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Papua New Guinea grapples with HIV epidemic as it battles stigma and US aid cuts

After battling illness for years, Nancy Karipa tested positive for HIV in 1999. She had just given birth to her first child. “It was a crossroads moment for me, with the fear of denial, but I chose action,” Karipa, who is now in her 50s, said at an Aids awareness event in Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby in December. She and the baby received treatment, and her child remains healthy. Karipa, from East Sepik in northern PNG, is unusual in sharing her story. The stigma around the disease is high in the Pacific nation, but speaking out has never been more important. This year PNG declared HIV a “national crisis”. UNAids, the UN agency that fights HIV/Aids globally, says the epidemic in PNG is among the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region, along with Fiji and the Philippines. New infections have doubled since 2010 and it is estimated that only 59% of people living with the virus know they are HIV positive. The rise of infections in women and children is particularly alarming, UNAids says. “The transmission of [the virus from] mother to child is very high in Papua New Guinea, one of the highest globally,” says Manoela Manova, UNAids country director for PNG. Changes to funding for HIV support and prevention have hit PNG hard. The suspension of US foreign aid by the Trump administration this year has affected hundreds of clinics. Sharp global reductions in funding for UNAids is also worrying health providers, and calls for the PNG government to do more are growing. Manova says HIV awareness has declined over time and now, “it’s like the feeling that the epidemic does not exist”. “That’s the perception in both the public and in the political class.” The crisis in the country of about 10 million people is compounded by a combination of factors, including inadequate testing and lack of awareness. UNAids says PNG recorded an estimated 11,000 new cases in 2024, with nearly half of all new infections among children and people aged under 25. An estimated 2,700 infants were infected with HIV in PNG in 2024. In most cases, mothers were unaware of their HIV status and didn’t receive the necessary antiretroviral therapy (ART) which could have prevented transmission to their child. “A lot of people do not know their status and that’s the first step to addressing the epidemic [and] to be put on treatment,” Manova says. US aid freeze hits clinics The government declared HIV a national crisis in June and put in place an emergency response plan including more testing, treatment and support. Deputy secretary of health, Ken Wai, says while the government is responsible for drug supplies, other support services and community outreach has depended heavily on US aid. In January, the Trump administration cut foreign aid, which was distributed through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), although Wai says some funding has been restored to specific programs. “USAID finances an organisation called FHI360; they help us with data recording, and one laboratory coordinator assists at the central public health laboratory,” Wai says. Chair of the national Aids council, Wep Kanawi, says the government must do more to address the crisis. The council works to prevent HIV transmission and provide treatment across the country. Kanawi says the government does not receive direct funding from USAID for HIV medicines, but PNG does seek funding from global not-for-profit organisations which receive contributions from USAID. That then supports some HIV programs in PNG, including paying staff salaries, he says. Kanawi says more than 200 clinics run by the government or churches that provide HIV services have lost funding after the US suspended foreign aid earlier this year, without providing further details about the services the clinics provide. Kanawi wants the government to do more, and says about K45-K50m (US$10m) annually is needed to deal with the epidemic. “Many of our centres are operating but scaling down on their operations,” Kanawi says. Kaugere Clinic in Port Moresby, which provides HIV and other health services, is one of the centres affected by the funding freeze. Rose Marai, a social worker at the clinic, says when aid was suspended by the Trump administration, salaries at the clinic were withheld because there was no funding. “There was no second plan given to us and we were told to close down the clinic, which had affected the communities,” Marai says. “I used to receive K1,000 (US$235) to run a day awareness program in communities but since the stop of funding I now receive K240 monthly. “I started doing voluntary counselling of referral patients who were already tested positive, STI and gender-based violence couples.” The US embassy in PNG did not respond to questions about USAID or US funding. In a statement, it said the US is “committed to our partnership with Papua New Guinea”. “US foreign assistance to PNG, managed through the Department of State and other US agencies, includes robust programs in security cooperation, disaster preparedness, and health.” At the same time, UNAids has this year seen what it describes as a “historic funding crisis” because of cuts in the US foreign aid budget and reductions from other donor countries. A December report from UNAids said abrupt funding reductions and persistent funding shortfalls “are having profound, lasting effects on the health” of millions of people, although it noted funding for some HIV programs has restarted. UNAids in PNG say the country has so far been shielded from the hit as Australia stepped in with additional funding. In October, the Australian government said it would “increase its annual HIV development funding to almost A$10m this financial year”. Manova says additional funding from Australia will help maintain the UNAids office in PNG “for another two years”. Still, concerns are rising in PNG that the epidemic highlights the fragility of the health sector and the heavy reliance on foreign aid, amid a surge in infections. Foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko says the country needs a “fallback position”. “The longterm strategy is doing it ourselves. We can’t continually rely on other donor partners to help us,” he says. Rebecca Bush contributed to this report

