Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed to take his country’s ties with Russia to a new level this year in a video conference with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, hours after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders have made it an annual tradition to speak around the new year – a feature of a close personal rapport that’s helped cement a partnership between their countries that’s only grown as Putin wages war on Ukraine.

Xi expressed his readiness to “guide China-Russia relations to a new height” and respond to “external uncertainties” with the “stability and resilience of China-Russia ties,” a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry said.

The two countries should deepen “strategic coordination” and “practical cooperation” and “firmly support each other,” Xi told the Russian president, who appeared via video link on a large screen in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People during the conference call.

Putin hailed the countries’ expanding trade – which Chinese data show hit a record high last year – and alluded to their shared ambitions to reshape a global order they see as unfairly dominated by the United States.

“We stand united in advocating for a more just multipolar world order and work to ensure indivisible security both in the Eurasian space and globally,” Putin told Xi, according to a Kremlin readout. Moscow and Beijing’s joint efforts “objectively play a major stabilizing role in international affairs,” he claimed.

The call between the two autocrats comes as both closely watch Trump’s return to the White House.

The two leaders have each publicly expressed a hope to reset fraught relations with the US under the new administration. Trump has also signaled interest in engaging with or meeting both leaders early in his presidency, though it’s still unclear how conciliatory or hardline the new administration will be toward either US rival.

Xi and Trump held their own call days before the US president’s inauguration, with the conversation touching on a range of topics including the war in Ukraine, Trump later said.

Xi told Putin about that phone call during the two leaders’ more than hour-and-a-half conversation Tuesday, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

“Issues of the two countries’ relations with the United States were also raised,” he said. “In this context, the leaders, naturally, discussed certain aspects of the development of potential contacts with the US administration,” Ushakov added, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

A diplomatic triangle?

Trump has voiced personal admiration for both autocrats, but he’s also expected to seek concessions from each with an eye to evening an economic playing field between the US and China and ending Putin’s assault on Ukraine.

Trump on Tuesday indicated he would consider placing additional sanctions on Russia if Putin failed to come to the negotiating table to end the war.

“We’re talking to (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky. We’re going to be talking with President Putin very soon, and we’ll see what – how it all happens,” Trump said.

Trump also suggested he hopes Xi can use his sway to play a role in brokering an end to that conflict, noting that he urged the Chinese leader during their recent call to “get it settled.”

European leaders have long hoped that Xi could play a role bringing Putin around to accepting Ukraine’s peace terms, but the entrance of Trump into the White House and his stated drive to end the war adds new potential for China to play a role.

That could set up a delicate balancing act for Beijing. Xi has long sought to portray China as a potential peace broker in the conflict, even as the US and its allies have accused Beijing of propping up the Russian war effort with the export of dual-use goods, which Beijing denies. Xi is also seen to be keen to build good rapport with Trump to avert potentially damaging tariffs at a time of economic weakness in China.

But the Chinese leader will also likely want to be careful not to damage his partnership with Russia. Xi and Putin inked a “no limits” partnership weeks before Putin’s invasion and Xi sees his Russian counterpart as a critical partner among broader frictions with the West.

Neither the readout from the Kremlin nor China’s Foreign Ministry specified whether the war in Ukraine was discussed during Tuesday’s call between Putin and Xi.

Instead, both readouts referred to the 80th anniversary of the allied victory shared by Beijing and Moscow in World War II. Xi and Putin had each invited the other to commemorate that victory together this year, with events in Russia in May and China in September, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Hundreds of same-sex couples are expected to tie the knot across Thailand on Thursday as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

The landmark bill marks a momentous win for the LGBTQ+ community, which has fought for more than a decade for the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples.

“This could be a model for the world because we now have Thailand as a model. There is true marriage equality in Thailand,” said Kittinun Daramadhaj, a lawyer and president of Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, one of many who has been campaigning for equality.

Under the legislation, passed by Thailand’s parliament and endorsed by the king last year, same-sex couples will be able to register their marriages with full legal, financial, and medical rights, as well as adoption and inheritance rights.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra hailed the country’s success at an event last week, when she invited dozens of LGBTQ+ couples and activists to the government’s offices.

“This demonstrates that Thailand is ready to embrace diversity and accept love in all its forms. Today shows that our country is open and accepting,” she said.

Celebrations will take place on Thursday in other parts of the country stretching from the eastern coastal city of Pattaya to the mountainous northern city of Chiang Mai.

In downtown Bangkok, at least 200 couples have signed up to get married in a mass wedding at a popular shopping mall, according to Bangkok Pride, which co-organized the event with local authorities.

Rainbow flags are expected to ripple through the heart of Bangkok, with a “pride carpet” to be rolled out at a celebration to welcome the newlyweds, and performances by celebrities and drag queens.

A dream comes true

For some, such as Nina Chetniphat Chuadkhunthod, who will attend the mass celebration at the Siam Paragon shopping mall, the day feels long overdue.

The transgender woman has not been able to marry her boyfriend of 22 years because she is unable to legally change her gender identity. But with same-sex marriage now being recognized, they can tie the knot.

Chuadkhunthod and her fiancée held their wedding party three weeks ago. At a wedding hall on the outskirts of Bangkok, the couple walked down the aisle in locked arms, as bridesmaids sprinkled their path with rose petals amid cheers from friends and relatives. They plan to register their marriage on Thursday.

“I felt the proudest moment of my life that I could do this and let people know, let the industry and friends around me know that I could do it,” she said.

One factor adding particular urgency for the couple is the 7-year-old girl they have been raising as their daughter for three years. The girl is the daughter of Chuadkhunthod’s uncle, who is unable to look after her.

