HONG KONG (AP) — Officials in Hong Kong said Wednesday they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that's part of a geopark.
Experts have initially confirmed the fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, about 145 million to 66 million years ago, the government said in a statement. They will need to conduct further studies to confirm the species of the dinosaur.
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This undated handout photo shows Zhang Pengjie, an expert from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he cleans and prepares a rock containing dinosaur bone fossil, and clears the rock covering the fossil discovered in Hong Kong's Port Island. (provided by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the fossil specimen outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the fossil specimen outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the two fossil specimens outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows Zhang Pengjie, an expert from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he cleans and prepares a rock containing dinosaur bone fossil, and clears the rock covering the fossil discovered in Hong Kong's Port Island. (provided by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
Experts speculate that the dinosaur was likely buried by sand and gravel after its death before it was later washed to the surface by a large flood, and subsequently buried again at the discovery site, it said.
The government said the conservation department in March informed its Antiquities and Monuments Office about a sedimentary rock containing substances suspected to be vertebrate fossils. The rock was found on Port Island in the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark in the city's northeastern waters.
The government said it commissioned mainland Chinese experts to conduct field investigations.
Port Island is closed to the public from Wednesday until further notice to facilitate future investigations and excavations.
The fossils will be on display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of the city's popular shopping districts, starting on Friday. The government is also planning to open a temporary workshop for the public to observe experts' preparation of fossil specimens by the end of 2024.
This undated handout photo shows Zhang Pengjie, an expert from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he cleans and prepares a rock containing dinosaur bone fossil, and clears the rock covering the fossil discovered in Hong Kong's Port Island. (provided by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the fossil specimen outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the fossil specimen outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows the dinosaur bone fossils discovered at Port Island, with the two fossil specimens outlined in red. (Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
This undated handout photo shows Zhang Pengjie, an expert from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he cleans and prepares a rock containing dinosaur bone fossil, and clears the rock covering the fossil discovered in Hong Kong's Port Island. (provided by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire.
Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”
“We regret and we're disappointed that some of the points made by President Trump have bearing upon the feeling of the Thai people, Thailand, because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region," he said.
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border.
The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.
Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,' Hun Manet wrote.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