‘It’s not going to end’: Thai evacuees fear for future after fresh clashes with Cambodia

Rangsan Angda and many of his neighbours in border areas of Thailand had already packed their bags, fearing that a ceasefire with neighbouring Cambodia would soon collapse. The ceasefire deal – brokered by Donald Trump, who proclaimed himself “President of PEACE” after he helped end five days of deadly clashes in July – had seemed precarious from the start. “Both sides are confronting one another all the time,” said Angda, 50. On Sunday, the announcement he had feared rang out on loudspeakers across his village, warning that fighting had again erupted. For the second time this year, everyone was ordered to evacuate immediately. Families piled into their cars or waited for lifts with local officials. For hours they queued on traffic-clogged roads, making their way to temples, schools and government buildings. More than 500,000 people across Cambodia and Thailand have made similar journeys since the skirmishes broke out on Sunday. No one knows when they will be able to return home, or how the latest round of fighting might be halted. Trump, who oversaw the signing of an enhanced ceasefire deal in October, told reporters this week he would call the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday, saying he could bring an end to the clashes “pretty quickly”. “I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?” the US president said. In the border areas of Thailand, few share his confidence. “If he did have power to sort the conflict there wouldn’t be this war right now,” said Patcharee Kotmakti, 45. She left her home on Monday, when the din of gunfire first rang out across her village. Just four months ago, clashes were so intense that her house shook from the impact. “I would say I’m used to it by now,” she said. She fears the fighting could drag on for months. “I won’t be able to make ends meet,” she said. Kotmakti and many of her neighbours have no fixed income and instead depend on daily work. “Some people who stay here don’t have money, they have to borrow money and pay it back with interest.” She just wanted the situation to end, she said. “The sooner the better.” Trump has previously used the threat of tariffs to pressure Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting. Dr Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, said this intervention was “absolutely pivotal” in bringing an end to fighting. “Before that, Thailand had rejected all third-party mediation,” he added. Whether Trump can have the same impact today is unclear. With an election due in 2026, the Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, might choose to appeal to nationalist sentiment by maintaining that Thailand had acted legitimately in defence of its territorial sovereignty, said Jatusripitak. Doing so “could resonate with large segments of Thais who view Cambodia as the party that instigated the crisis and the United States as exerting unwarranted pressure on Bangkok,” he said. “This is a moment when he cannot afford to appear soft.” A poll in August found that more than half of those surveyed believed Thailand should not be associated with Cambodia. It also found many were sceptical of Trump’s interventions in the conflict. Almost two-thirds of respondents said interference was in the interest of the superpowers, not Thailand. Fewer than 10% agreed such involvement was intended to restore peace. At shelters in Ubon Ratchathani evacuees questioned Trump’s bold claims of bringing peace. “It is his perspective,” said one older woman diplomatically. But evacuees were divided over what the Thai authorities should do next. Gen Chaiyapruek Duangprapat, the Royal Thai army’s chief of staff, told media this week that the military aimed to crush Cambodia’s military capability, neutralising it as a threat in the long term. “Each person has their own opinion,” said Rinda Metmat, 44. “I don’t want anyone to experience loss. I feel sorry for the soldiers, for their families and their children. Cambodian soldiers also have families. I think they don’t want a war.” Some question whether negotiations can work, regardless of input from Trump or others. “It’s not going to end no matter how many parties involved [in talks], two countries or with a third party, it’s not going to be resolved,” said Rangsan. “Talking never seems to lead to anywhere.”

US wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donbas and create ‘free economic zone’, says Zelenskyy

The US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region, and Washington would then create a “free economic zone” in the parts Kyiv currently controls, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Previously, the US had suggested Kyiv should hand over the parts of Donbas it still controlled to Russia, but the Ukrainian president said on Thursday that Washington had now suggested a compromise version in which Ukrainian troops would withdraw, but Russian troops would not advance into the territory. “Who will govern this territory, which they are calling a ‘free economic zone’ or a ‘demilitarised zone’ – they don’t know,” said the Ukrainian president, speaking with journalists in Kyiv on Thursday. Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not believe the plan was fair without guarantees that Russian troops would not simply take over the zone after a Ukrainian withdrawal. Zelenskyy said: “If one side’s troops have to retreat and the other side stays where they are, then what will hold back these other troops, the Russians? Or what will stop them disguising themselves as civilians and taking over this free economic zone? This is all very serious. It’s not a fact that Ukraine would agree to it, but if you are talking about a compromise then it has to be a fair compromise.” He said if Ukraine did agree to such a scheme, there would need to be elections or a referendum to ratify it, saying that only “the Ukrainian people” could make decisions on territorial concessions. Under the US plans, said Zelenskyy, Ukraine would withdraw from Donbas, where Russia is advancing, while the frontlines would be frozen in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russia would give up a few small pockets of land it controls in other regions. Zelenskyy has been under immense pressure from Donald Trump to sign up to the US peace plan. In recent days Trump has attacked Zelenskyy, claiming he “has not even read” the draft peace plan and suggesting he lacks legitimacy and Ukraine should hold an election. Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Thursday: “The president is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war, and he is sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting.” Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian negotiating team had sent their revised plan back to Washington on Wednesday, and that questions over territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were two of the remaining sticking points. “It’s not the final plan; it’s a reaction to what we received … the plan is constantly being worked on and edited, and this is a continuous process that is still going on,” he said. If Washington and Kyiv do agree, the much bigger question remains of whether Vladimir Putin is really ready to sign a deal or is merely buying time with fake negotiations and hoping to continue his military advance over the winter. In Berlin, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, said on Thursday that if Putin was allowed to get his way in Ukraine then the prospect of war in Europe would become more real, warning that the continent had been “quietly complacent” over the threat from Russia. A new war waged by Russia could come within the next five years and could be “on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured”, Rutte suggested. He issued a now-familiar call for all European countries to increase defence spending. “Too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now,” he added. Rutte is among the European politicians who have been working hard to keep the Trump administration on side when it comes to Ukraine policy, as the US president appears to get ever more impatient with the lack of a peace deal. On Thursday afternoon, Zelenskyy held a video call with about 30 leaders from the “coalition of the willing” nations, which support Ukraine, but without Trump. In some European capitals there is increasing sentiment that Ukraine will have to make painful compromises, as the country enters its fourth winter of full-scale war, with a difficult situation on the frontline and huge power issues caused by repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. However, the leaders of France, Britain and Germany, who met Zelenskyy in Downing Street on Monday, are keen to stress that only Ukraine can decide on territorial questions. “It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people will not accept after four years of suffering and death,” Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said on Thursday. Zelenskyy said that in addition to the overall framework agreement, there were two separate documents that Ukraine hoped to sign in the coming days, one on potential security guarantees that would come into effect if Russia attacked Ukraine again and one on Ukraine’s economic renewal. Also on Thursday, top EU officials met in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to discuss Ukraine’s accession prospects, even as Hungary’s Russia-friendly leader, Viktor Orbán, continues to block formal negotiations. All other EU members are in favour of Ukraine joining, and officials have said they want to accept Ukraine anyway provided the country can move forward on aligning its laws and practices with EU regulations. “Ukraine will become a member of the EU, and nobody can block it,” said Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner, at the talks. Zelenskyy said he hoped Trump would put pressure on Hungary and any other EU country that might block Ukraine. “We all understand that the US president has various levers of influence, and these will work on those who are currently blocking Ukraine,” he said.

Pressure on Maduro grows after US seizes ‘dark fleet’ tanker off coast of Venezuela

