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LONDON: Scottish First Minister John Swinney has vowed to raise the “unimaginable suffering” in Gaza when he meets Donald Trump during the US president’s four-day visit to Scotland this weekend.

Describing the trip as “a landmark moment” in US-Scottish relations, Swinney said the visit provides a key platform for Scotland to express its views on pressing global issues.

“As we welcome the president of the United States, Scotland will be showcased on the world stage,” Swinney said.

“This provides Scotland with a platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy.

“As first minister, it is my responsibility to advance our interests, raise global and humanitarian issues of significant importance, including the unimaginable suffering we are witnessing in Gaza, and ensure Scotland’s voice is heard at the highest levels of government across the world.”

Trump said on Friday that he was “looking forward” to meeting Swinney during the trip.

Swinney is facing increasing pressure from within the Scottish National Party to adopt a strong stance on the Gaza conflict. On Wednesday, his predecessor and former First Minister Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla, who has family in Gaza, issued a direct plea via social media.

“Millions in Gaza are being deliberately starved while Israel withholds food mere kilometres away. Words are not enough,” they wrote. “Force Israel to open the borders and allow aid to flow in.”

El-Nakla, who also convenes the SNP Friends of Palestine group, told The Times that the Trump meeting represented “a critical opportunity to raise, directly and unequivocally, the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

She said: “Time is not on the side of the people there. As I speak, my family — like millions of others — is starving. The first minister must demand that Trump use his influence to compel Israel to end the starvation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

While highlighting the humanitarian issues at stake, Swinney also noted the wider benefits of the visit in terms of showcasing Scotland’s tourism and investment potential. He expressed confidence that planned protests would remain peaceful and respectful.

He said he believed demonstrators would “do Scotland proud” and act “peacefully and lawfully.” Rallies are being organized by the Stop Trump Coalition in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with others expected near Turnberry and Menie, where Trump owns resorts.

Trump is expected to stay at Turnberry over the weekend before meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer there on Monday. He will then travel to Aberdeenshire to mark the opening of a new golf course named after his mother. Although the visit is private, a joint press conference with Trump and Starmer is expected.

Police have warned that the scale of the operation could stretch resources, with the Scottish Police Federation stating it may double response times elsewhere.

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH: Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire along their disputed border for a second day on Friday, as their worst fighting in years killed at least 15 people and displaced more than 130,000. 

The fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors is the latest in a history of disputes that dates back more than a century, to when Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France first mapped the 800-km shared land border. 

Both countries have blamed each other for starting a clash on Thursday near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, an ancient temple claimed by both nations. It quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling, with hostilities spreading to various locations along the border, marking a shift from usually brief confrontations that only rarely involved the use of weapons. 

At least 14 people were killed, 46 others injured and more than 138,000 displaced in Thailand, the Thai military said. In Cambodia, around 2,400 families have been evacuated after the fighting killed one person and injured five others in Oddar Meanchey province, Meth Meas Pheakday, spokeswoman for the provincial administration, said on Friday. 

Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai said Thailand has “exercised utmost restraint” against provocations and chose “peaceful means” in its responses. 

“Our beloved Thailand is currently facing a severe threat from Cambodia … It is profoundly disappointing that the Cambodian side chose to initiate military force. Their actions blatantly violate international law and humanitarian principles through indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and civilian residential areas, extending more than 20 kilometers beyond the border … We consider these acts to be severe war crimes,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“I must emphasize that this incident is not a conflict between the peoples of our two nations, nor is it a declaration of war. It is a border clash undertaken to protect our sovereignty and respond to aggression.”

Thailand has also responded to the alleged attacks by sending F-16 jets to strike targets in Cambodia. 

On Friday, Thailand had fired at seven sites in Cambodia, according to Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense. 

The clashes this week followed months of tension along the border, which began when troops exchanged fire in contested territory in May, killing a Cambodian soldier. 

Ties deteriorated further after Cambodia’s powerful former leader Hun Sen leaked a private phone call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra about the border tensions, sparking public anger that led to her suspension from duties earlier this month. 

The crisis further escalated on Wednesday, when five Thai soldiers were injured by a land mine explosion near Prasat Ta Muen Thom, prompting both sides to recall their ambassadors. 

“This tense situation cannot be ended swiftly with armed clashes; it needs diplomatic mechanisms and international law,” Vann Bunna, a Cambodian geopolitical expert, told Arab News. 

“Since as of now there’s no signal of negotiations, it’s prompting the worst situation, leading to devastation of both human life and infrastructure. This not only provokes insecurity in both countries but also affects the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) security region geopolitically.” 

The last time that Cambodia and Thailand fired on each other’s territories was during a three-year border conflict that ended in 2011 and killed 20 people on both sides of the border.

The root of this week’s border violence can be traced back to the “discord between Thaksin and Hun Sen,” according to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Japan’s Kyoto University

Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father and the former prime minister of Thailand, had a decades-long personal relationship with the Cambodian strongman. 

“The border has come many times in the past, but Hun Sen’s decision to leak a personal conversation with Paetongtarn, which led to her suspension from serving as prime minister, was a clear betrayal of personal relationships,” Chachavalpongpun said in a statement. 

“When the personal relationship between the leaders of both countries is broken, it (becomes) harder … to find a way out.”