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07/13/2025

"I don't know President Xi but I know President Trump. I can tell you he's committed to having that meeting happen," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio when asked about Trump and Xi meeting in thr future.

Rubio said on Friday that he had “positive and constructive” talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, amid tensions over tariffs and trade.

He was optimistic to a meeting happening between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi in the future.

Rubio also said that both countries' positions on Taiwan are known, and that the meeting today was "not a negotiation" but to establish "a baseline" of discussion.

Rubio was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, looking to stress U.S. commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, as countries received notices of U.S. tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump this week.

07/13/2025

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that he had “positive and constructive” talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, amid tensions over tariffs and trade.

Rubio was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, looking to stress U.S. commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, as countries received notices of U.S. tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump this week.

07/13/2025

Two nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bombers drilled with Japanese and South Korean fighter jets over international waters of the Korean Peninsula, as seen in video footage released by South Korea’s defense ministry.

It was the first time this year that a U.S. B-52H was deployed to the Korean Peninsula for a military exercise, conducted to improve deterrence against North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats, the defense ministry said.

The drills came as the three countries' defense chiefs held an annual meeting in Seoul on July 11, where they recognised the importance of close trilateral cooperation in addressing security challenges posed by North Korea, in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the South Korean defense ministry said in a statement.

The three countries have boosted security cooperation in recent years, as tensions have increased stemming from North Korea's military developments and Pyongyang's military ties with Russia.

Cambodian lawmakers on Friday voted unanimously to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the government to cr...
07/13/2025

Cambodian lawmakers on Friday voted unanimously to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the government to create legislation that would revoke the citizenship of Cambodians found guilty of conspiring with foreign nations to harm the national interest.

The change would apply to people who were born Cambodian citizens, people with dual citizenship in Cambodia and another country, and people from other nations who have been granted Cambodian citizenship.

Critics warn that new legislation targeting dissidents’ citizenship would suppress voices critical of the government.

07/12/2025

The roads of Dharamsala were lined with devotees early Saturday, July 12, as the Dalai Lama headed to the airport from his home-in-exile.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who turned 90 last week, is making a scheduled trip to Ladakh — the northern part of India which borders the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

From the front passenger seat of his SUV, the Tibetan spiritual leader waved to devotees holding flowers, burning incense and offering “khatak” – a goodwill ceremonial scarf.

The Dalai Lama travels to Ladakh during Dharamsala’s monsoon season, seeking the region’s drier and milder climate.

Upon arriving via India government plane in Ladakh, images released by the Dalai Lama’s office showed the motorcade route lined with thousands of devotees and well-wishers in traditional dress. At his residence in Shiwatsel, Leh, Ladakh, the Tibetan spiritual leader addressed a gathered group of dignitaries.

The Dalai Lama is expected to stay in Ladakh for a month. His previous visit was two years ago. In 2024 he was in New York for knee surgery.

Dharamsala reporting by Dawa Dolma and video by Tenzin Woser

Ladakh video by OHHDL.

DHARAMSALA, India (July 12) — Devotees lined the roads of Dharamsala early Saturday as the Dalai Lama headed to the airp...
07/12/2025

DHARAMSALA, India (July 12) — Devotees lined the roads of Dharamsala early Saturday as the Dalai Lama headed to the airport from his home-in-exile. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who turned 90 last week, is making a scheduled trip to Ladakh — the northern part of India which borders the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

From the front passenger seat of his SUV, the Tibetan spiritual leader waved to devotees holding flowers, burning incense, and offering “khatak” – a goodwill ceremonial scarf.

The Dalai Lama travels to Ladakh during Dharamsala’s monsoon season, seeking the region’s drier and milder climate.

Upon arriving via Indian government plane in Ladakh, images released by the Dalai Lama’s office showed the motorcade route lined with thousands of devotees and well-wishers in traditional dress.

At his residence in Shiwatsel, Leh, Ladakh, the Tibetan spiritual leader addressed a gathered group of dignitaries.

The Dalai Lama is expected to stay in Ladakh for a month. His previous visit was two years ago. In 2024, he was in New York for knee surgery.

Dharamsala reporting by Dawa Dolma and visuals by Tenzin Woser
Ladakh photos by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

An airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar's central Sagaing region killed at least 23 people who were taking shelt...
07/12/2025

An airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar's central Sagaing region killed at least 23 people who were taking shelter in the compound, separate sources told The Associated Press on Friday, July 11.

The overnight aerial attack on the monastery in Lin Ta Lu village, in Sagaing township, injured about 30 other people, of which 10 were in a critical condition, according to a member of a resistance group.

The resistance member told AP that 23 civilians including four children were killed after a jet fighter dropped a bomb around 1 a.m. on a building in the village’s monastery where more than 150 people from nearby villages were taking shelter to avoid fighting in the region in recent weeks.

The military did not immediately comment on the incident at the monastery, which is located about 20 miles northwest of Mandalay. In the past, the army has said it only attacks legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists.

The military has increasingly used airstrikes to counter opposition forces, including the armed People’s Defense Forces in Sagaing region, a stronghold of armed resistance. The resistance has no effective defense against air attacks.