Diplomatic pressure on Nicolás Maduro has grown after the US interdicted a “dark fleet” tanker off the coast of Venezuela in a move that has been interpreted as an escalation of the Trump administration’s pressure on the South American dictator. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said that the US would take the seized oil tanker, the Skipper, to a US port one day after military and law enforcement boarded it off the coast of Venezuela. “The vessel will go to a U.S. port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” Leavitt said during a briefing. “However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed.” Donald Trump had earlier told reporters that the US planned to “keep” the oil on board the tanker. Asked whether she viewed the seizure as an escalation of US pressure against Maduro, she said: “I think the president considers the seizure of the oil tanker as effectuating the administration’s sanctions policies.” “Prolonged war is definitely not something this president is interested in,” she added. Reuters on Thursday citing anonymous sources said that the US is preparing to seize more oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. Asked whether the US would do so, Leavitt said: “We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.” The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called Maduro on Thursday after the rare seizure to “reaffirm” Russia’s support for the current Venezuelan government, despite calls from the Trump administration, other countries in the region and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for him to step down. A Kremlin readout of the call said Putin called Maduro to express “solidarity” with the Venezuelan people and to continue to build economic and energy cooperation, which includes offshore oil ventures in the Caribbean Sea. Senior Democratic lawmakers and at least one Republican have condemned the seizure of the oil tanker, with one saying Trump was “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela”. Maduro has reacted defiantly to US pressure and his government called the oil tanker seizure “blatant theft” and “an act of international piracy”, adding it would “defend its sovereignty, natural resources and national dignity with absolute determination”. But neighbouring countries have said Maduro’s exit could help pave a way to the end of the crisis. In a radio interview on Thursday, Colombia’s foreign affairs minister, Rosa Villavicencio, indicated her government would be willing to offer Maduro a place to live or “protection” if needed. “Colombia would have no reason to say no,” Villavicencio said, although she believed he would be more likely to go somewhere further away. It was the first time a senior Colombian official had said Maduro could receive asylum in the country, although Villavicencio had previously discussed the potential for a transitional government. That followed a public statement by Colombia’s leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, on Wednesday: “It is time for a general amnesty and a transitional government with the inclusion of all and everyone,” Petro said, adding that he opposed an “invasion by foreigners” of Venezuela, pushing back against direct action by the US. Celso Amorim, a top adviser to Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, earlier this week told the Guardian that “asylum is a Latin American institution [for] people of both right and left” but added that he did not want to speculate, “so as not to appear to be encouraging” the idea. Speaking in Oslo on Thursday after being awarded the Nobel peace prize, Machado repeated her call for Maduro to step down and predicted he would soon have no choice but to leave Venezuela. “He’s going out,” she insisted, although so far the autocrat has shown no sign of being willing to relinquish power after nearly 13 years as president. At a rally on Wednesday, Maduro urged his supporters to be ready to “to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary”. In an apparent bid to project nonchalance, he also danced to the sound of the Bobby McFerrin song Don’t Worry Be Happy. Ricardo Hausmann, a former Venezuelan minister and opposition supporter, said he believed dramatically increasingly US military pressure on Maduro was the only way to force him out. “If you know [you’re going to] confront some kinetic threats by a credible military force, then suddenly going into exile sounds that much more attractive,” Hausmann said. “That’s why my preference would be to clearly use the military threat to convince Maduro to go.” “If staying in power means that you may get missiles thrown at you, like [Iranian general Qasem] Soleimani, then you might want to consider seriously whether you want to stay in power,” Hausmann added. Maduro was democratically elected in 2013, inheriting the Bolivarian revolution from his mentor, Hugo Chávez, but has led the country in an increasingly authoritarian direction. The former union leader is widely believed to have stolen last year’s presidential election, with an independent analysis of election data gathered by the opposition suggesting Maduro suffered a landslide defeat to Machado’s ally, the retired diplomat Edmundo González. Even longstanding allies of the Chavista movement, such the leftist presidents of Brazil and Colombia, have refused to recognise Maduro’s claim to have beaten González, who ran in Machado’s place after she was banned from taking part. While the US seizure of the Guyana-flagged Skipper was quickly seen as an escalation of pressure on Venezuela, it also coincided with a number of attacks on other “dark fleet” ships around the world that carry oil between sanctioned countries in violation of global maritime regulations. Maritime data collected by Windward, a maritime AI data company, and shared with the Guardian indicated that the ship had regularly “spoofed” its location and made multiple trips to Venezuela and Iran, which is also under US sanctions, and had transported oil to China. “The US seizure of Skipper off the coast of Venezuela sends a powerful message that dark fleet tankers are now a legitimate military target,” the company wrote in an analysis. There are 30 sanctioned tankers operating in Venezuelan waters, the company said, including seven that are falsely flagged and operating off the coastline. “Despite flouting global maritime regulations that underpin global trade, hundreds of these tankers have operated around the world unchallenged – until now,” it said. The Trump administration framed Wednesday’s seizure as a law enforcement action, noting that the US Coast Guard led the operation and directing the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to announce the seizure. “For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations,” she said. “This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely – and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”