They plan to adopt the girl and live a life as a family, but cannot do so without a valid marriage.

“I had tears flowing from my eyes when we were thinking about our lives (without the same-sex marriage law). What if … I, or he, or even my daughter fell ill, who would look after us?” she said.

But now, she said: “I can confidently say that I can do it, building a family of my own.”

Philippine national Ana Boncan met her Thai girlfriend Siri Wattanavikij through a dating app six years ago when she was working in Europe. In 2020, Boncan moved to Bangkok to be with her.

“With this opportunity to get legally married here in Thailand, it gives us the opportunity to have a marriage visa,” Boncan said.

One thing on the couple’s mind is the possibility of one of them falling ill, and the other being barred from visiting or making life-and-death decisions due to the lack of a marriage certificate.

“When we go to the hospital, I can tell them that this is my wife, this is my partner, she makes decisions for me, things like that. Unlike before, they wouldn’t accept it in the hospital,” Boncan said.

The fight goes on

But rights experts have warned Thailand may well be the last Asian jurisdiction to recognize same-sex marriage for some time, given the incremental progress elsewhere in the region.

More than 30 jurisdictions worldwide now recognize same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center, but most advances have been made in Europe, the Americas and Australasia.

Thailand is the third in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage after Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal four years later.

Back in Thailand, the fight for equal rights continues for other sexual minorities, such as transgender people.

Rights advocate Hua Boonyapisomparn, from local advocacy group Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights, said the next milestone is for the Thai government to let transgender people change their gender identity.

The country is home to an estimated 314,000 trans people, according to the Asia Pacific Transgender Network.

There is a commonly held conception that trans people are widely embraced in Thailand, partly due to how accessible gender affirming surgery is in the country, and the prominence of trans entertainers.

But local transgender people, including Chuadkhunthod, would testify to the day-to-day discrimination they face.

“Even now, as a Thai person, they still look down on us, seeing us as a joke. They laugh and smile, nudging each other while looking at us,” she said.

Parliament rejected a proposed gender recognition bill last February during the previous military-backed government led by Prayut Chan-o-cha. Activists are now trying to put it back on the political agenda.

“We should use marriage equality as an opportunity to open another door for gender recognition,” Boonyapisomparn said.

International pressure is mounting on Thailand – including from the new US administration – over the fate of dozens of Uyghur men held in detention for more than a decade, following reports the Thai government planned to deport the group to China.

United Nations experts on Tuesday urged Thailand to “immediately halt the possible transfer,” warning the men were at “real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned.”

Concerns for the 48 men, who have been detained in Bangkok since 2014, are growing after a Uyghur activist shared a voice note from one of the detainees, who said the men had been on hunger strike since January 10 in a desperate protest against deportation.

“We are desperately seeking help from those living in the free world,” the detainee said in a voice note that Hidayat published to Instagram. “You all know what will happen to us if we are sent back to China. This is our plea for help from your 48 brothers in Thailand.”

The 48 men were arrested by Thai authorities 11 years ago after crossing the border to Thailand in an attempt to escape persecution in China. They were part of a larger group of about 350 people detained at the time, some of whom were minors, according to previous reports from UN experts, rights groups, and Uyghur campaigners.

Five Uyghur detainees, including a newborn and a 3-year-old, have died in detention, the reports said.

Human rights groups and campaigners say that in the years since, the men have been held in “in life-threatening conditions” without access to lawyers, family members or UN representatives. Human Rights Watch said the men were living in “squalid conditions with poor hygiene and inadequate medical care.”

“We are informed that 23 of the 48 individuals suffer from serious health conditions, including diabetes, kidney dysfunction, paralysis of the lower body, skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, and heart and lung conditions,” the eight UN experts said Tuesday. They include the UN special rapporteurs on torture and on migrants’ human rights, and other independent human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

“It is essential they be provided with the necessary and appropriate medical care,” the UN experts added.

Fears the 48 would be imminently transferred to Chinese custody arose on January 8 when Thai authorities reportedly gave the detainees “voluntary return” documents to sign, according to the Save Uyghur campaign. Detainees told the group their photos were taken and reported an increase in threats of deportation from officials in the immigration detention center.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday: “The matter involves judicial cooperation between two sovereign states.”

UN experts should abide by the principle of the UN charter and “refrain from interfering with the judicial sovereignty of the member states … rather than making irresponsible remarks,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.

Long persecuted minority

The predominately Muslim Uyghurs are a distinct ethnic minority from Xinjiang, a massive, nominally autonomous region in the far west of China.

China’s repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang has been labeled “genocide” by the US and other countries, with widespread and credible reports of arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, forced labor and restrictions on movement – allegations China vehemently denies.

A landmark 2022 report from the UN’s high commissioner for human rights said China had committed “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghurs, documenting what it described as arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominately Muslim groups.

At the time, more than 1 million Uyghur and other Muslim minority peoples were estimated to be held in extrajudicial camps for “re-education” and indoctrination. Descriptions of detentions “were marked by patterns of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the UN report found.

China has fiercely denied committing rights violations. It has previously said it established such centers to counter “extremism” in the region, and has since said the facilities were closed.

A letter from the 48 detainees dated January 10 said: “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from this tragic fate before it is too late.”

Human Rights Watch said they face “risks of enforced disappearance, long-term imprisonment, torture, and other severe mistreatment,” if they are forcibly repatriated.

Pressure on Thailand

Among the prominent voices adding pressure on Thailand was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told his Senate confirmation hearing ahead of being sworn in Tuesday that he would lobby Bangkok against deporting the Uyghur men.

“Thailand is actually a very strong US partner, strong historical ally as well,” