deal closed on Wednesday, the companies said.

Under the deal terms, Nippon bought 100 percent of US Steel shares at $55 per share which was first used in December 2023. A news release on the filing also discloses details of a national security agreement inked with the Trump administration, which gives Trump the authority to name a board member, as well as a non-economic golden share.

Eiji Hashimoto, Nippon Steel’s chairman and CEO, thanked the president for his role. He said that Nippon Steel agreed to represent an unusual level of control conceded by the companies to the government to save the deal, after a rocky path to approval spurred by high-level political opposition.

The golden share gives the US  government veto authority over a host of corporate decisions, from idling plants to cutting production capacity and moving jobs overseas, as previewed in a weekend social media post by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The share also gives the government a veto over a potential relocation of US Steel’s headquarters from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a transfer of jobs overseas, a name change, and any potential future acquisition of a rival business, the release shows.

The inclusion of the golden share to win approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which scrutinises foreign investment for national security risks, could drive overseas investors away from US companies, national security lawyers said on Monday.

The acquisition will give US Steel $11bn in investment through 2028, including $1bn for a new US mill that will increase by $3bn in later years.

It will also allow Nippon Steel, which is the world’s fourth-largest steel company, to capitalise on a host of American infrastructure projects while its foreign competitors face steel tariffs of 50 percent.

The Japanese firm also avoids the $565m in breakup fees it would have had to pay if the companies had failed to secure approvals.

Nippon Steel said on Wednesday that its annual crude steel production capacity is expected to reach 86 million tonnes, bringing it closer to Nippon Steel’s global strategic goal of 100 million tonnes of capacity.

The president described Nippon Steel as a “great partner”. After the United Steelworkers union came out against the deal last year, both then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, expressed their opposition as they sought to woo voters in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, in the presidential election campaign.

Shortly before leaving office in January, Biden blocked the deal on national security grounds, prompting lawsuits by the companies, which argued the national security review they received was biased. The Biden White House disputed the charge. The steel companies saw a new opportunity in the Trump administration, which opened a new 45-day national security review into the proposed merger in April.

But Trump’s public comments, ranging from welcoming a simple “investment” in US Steel by the Japanese firm to floating a minority stake for Nippon Steel, spurred confusion.

Trump’s May 30 rally spurred hopes of approval, and sign-off finally came on Friday with an executive order permitting the companies to combine if they signed an NSA giving the US  government a golden share, which they did.

The markets responded positively to the news. Nippon Steel, which is traded under the ticker NPSCY, is up 2.7 percent from the market open as of 11:00am in New York (15:00 GMT).

Another 26 are injured in blast near the city of Changde, Hunan Province, Xinhua News Agency says.

An explosion at a fireworks factory in southern China has killed nine people and injured 26 others, state media has reported.

The blast occurred at Shanzhou Fireworks Co, located near the city of Changde, Hunan Province, shortly before 8:30am on Monday, state-run Xinhua News Agency said on Tuesday.

During rescue efforts, 28 water tankers and two drainage vehicles were dispatched to the scene, Xinhua said.

Firefighters at the site of the blast reported “secondary hazards” and the risk of further explosions, adding to the difficulty of rescue efforts, according to the state news outlet.

“During more than 20 hours of uninterrupted and ongoing rescue work, firefighters used remote-controlled water cannons to extinguish flames at the site to prevent rescue personnel from approaching closely and reduce risks of secondary hazards,” Xinhua said.

The Hunan provincial government has established an inquiry panel to determine the cause of the explosion and “pursue accountability according to the law,” according to the report.

The incident is the latest industrial accident to draw attention to workplace safety standards in China.

Last month, at least five people were killed and 19 others injured in a chemical plant explosion in Weifang, Shandong province.

In April, at least 22 people were killed when a fire broke out at a restaurant in the northern city of Liaoyang.

Divorce remains illegal for most people in the Philippines – making it the only country besides Vatican City where it’s banned. With no legal pathway out, activists say women are often forced to stay in abusive or unwanted marriages.

In this episode of Now You Know, we speak with Cindy Diaz. The mother of three has been separated from her abusive husband for over a decade and is fighting to make divorce legal. We also hear from legal expert Clara Padilla, who weighs in on whether that’s possible.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reached Kazakhstan on Monday to attend the second China–Central Asia Summit, a high-stakes diplomatic gathering aimed at deepening Beijing’s economic and strategic ties with the region.