UK MPs face rise in phishing attacks on messaging apps

MPs are facing rising numbers of phishing attacks and Russia-based actors are actively targeting the WhatsApp and Signal accounts of politicians and officials, UK parliamentary authorities have warned. MPs, peers and officials are being asked to step up their cybersecurity after a continued rise in attacks that have involved messages pretending to be from the app’s support team, asking a user to enter an access code, click a link or scan a QR code. If successful, the attacker can read the parliamentarian’s messages, download their contact lists and monitor their activity, all without being discovered, according to a memo sent on Thursday and seen by the Guardian. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), based at GCHQ, shared new measures in October to protect parliamentarians from phishing attacks but “such cases have continued to rise” it said. “The NCSC are aware of Russian-based activity targeting commercial messaging platforms used by UK politicians and officials, including Signal and WhatsApp,” the parliamentary authorities said. They are urging legislators and officials to stop using commercial messaging platforms for parliamentary work and to use Microsoft Teams for informal communications. A government spokesperson said: “Spear-phishing is a common but all-too-effective tactic used by threat actors attempting to gain access to information, online accounts and devices. “The National Cyber Security Centre is working with partners in government and UK parliament in response to recent targeting against commercial messaging apps including Signal and WhatsApp. We strongly encourage individuals at high risk of being targeted to follow the NCSC’s guidance and to sign up for our cyber-defence services to help bolster their protection.” Last year, police launched an investigation after several MPs were apparently targeted in a “spear-phishing” attack by a WhatsApp user calling themselves “Abigail” or “Abi”. In 2023, the government identified a group called Star Blizzard, operated by Russian intelligence officers, targeting parliamentarians, including through spear-phishing, from at least 2015. In their latest warning, the parliamentary authorities said “these attacks are easy to carry out if the attacker has your phone number” and urged them to take steps to make their accounts more secure and reduce the risk of attack. These include enabling two-factor authentication on messaging accounts, checking if there are any unrecognised devices linked to their own, and removing any that are there immediately, as this could indicate they have been targeted. Legislators and parliamentary staff can also register their phone number and email with the NCSC, which will provide alerts if accounts are compromised.

Dushan Chimbur obituary

My grandfather Dushan Chimbur, who has died aged 97, arrived in the UK soon after the second world war as a displaced person, fleeing war and persecution in Yugoslavia. In 1944, Dushan, his father and uncle embarked on a three-year journey across Europe, travelling on foot through Croatia and Slovenia, before reaching Italy, where they remained from 1945 to 1947. They were then taken to a displaced persons camp in Germany. At the time, the British government’s European Voluntary Workers programme was recruiting individuals from those camps to fill labour shortages. It was through this scheme that he came to the UK and began to work on a farm near Abergavenny, south Wales. In 1950 he joined the steel makers Stewarts & Lloyds in Corby, Northamptonshire, later nationalised as part of British Steel, and remained there for 34 years. In 1955 Dushan married Milica (nee Berić), whom he had met the year before when she arrived from Yugoslavia with her mother and brother. They had a son, Sava, and daughter, Mirjana. Dushan played an important part in the Serbian community in Corby, and made significant contributions to the Serbian Orthodox church and hall. Born in Polača, a village that is now in Croatia, Dushan was the son of Manda Vučencović, a housewife, and Sava Čimbur, a steelworker. He faced adversity from a very young age, receiving little schooling and suffering hunger and typhus. For a time he was held by communists during the Partisan-Chetnik conflict. During the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Dushan arranged for the production of special wooden crates to ensure the safe transportation of critical sterilising equipment to hospitals in Belgrade and Montenegro. These were received by representatives of the Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation, whose patron is Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia, and made possible by his employer at the time, John Carr Ltd, which sold building and joinery supplies; he worked at the firm from the late 80s to the mid-90s, when he retired. Dushan overcame cancer at the age of 87; he said the care he received from the NHS was “the best in the world”. While he never lost sight of where he came from, he wholeheartedly embraced his life in the UK and was appreciative of the many opportunities it gave him – to work, to build a home and secure a better future for his children. Shortly after his death, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia wrote in a letter to the family that Dushan’s faith and perseverance “deserve the highest respect and gratitude”. He is survived by Milica, Sava and Mirjana, by his grandchildren, Christina and me, and a great-granddaughter, Cecilia.

