SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica put forward Wednesday longtime diplomat and former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as a candidate to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations.
The economist is currently the secretary-general of U.N. Trade and Development in Geneva.
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Former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan gives a press conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco, left, and former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan shake hands in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
Former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan gives a press conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
FILE - Ibero-American Secretary Rebeca Grynspan speaks during a closer press conference of the XXVI Ibero-American Summit in Antigua, Guatemala, Nov. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Oliver de Ros, File)
She was a major player in the U.N. effort to ship Ukrainian and Russian grains to global markets at the start of the war in Ukraine and outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres designated her as the senior U.N. official to deal with the Russians.
“This candidacy will be formally registered at the United Nations in the coming weeks,” Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves said in a video message Wednesday. “We trust that the career and commitment of Rebeca Grynspan, who has very broad experience in issues of development, international cooperation and regional leadership, will significantly contribute to strengthening multilateralism.”
Speaking at a news conference in San Jose on Wednesday, Grynspan said she would campaign for the position, capitalizing on being well known in diplomatic circles. She also acknowledged that there would be competition for the position, including from within Latin America.
“I know the United Nations well, I know it well enough to reform it and well enough to defend it,” Grynspan said. “The United Nations requires both things. Right now, being a multilateralist means being a reformer.”
Grynspan served as Costa Rica’s vice president in the administration of ex-President José María Figueres (1994-1998) and later worked in various multilateral organizations.
Guterres' term ends Dec. 31, 2026, and the process to replace him will run through the final quarter of 2026. Changes have been made in recent years to make the selection process more transparent, including public discussions with the candidates and a series of straw polls to measure support before a formal resolution. Previously the selection process was opaque and dominated by the Security Council.
Former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan gives a press conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco, left, and former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan shake hands in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
Former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan gives a press conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Diaz)
FILE - Ibero-American Secretary Rebeca Grynspan speaks during a closer press conference of the XXVI Ibero-American Summit in Antigua, Guatemala, Nov. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Oliver de Ros, File)
MONGKOL BOREY, Cambodia (AP) — Heavy combat between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second week on Monday, with Phnom Penh claiming that Thai bombing is hitting deeper into its territory, coming close to shelters for people who had already fled dangerous areas along the border.
According to Cambodia’s defense and information ministries, Thai F-16 fighter jets dropped two bombs shortly after 10 a.m. near camps for displaced people in Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces.
The bombing in Siem Reap's Srei Snam district, more than 70 kilometers (43 miles) inside Cambodian territory, targeted a bridge, Cambodian authorities said. The province is home to the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the country’s biggest tourist attraction.
Asked about the attack at a news conference, Thailand's Air Marshal Jackkrit Thammavichai, spokesperson of the air force, offered an oblique confirmation of the bombing.
“According to the international law and the rules of engagement, a military target is not defined based on the distance from the border," he said. “It’s actually defined based on the characteristic and objective of the use of that facility for military purposes.”
He said Thailand's air force abides by international law by not targeting civilians and that Monday's operation didn’t impact Cambodian civilians nearby.
Access to the combat zone and nearby areas is limited, so few claims by either side can be independently verified.
The two sides are battling over longstanding competing claims to patches of frontier land, some of which contain centuries-old temple ruins.
More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in the past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced, according to officials.
Thai officials issued an estimate of what damage has been inflicted on Cambodia’s military since a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers ignited large-scale fighting. They said Cambodian losses included 12 tanks, 10 armored vehicles, four anti-aircraft artillery systems, seven artillery pieces, five anti-drone systems, 175 drones, five communication hubs and one BM-21 mobile rocket launcher.
Thailand says Cambodia has fired thousands of rockets from the truck-mounted BM-21 launchers, which have a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles) and can fire up to 40 projectiles at a time.
Thailand’s government announced on Sunday that a rocket attack from Cambodia had killed a 63-year-old villager, its first civilian death reported as a direct result of combat.
Col. Ritcha Suksuwanon, a Thai army deputy spokesperson, said on Sunday that an intact Chinese GAM-102LR guided anti-tank missile system was seized. Thailand estimates among Cambodia’s losses some 82 military positions and 505 Cambodian military personnel reportedly killed.
Cambodia has dismissed as disinformation previous Thai estimates of its military death toll but has not released its own figures. Thailand acknowledges the deaths of 16 of its troops.
Phnom Penh said Monday that 15 civilians have been killed and 73 wounded.
Thai officials also said they were trying to cut off the supply of fuel and weapons to Cambodia, but denied reports that a full-scale naval blockade would be mounted. Capt. Nara Khunkothom, assistant spokesperson for the Thai navy, said only Thai-registered vessels would be subject to their controls in what they have officially designated a “high-risk area” in the Gulf of Thailand.
Officials also said fuel and weapons would no longer be allowed to go through a major land checkpoint to neighboring Laos that is close to Cambodian territory, declaring that military supplies and logistical support must be cut off.
In a surprise admission, Thai officials implicitly acknowledged that attacks had damaged centuries-old Ta Kwai temple — known to Cambodians as Ta Krabey — in a disputed area, but blamed Cambodia for allegedly using it as a military stronghold.
Phnombootra Chandrajoti, director-general of Thailand's Fine Arts Department, said that historical sites should not be used as bases for military operations and that the most important priority is that Thailand must secure and preserve the area.
The new fighting derailed a ceasefire promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July. It had been 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.
Trump announced this past Friday that the two countries had agreed at his urging to renew the ceasefire, but Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul denied making any commitment and Cambodia announced it was continuing to fight in what it said is self-defense.
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Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok contributed to this report.
In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), displaced people flee shortly after a Thai bombing near their villages, at Srei Snam district, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.(AKP via AP)
Displaced people sit on the floor as they take their refuge in Prey Chamkar Ta Doak market in Banteay Meanchey province, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A displaced people prays as she takes their refuge in Prey Chamkar Ta Doak market in Banteay Meanchey province, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Members of a Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal team inspect the site of a rocket attack during clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A member of a Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal team shows pieces of shrapnel as they inspect the site of a rocket attack during clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