The summit, which will be held on Tuesday in the Kazakh capital Astana, comes at a time when China is intensifying its outreach to Central Asian countries amid shifting global power alignments — and mounting tensions in neighbouring Iran, which is roiled in an escalating conflict with Israel.

The summit will bring together the heads of state from all five Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — along with Xi.

The Astana summit also carries symbolic weight: it is the first time that the five Central Asian nations are holding a summit in the region with the leader of another country.

So, what is the importance of the China-Central Asia Summit? And is China battling both the United States and Russia for influence in the region?

What’s on Xi’s agenda in Astana?

On Monday, Xi was greeted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other senior officials at the airport in Astana. The Astana summit follows the inaugural May 2023 China–Central Asia Summit, which was held in Xi’an, the capital city of China’s Shaanxi province.

Xi is expected to be in Astana from June 16 to 18 and is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Kazakhstan’s leaders on Monday before the summit on June 17.

At the summit, he is expected to deliver a keynote speech and “exchange views on the achievements of the China-Central Asia mechanism, mutually beneficial cooperation under the framework, and international and regional hotspot issues,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

The office of Kazakhstan’s president noted that both countries are “set to further strengthen bilateral ties” and Xi will also chair “high-level talks with President [Tokayev] focused on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership”.

Tokayev, who has been in office since 2019, is a fluent Mandarin speaker and previously served as a diplomat in China.

Zhao Long, a senior research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), told Al Jazeera that Central Asian countries see their partnership with China as a deep, multifaceted cooperation grounded in shared strategic and pragmatic interests.

“The alignment with China helps Central Asian states enhance their regional stability, pursue economic modernisation, and diversify their diplomatic portfolios,” said Zhao. Where Central Asia has abundant energy resources, he said, China offers vast markets, advanced technology, and infrastructure expertise.

Last Friday, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a news briefing that establishing “the China-Central Asia mechanism was a unanimous decision among China and the five Central Asian countries, which dovetails with the region’s common desire to maintain stability and pursue high-quality development”.

Since China first formalised and chaired the China-Central Asia Summit in May 2023, Lin said, “China’s relations with Central Asian countries have entered a new era … injecting fresh impetus into regional development and delivering tangibly for the peoples of all six countries.”

“We believe through this summit, China and five Central Asian countries will further consolidate the foundation of mutual trust,” Lin added.

“During the summit, President Xi will also meet with these leaders and lay out the top-level plan for China’s relations with [the] five Central Asian countries,” said the spokesperson.

SIIS’s Zhao said Xi’s attendance at the second summit sends a clear message: “China places high strategic importance on Central Asia.”

What’s ‘C5+1’ – and is China racing the US for influence?

Experts are dubbing the China-Central Asia Summit as a C5+1 framework, because of the five regional nations involved.

The United States first initiated the concept of such a summit with all five Central Asian nations in 2015, under then-US President Barack Obama. But at the time, the conclave was held at the level of foreign ministers. Then-US Secretary of State John Kerry led the first meeting in September 2015 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

In January 2022, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with the five Central Asian state heads, and then in June 2025, he invited them for a follow-up conclave in India.

Meanwhile, in 2023, Xi hosted the leaders in Xi’an. Four months later, then-US President Joe Biden hosted the C5 state heads on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. It was the first time a US president met with Central Asian heads of state under this framework.

But current US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could upset that outreach from Washington. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have all been tariffed at 10 percent.

Trump initially imposed an even higher 27 percent tariff on imports from Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy, though as with all other countries, the US president has paused these rates, limiting tariffs to a flat 10 percent for now.

China has cited these tariff rates to project itself as a more reliable partner to Central Asia than the US. At the meeting with the foreign ministers of the region in April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised unilateralism, trade protectionism, and “the trend of anti-globalisation [that] has severely impacted the free trade system”.

The US, Wang said, was “undermining the rule-based multilateral trading system, and destabilising the global economy”.

Why does Central Asia matter to China?

The region, rich in uranium, oil, and rare earth metals, has become increasingly important to China as a key corridor for trade with Europe. Subsequently, China has increased its engagement with Central Asian countries.

