Submit your Article

Thailand has rejected mediation efforts from third countries to end the ongoing conflict with Cambodia, insisting that Phnom Penh cease attacks and resolve the situation only through bilateral talks, its foreign ministry said on Friday, Reuters reported.

Simmering border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have flared into open hostilities at multiple locations along the frontline, with exchanges of artillery for a second straight day.

At least 16 people, most of them Thai civilians, have died so far in the heaviest fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in over a decade.

The United States, China and Malaysia, which is the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, have offered to facilitate dialogue but Bangkok is seeking a bilateral solution to the conflict, Thai foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told Reuters.

Donald Trump flies into Scotland later to visit two golf resorts which he owns in the country where his mother was born, BBC reported.

He will travel to Turnberry in South Ayrshire, a world-class venue he bought in 2014, and to Menie in Aberdeenshire to open a new 18-hole course. 

The White House says Trump will also meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss trade while he is in the UK.

The trip is exceptional as US presidents rarely promote their personal interests so publicly while in office, according to BBC.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state. He warned the move rewards terrorism and endangers Israel’s security, Xinhua reported.

Macron announced the decision on social media, saying it reflects France’s historic commitment to peace and will be formally declared at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also condemned the move, saying it risks creating a Hamas-controlled state, similar to what happened in Gaza, according to Xinhua.

EU-China relations have reached an "inflection point", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a one-day summit in Beijing, BBC reported.

"As our co-operation has deepened, so have imbalances," von der Leyen said, referring to the European Union's huge trade deficit with China. She also warned China's ties with Russia were now the "determining factor" in its relations with the EU. 

Xi urged EU leaders to "properly manage differences", saying "the current challenges facing Europe do not come from China".

Earlier in the year there were suggestions a Trump presidency could help the EU and China find common cause but instead ties have grown more fraught, according to BBC.