Fate of 11 Nigerian troops unclear after ‘unauthorised’ plane landing in Burkina Faso

Eleven Nigerian military personnel are reportedly still in Burkina Faso days after their plane made an “unauthorised” landing in the south-west city of Bobo Dioulasso, despite earlier suggestions they had been freed, deepening confusion about the diplomatic standoff. Burkinabé authorities told the BBC on Tuesday that the troops had been released and given permission to return to Nigeria, but officials in Abuja have said the matter is yet to be resolved. The Nigerian daily the Punch quoted Kimiebi Ebienfa, a foreign ministry spokesperson, as saying late on Wednesday that that Nigerian embassy in Ouagadougou was “engaging with the host authorities to secure their release”. The saga began on Monday when a Nigerian military cargo plane, a C-130, travelling from Lagos to Portugal was forced to land in Burkina Faso. Authorities in the country, which is part of the three-member Alliance of Sahel States (AES), called the landing an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law” in a statement that evening. The Nigerian air force said technical concerns had forced the plane to divert to the nearest airport “in line with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols”. The Burkinabé authorities had treated the crew courteously and plans were under way to continue the mission, it said. Conspiracy theories began circulating on social media and offline given that the landing came within 24 hours of Nigerian troops helping to thwart a coup attempt in Benin, which borders Nigeria and Burkina Faso. The AES trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger officially left the larger Ecowas regional bloc in January, forming a military alliance as it withdrew from many of its traditional local and international allegiances.

Half a million flee as deadly Cambodia-Thailand border clashes escalate

Deadly fighting has continued along the disputed border of Cambodia and Thailand, as more than half a million people sheltered in evacuation centres. At least 20 people have been killed and almost 200 injured in clashes that began on Sunday, the fiercest fighting since a five-day conflict in July. Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thailand had launched further airstrikes on Thursday, accusing its neighbour of violating international laws by using “all kinds of heavy weapons and deploying large number of troops to encroach the Cambodian territory”. The Thai army said Cambodia had launched an attack on Wednesday night with artillery and mortars against Thai positions, prompting it to respond with the same kinds of heavy weapons and causing damage including “the destruction of enemy trucks”. This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before Trump helped broker a ceasefire, using the threat of tariffs to pile pressure on both sides. Cambodia and Thailand each accuse the other of violating the peace deal. In Washington, Trump told reporters he was due to call the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday, and predicted he could settle the hostilities “pretty quickly”. “I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?” Trump said on Wednesday. The US, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc Asean, brokered a ceasefire back in July, and six weeks ago Trump presided over the signing of an enhanced agreement. But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month after a Thai soldier was wounded by a landmine. Thailand alleged the landmine had been newly laid by Cambodia – an allegation it has denied. Political instability in Thailand may complicate future negotiations. On Thursday night, the prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said on social media that he was “returning power to the people”, with reports suggesting he has requested the dissolution of parliament – a move that would pave way for elections within 45-60 days. Analysts say that, with a vote looming, Anutin may try to present himself as a strong nationalist prepared to take a tough stance on the border conflict. Thailand’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nikorndej Balankura, told reporters on Wednesday that the fighting would eventually end through talks, but now was not the time for dialogue. “If any third country wants to mediate, Thailand can’t accept that at this stage because the line has been crossed,” he said. “Thai citizens have been killed and we need to ensure there is enough trust before talks can begin.” More than 400,000 civilians in Thailand have been evacuated to shelters, according to a defence ministry spokesperson. Visut Krimsilp, 47, who was among dozens of people sheltering at a local government building in Ubon Ratchathani province, said she simply wanted the authorities to find a way to end the conflict. “Whatever it takes, [just] push through to the end,” she said. People were living with constant fear of the conflict hanging over them, she added. Duenpen Saowiang, 33, a village health volunteer whose area had also been evacuated, said: “When we go to work, when our children go to school, we worry about what will happen. It has a great effect on us.” In Cambodia, more than 101,000 people had been evacuated to shelters and relatives’ homes, the defence ministry spokesperson, Maly Socheata, told reporters. Cambodia’s interior ministry gave an updated death toll of 10 civilians. Maly earlier said an infant was among those killed. Cambodia withdrew on Wednesday from the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, citing safety concerns for its athletes. The combat has drawn international concern, including from Pope Leo XIV, who told an audience at the Vatican on Wednesday that he was “deeply saddened by the news of the renewed conflict”. “There have been casualties, including among civilians, and thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes,” the pontiff said. “I express my closeness in prayer to these dear peoples.”