Xi, who has curtailed his foreign visits since the COVID-19 pandemic, is visiting Kazakhstan for the third time since 2020. He visited in 2022, and then again in 2024.

Central Asia is also a critical part of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — a network of highways, railroads and ports connecting Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America — as a gateway to Europe.

Experts expect the BRI to figure prominently at the summit in Astana on Tuesday, with additional emphasis on collaboration in energy and sustainable development.

A planned $8bn railway connecting China’s Xinjiang region to Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan is likely to be on the agenda, the SIIS’s Zhao said. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in July. Expected to be completed by 2030, the railway route will provide China with more direct access to Central Asia and reduce the three countries’ reliance on Russia’s transport infrastructure.

Additionally, Zhao said, the summit may feature agreements on reducing tariffs, streamlining customs procedures, and lowering non-tariff barriers to boost bilateral trade volumes.

How much does Central Asia depend on China?

A lot.

China is today the top trading partner of each of the five Central Asian republics.

• Kazakhstan imported goods worth $18.7bn from China and exported goods worth $15bn in 2023 — making up 30 percent of its total imports and 16 percent of exports.
• Tajikistan imported goods worth $3.68bn from China and exported goods worth $250m in 2023 — making up 56 percent of its total imports and 16 percent of exports.
• Kyrgyzstan imported goods worth $3.68bn and exported goods worth $887m in 2023 from China — constituting 29 percent of its total imports and 26 percent of exports.
• Uzbekistan imported goods worth $12.7bn and exported goods worth $1.82bn in 2023 from the world’s second-largest economy — representing 32 percent of its total imports and 6 percent of exports.
• Turkmenistan imported goods worth $957m and exported goods worth $9.63bn in 2023 from China — or 20 percent of its total imports and 62 percent of exports.

China is also ramping up its investments in the region. It has committed to an estimated $26bn in investments in Kazakhstan, for instance.

Is China replacing Russia in Central Asia?

It’s complicated.

Formerly parts of the Soviet Union, the five Central Asian republics have long belonged in Russia’s strategic sphere of influence. Millions of people from the five republics live and work in Russia, and since 2023, Moscow has become a supplier of natural gas to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which have faced energy shortages — even though Central Asia was historically a supplier of energy to Russia.

But though Russia remains a major economic force in the region, China has overtaken it as the largest trading partner of Central Asian republics over the past three years — a period that has coincided with Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some of that increased trade, in fact, is believed to be the outcome of China using Central Asia as a conduit for exports to Russia of goods that face Western sanctions.

Still, there are ways in which Russia remains the region’s preeminent outside ally. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — three of the region’s five nations — are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) — along with Russia, Armenia and Belarus. Like NATO, this bloc offers collective security guarantees to members. In effect, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have the cover of Russia’s protection if they are attacked by another nation — something that China does not offer.

Thai PM refuses to be ‘bullied’ as tension flares in a long-running dispute that turned deadly last month.

Cambodia has threatened to halt imports of fruit and vegetables from Thailand unless its neighbour lifts border restrictions as tempers flare during a long-running dispute that turned deadly last month.

The ban will take effect if Thailand doesn’t lift all border crossing restrictions within 24 hours, Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen said in a televised speech on Monday. The announcement followed weekend talks that had aimed to defuse the tensions.

“If the Thai side does not open border crossings to normalcy today, tomorrow, we will implement throughout the border a ban on the imports of fruit and vegetables to Cambodia,” said Hun Sen, a former prime minister and father of the current premier.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra retorted that her country would not be bullied or threatened and warned that “unofficial” communication would harm diplomatic efforts.

“Messages via unofficial channels do not bring good results for both countries,” she said after meeting Thai military commanders and officials from the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs.

The rhetoric and diplomatic efforts come after decades of arguments over border territories have flared up.

On May 28, soldiers exchanged fire in a disputed area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. A Cambodian soldier was killed during the skirmish.

The Thai and Cambodian armies both said they acted in self-defence but agreed to reposition their soldiers in a bid to avoid future confrontations. However, heightened tensions remain.

Bangkok has tightened border controls since the clash and threatened to close the border and cut off electricity supplies to Cambodia.

Phnom Penh ordered troops on Friday to stay on “full alert” and announced it would cease buying Thai electric power, internet bandwidth and produce while also ordering local television stations not to screen Thai films.