The monastery attack comes weeks after hundreds of soldiers took part in an offensive with tanks and various aircraft in an area about five kilometers (three miles) from Lin Ta Lu to regain territories controlled by the resistance groups.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, triggering a civil war. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

Reporting and images by The Associated Press

07/11/2025

'New handshake' as Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends ASEAN summit

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio learns the traditional "ASEAN-way" handshake from Japanese Prime Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippines' Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro. Rubio also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov where they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met counterparts in Southeast Asia on Thursday during his first visit to Asia since taking office, seeking to reassure them the region is a U.S. priority despite President Donald Trump's tariff offensive.

About 200 citizens, youths, workers, including civil society officials and politicians gathered on July 10, 2025, to lay...
07/11/2025

About 200 citizens, youths, workers, including civil society officials and politicians gathered on July 10, 2025, to lay wreaths and remember Kem Ley at the gas station cafe where he was gunned down nine years ago.

A merit making ceremony was also held at to the monks at Wat Pothiyaram in Chroi Chongwar district.

Kem Ley, who also led the grassroots advocacy group “Khmer for Khmer" was shot dead while having his morning coffee, days after publicly criticizing then-Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family for abuse of power and unexplained wealth.

Citizen photos via

07/10/2025

In less than a year as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam has made moves likened to the drastic cuts that U.S. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have implemented to U.S. federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

To Lam has merged ministries and central government agencies, reduced the number of provinces and cities by half, and dismantled district-level administrative units.

Why did To Lam move so fast with reforms, and what are the political, social, and economic impacts?

RFA Vietnamese speaks with Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University, or Radio Free Asia.

Prominent Cambodian government critic Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh nine years ago, on July 10, 2016.He was gunned...
07/10/2025

Prominent Cambodian government critic Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh nine years ago, on July 10, 2016.

He was gunned down having his morning coffee at a gas station, days after publicly criticizing then-Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family for abuse of power and unexplained wealth.

A trained physician who also held a doctorate, he was 45 and left behind four children and a pregnant widow.

Tens of thousands attended the funeral procession in Phnom Penh. Kem Ley also led a grassroots advocacy group, “Khmer for Khmer.”

The killing was followed by a Supreme Court decision to ban Cambodia’s leading opposition party ahead of national elections. Since then, all independent media outlets have been forced to close and most of the country’s political opposition has been sidelined through the courts or through intimidation.

Photo 1:
Kem Ley at the 67th anniversary commemoration of the Kampuchea Krom territory's return to Vietnam by the French government at Chroy Changvar in Phnom Penh, April 6, 2016. (Heng Sinith/AP)

Photo 2:
Mourners in Phnom Penh on July 11, 2016. (Samrang Pring/Reuters)

Photo 3:
Thousands attend Kem Ley's funeral procession in Phnom Penh on July 24, 2016. (Samrang Pring/Reuters)

Photo 4:
Mourners along the funeral procession route in Phnom Penh, July 24, 2016. (Heng Sinith/AP)

Photo 5:
Kem Ley's greave in Ang Takok, Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2016. (Denis Gray/AP)

Photo 6:
Bou Rachna, Kem Ley's widow, in Melbourne, Australia, July 9, 2021. (William West/AFP)

The equipment that activist and North Korean defector Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons filled with anti-Kim Jong Un lea...
07/09/2025

The equipment that activist and North Korean defector Lee Min-bok uses to send balloons filled with anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets across the border from South Korea into the North has been gathering dust for months.

When it became clear that center-left politician Lee Jae Myung was on track to win the June presidential election, Lee Min-bok and other South Korea-based activists stopped launching balloons into North Korea, anticipating a crackdown by the new, pro-engagement administration.

Lee, who took office on June 4, has promised to improve relations with the nuclear-armed North. He has urged diplomacy and dialog and his administration has also suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, however, last year abandoned a goal of unification with the South and has shown little openness to diplomacy.

After Lee ordered measures to stop leaflet launches, officials and police discussed plans including deploying police to border regions to preempt launches, and punishing the activists with aviation safety laws, according to the Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korea affairs.

"I've been doing it quietly and what's wrong with that? Provoking North Korea? No way," 67-year-old Lee Min-bok told a Reuters reporter.

Last year, North Korea began launching waves of its own balloons into the South, some carrying garbage and excrement.

North Korean officials have labeled leaflet activists in South Korea "human scum" and in 2020 demolished an inter-Korean liaison office during a spat over leaflets.

All photos by Kim Soo-hyeon for Reuters

Photo 1:
An anti-North Korean balloon launched by activists in Paju, South Korea, April 23, 2025.

Photo 2:
North Korean defector Lee Min-bok demonstrates how one of his homemade balloons distributes anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets in Pocheon, South Korea, July 1, 2025.

Photo 3:
Lee shows on a map how balloons travel across the Korean Peninsula.

Photo 4:
Lee shows anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets he wrote and a USB drive containing similar content that are placed in balloons to be sent into North Korea.

Photo 5:
Lee shows a bundle of anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets that will be carried by balloons into North Korea.

Photo 6:
Lee shows an image with flight tracking information across the Korean Peninsula on his mobile phone.

Photo 7:
A video produced by North Korean defector Lee Min-bok shows activists launching a balloon carrying anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets.

Photo 8:
Police stand guard as a sign banning the launch of anti-North Korea leaflets in balloons at a park in Ganghwa island near the North Korean border, in Incheon, South Korea, July 6, 2025.

Photo 9:
North Korean defector Lee Min-bok stands near equipment used to inflate hydrogen into balloons carrying anti-Kim Jong Un leaflets in Pocheon, South Korea, July 1, 2025.

Photo 10:
Lee stands near equipment used to inflate hydrogen into anti-North Korean balloons.

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