Little progress

Amid the rise in diplomatic temperature, officials from the two countries met over the weekend in Phnom Penh to discuss their conflicting territorial claims.

While both sides said the meeting was held in a good atmosphere, it appears little progress was made.

The dispute dates back to the drawing of their 820km (510-mile) frontier, largely done during French colonial rule of Indochina from 1887 to 1954.

Parts of the land border are undemarcated and include ancient temples that both sides have contested for decades. The region has seen sporadic violence since 2008, resulting in at least 28 deaths.

Cambodia on Sunday formally asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to help resolve the dispute in four areas, including the site of last month’s clash and three others where ancient temples are located.

Cambodia has repeatedly asked Thailand to join the case, but Bangkok insists on a bilateral solution. It rejected a 2013 ICJ ruling that a disputed area next to the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia.

Both countries have agreed to participate in another round of meetings on border issues in Thailand in September.

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In this episode:
-Michael Pante, historian
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Emily Feng is an award-winning Chinese American journalist who spent a decade reporting from China and Taiwan. In 2022, Feng was barred from returning to the Chinese mainland and labelled a “race traitor” for her journalism.

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In this episode, Ken Roth and Emily Feng examine Xi Jinping’s past, exploring what distinguishes his style of authoritarianism and how this affects human rights both within China and globally.

The talks come after troops from the two countries exchanged fire last month, killing one Cambodian soldier.

Thailand says talks with neighbouring Cambodia had “made progress” in resolving a long-running border dispute that last month devolved into clashes, leading both countries to mobilise troops on the border.

A Thai delegation led by foreign ministry adviser Prasas Prasasvinitchai and a Cambodian contingent headed by Lam Chea, minister of state in charge of the Secretariat of Border Affairs, met on Saturday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to try to resolve the spat.

The meeting came after troops from the two countries exchanged fire last month in an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet, with one Cambodian soldier killed.

Thailand’s foreign ministry said the Joint Boundary Commission meeting had “made progress in building mutual understanding” between the two countries.

Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said in a news conference that “diplomatic dialogue remains the most effective way forward”, adding that talks would go into Sunday.

A resolution is not expected this weekend and it was unclear when the outcome would be announced.

The Thai and Cambodian armies both said they had acted in self-defence during the exchange of fire on May 28, but agreed to reposition their soldiers to avoid future confrontations.

In recent days, Thailand has tightened border controls with Cambodia, which in turn has asked its troops to stay on “full alert”.

Despite both countries pledging dialogue to handle the issue and calm nationalist fervour, Bangkok has threatened to close the border and cut off electricity supplies to its neighbour.

Phnom Penh announced it would cease buying Thai electric power, internet bandwidth and produce. It has also ordered local television stations not to screen Thai films.

Filing complaint with ICJ

The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates to the drawing of the 820-km (510-mile) frontier, largely done during the French occupation of Indo-China from 1887 to 1954. Parts of the land border are undemarcated and include ancient temples that both sides have contested for decades.

The region has seen sporadic violence since 2008, resulting in at least 28 deaths.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet announced earlier this month that Cambodia would file a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over four disputed border areas, including the site of the latest clash. Thailand, however, has insisted on a bilateral solution.

Hun Manet said in a Facebook post on Friday that the four areas and the border restrictions would not be discussed at Saturday’s talks, adding the government would send an official letter to the ICJ on Sunday on its plan to file the case.

“Cambodia awaits Thailand to clarify its official position at [Saturday’s] meeting on whether Thailand will join Cambodia in referring the four areas to the ICJ,” he said.

Influential former strongman premier Hun Sen, Hun Manet’s father, has criticised Thailand’s military for restricting border crossings and has accused generals and Thai nationalists of fanning the tensions.

“Only extremist groups and some military factions are behind these issues with Cambodia because, as usual, the Thai government is unable to control its military the way our country can,” he said late on Thursday.

The ICJ ruled in 2013 that a disputed area next to Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, but Thailand says it does not accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction.

North Korean leader says restoration of new vessel named Kang Kon has not delayed Pyongyang’s bid to boost naval power.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to build more warships and deploy them to the Pacific Ocean, as he officiated at the relaunching of a destroyer that partially sank during its inauguration last month, state media reports.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that Kim presided over the ceremony for the 5,000-tonne destroyer at the Rajin shipyard in the country’s far north. The ship has been named Kang Kon after a senior North Korean military official who was killed in action during the Korean War.

In a speech at the ceremony on Thursday, Kim was quoted as saying that repairs to the destroyer “had not delayed” North Korea’s attempts to enhance naval power.

“In two weeks’ time, the vessel was brought upright safely and set afloat, accomplishing its complete restoration today as planned,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

The North Korean leader also announced that plans were in place “to build two more 5,000-tonne destroyers next year”, as he called for his country to strengthen its maritime military presence in the Pacific Ocean in the face of what he said were provocations by the United States and its allies.

“Soon, enemies will experience, themselves, how provocative and unpleasant it is to sit and watch the ships of an adversary run rampant on the fringes of sovereign waters,” Kim said.

“I’m sure that in the near future, the routes of our battleships … will be opened on the Pacific Ocean toward the outposts of aggression,” he said.

Recent satellite images had shown ongoing repairs of the Kang Kon destroyer that had partially capsized in May during a botched inaugural launch that Kim described as a “criminal act”.

The newly launched Kang Kon is North Korea’s second known destroyer and is seen as a crucial asset in Kim’s goal of modernising his country’s naval forces.

The South Korean military estimates, based on its size and scale, that the new warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea built with Russian assistance and launched in May.

Kim has been pushing for the modernisation of his military and calling for an aggressive response to threats from the US and South Korea, who are key allies and regularly conduct military drills together.

On Wednesday, the White House said that US President Donald Trump would welcome communications with Kim after having had friendly relations with him during his first term in office.

But the South Korea-based NK News, which monitors North Korea, reported recently that Pyongyang’s delegation at the United Nations in New York had repeatedly refused to accept a letter from Trump to Kim.

China’s export of rare earth elements is central to the trade deal struck this week with the United States.

Beijing has a virtual monopoly on the supply of the critical minerals, which are used to make everything from cars to drones and wind turbines.

Earlier this year, Beijing leveraged its dominance of the sector to hit back at US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, placing export controls on seven rare earths and related products.

The restrictions created a headache for global manufacturers, particularly automakers, who rely on the materials.

After talks in Geneva in May, the US and China announced a 90-day pause on their escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, during which time US levies would be reduced from 145 percent to 30 percent and Chinese duties from 125 percent to 10 percent.

The truce had appeared to be in jeopardy in recent weeks after Washington accused Beijing of not moving fast enough to ease its restrictions on rare earths exports.

After two days of marathon talks in London, the two sides on Wednesday announced a “framework” to get trade back on track.

Trump said the deal would see rare earth minerals “supplied, up front,” though many details of the agreement are still unclear.

What are rare earths, and why are they important?

Rare earths are a group of 17 elements that are essential to numerous manufacturing industries.

The auto industry has become particularly reliant on rare-earth magnets for steering systems, engines, brakes and many other parts.

China has long dominated the mining and processing of rare earth minerals, as well as the production of related components like rare earth magnets.

It mines about 70 percent of the world’s rare earths and processes approximately 90 percent of the supply. China also maintains near-total control over the supply of heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium.

China’s hold over the industry had been a concern for the US and other countries for some time, but their alarm grew after Beijing imposed export controls in April.

The restrictions affected supplies of samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, and required companies shipping materials and finished products overseas to obtain export licences.

The restrictions followed a similar move by China in February, when it placed export controls on tungsten, bismuth and three other “niche metals”.

While news of a deal on rare earths signals a potential reprieve for manufacturers, the details of its implementation remain largely unclear.

What has been the impact of the export restrictions?

Chinese customs data shows the sale of rare earths to the US dropped 37 percent in April, while the sale of rare earth magnets fell 58 percent for the US and 51 percent worldwide, according to Bloomberg.

Global rare earth exports recovered 23 percent in May, following talks between US and Chinese officials in Geneva, but they are still down overall from a year earlier.

The greatest alarm has been felt by carmakers and auto parts manufacturers in the US and Europe, who reported bottlenecks after working their way through inventories of rare earth magnets.

“The automobile industry is now using words like panic. This isn’t something that the auto industry is just talking about and trying to make a big stir. This is serious right now, and they’re talking about shutting down production lines,” Mark Smith, a mining and mineral processing expert and the CEO of the US-based NioCorp Developments, told Al Jazeera.

Even with news of a breakthrough, Western companies are still worried about their future access to rare earths and magnets and how their dependence on China’s supply chain could be leveraged against them.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that China’s Ministry of Commerce has been demanding “sensitive business information to secure rare earths and magnets” from Western companies in China, including production details and customer lists.

What have the US and China said about rare earth exports?

Trump shared some details of the agreement on his social media platform, Truth Social, where he also addressed concerns about rare earths and rare earth magnets.

“We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. The relationship is excellent,” Trump said, using a figure for US duties that includes levies introduced during his first term.

“Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me),” Trump said.

Ahead of the negotiations in London, China’s Ministry of Commerce had said it approved an unspecified number of export licences for rare earths, and it was willing to “further strengthen communication and dialogue on export controls with relevant countries”.

However, an op-ed published by state news outlet Xinhua this week said rare earth export controls were not “short-term bargaining tools” or “tactical countermeasures” but a necessary measure because rare earths can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

NioCorp Developments’ Smith said Beijing is unlikely to quickly give up such powerful leverage over the US entirely.

“There’s going to be a whole bunch of words, but I really think China is going to hold the US hostage on this issue, because why not?” he said.

“They’ve worked really hard to get into the position that they’re in. They have 100 percent control over the heavy rare earth production in the world. Why not use that?”

Deborah Elms, the head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, said it was hard to predict how rare earths would be treated in negotiations, which would need to balance other US concerns like China’s role in exporting the deadly opioid fentanyl to the US.

Beijing, for its part, will want guarantees that it can access advanced critical US technology to make advanced semiconductors, she said.

Japan said J-15 warplanes operating from two Chinese aircraft carriers in the Pacific carried out risky manouvres around patrol planes.

Japan has protested to Beijing over what was described as Chinese fighter jets’ “near-miss” manoeuvres near Japanese maritime patrol planes over the Pacific where China’s two operational aircraft carriers were spotted deployed simultaneously for the first time last weekend.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday that a Chinese J-15 warplane from the Shandong aircraft carrier flew within 45 metres (147 feet) of a Japanese P-3C maritime surveillance plane and made other “dangerous manoeuvres” during incidents on Saturday and Sunday.

“We have expressed serious concern to the Chinese side and solemnly requested prevention of recurrence,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

According to Japan’s defence ministry, P-3C aircraft, belonging to Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force based on the island of Okinawa, were conducting surveillance over international waters in the Pacific when they encountered Chinese warplanes.

On Saturday, a J-15 from the Shandong chased a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for about 40 minutes. Then, on Sunday, a J-15 fighter chased a P-3C for 80 minutes, crossing in front of the Japanese aircraft at a distance of only 900 metres (2,952 feet), the ministry said.

“Such abnormal approaches by Chinese military aircraft could potentially cause accidental collisions,” the defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, attaching close-up images of the J-15 jet it took on Sunday. There was no damage to the Japanese planes or harm caused to the aircraft crew, the ministry added.

Hayashi, the top Japanese government spokesperson, said Tokyo will maintain communications with Beijing at various levels and will also ensure the monitoring of airspace around Japan’s territories continues.

The last time a similar incident was reported was more than a decade ago in May and June 2014, when Chinese Su-27 fighter jets flew within 30 metres (98 feet) of Japan’s military planes.

The Kyodo news agency also reported that the Shandong aircraft carrier conducted takeoff and landing drills on Monday to the north of Japan’s southernmost Okinotori Island, inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Liaoning carrier was also spotted inside the EEZ on Saturday before moving outside the zone where it also conducted takeoffs and landings on Sunday.

At least 123.2 million people, or one in 67 individuals worldwide, remain forcibly displaced, according to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today.

The number of displaced people has increased by seven million people, or 6 percent, compared with the end of 2023. This continues a 13-year trend which has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of displaced people globally.

However, the UNHCR estimated that forced displacement fell in the first four months of this year, to 122.1 million by the end of April 2025.

“We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering. We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

Of the 123.2 million total forcibly displaced, 73.5 million are internally displaced within their own countries due to conflict or other crises. This is an increase of 6.3 million compared with 2023. Internally displaced people (IDPs) account for 60 percent of the majority of those who have been forced to flee globally.

In Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that about 90 percent of the population, or more than two million people, have been displaced by Israel’s continuing assault.

As of 2024, the number of refugees stood at 42.7 million, a decrease of 613,600 from the previous year. Of this number, 31 million are under the UNHCR’s mandate, 5.9 million are Palestinian refugees under the mandate of UNRWA, and another 5.9 million need international protection.

According to the UNHCR, the lower number of refugees in 2024 reflects lower estimates of Afghan and Syrian refugees and updated reporting on Ukrainian refugees. However, the number of Sudanese refugees increased by nearly 600,000 to 2.1 million.

The number of asylum seekers – people seeking protection in another country due to persecution or fear of harm in their home country – waiting for a decision stood at 8.4 million, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.

This puts the number of displaced people globally at one in 67 people.

How have forcibly displaced people’s numbers changed over the years?

In 1951, the UN established the Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. In 1967, the convention was expanded to address displacement across the rest of the world.

When the Refugee Convention was born, there were 2.1 million refugees. By 1980, the number of refugees recorded by the UN surpassed 10 million for the first time. Wars in Afghanistan and Ethiopia during the 1980s caused the number of refugees to double to 20 million by 1990.

The number of refugees remained fairly consistent over the next two decades.

However, the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States in 2001 and that of Iraq in 2003, together with the civil wars in South Sudan and Syria, resulted in refugee numbers exceeding 30 million by the end of 2021.

The war in Ukraine, which started in 2022, led to one of the fastest-growing refugee crises since World War II, with 5.7 million people forced to flee Ukraine in less than a year. By the end of 2023, six million Ukrainians remained forcibly displaced.

The number of IDPs has doubled in the past 10 years, with a steep incline since 2020. Conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, with a total of 14.3 million Sudanese remaining displaced at the end of 2024. This was 3.5 million more people than 12 months prior.

Where are people displaced from?

In 2024, more than one-third of all forcibly displaced people globally were Sudanese (14.3 million), Syrian (13.5 million), Afghan (10.3 million) or Ukrainian (8.8 million).

IDP and refugee returns

In 2024, 1.6 million refugees returned to their home country.

“However, many of these refugees returned to Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan or Ukraine, despite the fragile situations in each,” Matthew Saltmarsh, UNHCR’s media head, said. “Returns to places in conflict or instability are far from ideal and often unsustainable.”

In 2024, 8.2 million IDPs returned to their area of origin.

The UNHCR estimates that nine in 10 refugees and IDPs returned to just eight countries, which included Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Lebanon, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.

“Large IDP returns during the year were also registered in several countries that simultaneously saw significant new displacements, such as the DRC (2.4 million), Myanmar (378,000),  Syria (514,000) or Ukraine (782,000),” Saltmarsh said.

“Even amid the devastating cuts, we have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” Grandi said. “Nearly two million Syrians have been able to return home after over a decade uprooted. The country remains fragile, and people need our help to rebuild their lives again.”

Australia says the plan to deliver nuclear submarines remains unchanged, despite opposition to the pact from a top Trump official.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said he is “very confident” that the AUKUS security pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will continue to move forward despite news that the Pentagon is reviewing the 2021 deal between the three nations.

News of the review was first reported on Thursday as US defence officials said re-assessing the pact was necessary to ensure that the military deal, agreed to with much fanfare under former US President Joe Biden, was in line with US President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda.

The pact includes a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars to provide Australia with closely-guarded nuclear propulsion technology. Only five other countries besides the US can build nuclear submarines: the UK, China, Russia, France and India.

“The meetings that we’ve had with the United States have been very positive in respect of AUKUS,” Defence Minister Marles told the ABC network.

A review of the deal is “something that it’s perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do … It’s exactly what we did”, Marles said.

“There is a plan here. We are sticking to it, and we’re going to deliver it,” he said.

Under the terms of the AUKUS deal, Australia and the UK will work with the US to design nuclear-class submarines ready for delivery to Australia in the 2040s, according to the US Naval Institute.

The three countries are already close military allies and share intelligence, but AUKUS focuses on key strategic areas, such as countering the rise of China and its expansion into the Pacific.

Due to the long lead time in building the submarines under the AUKUS deal, Australia also agreed to buy up to three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines during the 2030s. The US and UK also plan to start the rotational deployment of their submarines out of Australia in 2027.

But some Trump administration officials, such as Pentagon policy adviser Elbridge Colby, say the submarine deal puts foreign governments ahead of US national security.

“My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it?” Colby said last year.

Other officials, including US Representative Joe Courtney from Connecticut – a US state which has an industry focused on building submarines for the US Navy – say the deal is in the “best interest of all three AUKUS nations, as well as the Indo-Pacific region as a whole”.

“To abandon AUKUS – which is already well under way – would cause lasting harm to our nation’s standing with close allies and certainly be met with great rejoicing in Beijing,” Courtney said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to discuss the deal when he meets Trump next week during a meeting of the G7 leaders in Canada.

Earlier this year, Australia made a $500m payment towards AUKUS and plans to spend $2bn this year to speed up the production process in the US of the Virginia-class submarines.

The UK, like Australia, has downplayed concerns that the Trump administration could renege on the pact.

A UK official told the Reuters news agency that the deal is “one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades” that will also produce “jobs and economic growth in communities across all three nations”.

“It is understandable that a new administration would want to review its approach to such a major partnership, just as the UK did last year,” the official said.

A new report accuses fashion giants of not considering the welfare of workers affected by climate change in garment factories in Southeast Asia.

Fashion brands including luxury label Hermes, sportswear giant Nike, and fast fashion chain H&M are in the hot seat amid new allegations of climate greenwashing after making commitments to slash carbon emissions in Asia, which is home to more than 50 percent of global garment production.

A report released this morning by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), titled, The Missing Thread, analysed 65 global fashion brands. It found that while 44 of them had made public commitments to reduce carbon emissions, none had adopted what is known as a “Just Transition” policy, a concept first introduced during COP27 in Egypt in 2022.

A Just Transition ensures that workers are not left behind as industries shift towards a low-carbon economy.

Only 11 companies in the study acknowledged the climate-related impact on workers in their social and human rights policies. Just four provided any guidance on managing heat-related stress.

Only two companies among those deemed the most ambitious by the report mentioned the welfare of workers. These included Inditex, the Spanish retail giant that owns the fast fashion company Zara, and Kering, the parent company of Gucci.

“Decarbonisation done without workers as critical and creative partners is not a just transition, it’s a dangerous shortcut,” said Natalie Swan, labour rights programme manager at BHRRC, in a news release.

Currently, the global textile industry relies on 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources per year, such as oil and fertiliser. At current trends, the fashion industry is on track to be responsible for more than 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“The fashion industry’s climate targets mean little if the people who make its products are not taken into consideration,” Swan said. “It’s not enough to go green. It has to be clean and fair.”

“Brands must stop hiding behind greenwashing slogans and start seriously engaging workers and their trade unions, whose rights, livelihoods and safety are under threat from both climate change and the industry’s response to it. A just transition is not just a responsibility, it’s a critical opportunity to build a fairer, more resilient fashion industry that works for people and the planet.”

Al Jazeera reached out to Nike, Hermes, H&M, Inditex and Kering. None of them responded to a request for comment.

Extreme weather

The effects of climate change have already hit much of Southeast Asia hard. Garment workers in countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have experienced extreme weather events such as surging temperatures and severe flooding.

In Bangladesh, workers reported fainting from heat-related illnesses. According to the report, factories allegedly failed to provide fans or drinking water. Similar challenges were noted in Cambodia, where temperatures regularly exceeded 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) during a 2022 heatwave.

A third of workers said they had already lost work due to automation. In Bangladesh’s garment sector, 30 percent reported job losses stemming from technological changes. These shifts have disproportionately affected female workers, who are less likely to receive training on new technologies and are often excluded from on-the-job learning opportunities that could help them adapt to evolving industry demands.

The United States and China say they’ve reached in principle a framework to roll back some of the punitive measures they have taken against each other’s economies.

That means Washington could ease restrictions on selling chips to China if Beijing agrees to speed up the export of rare earths.

Whether that happens depends on the approval of presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The plan reached after talks in London marks the latest twist in a trade war that has threatened to disrupt global supply chains.

Also, what’s behind the surge in Russia’s rouble?

Plus, are nations choosing warfare over welfare?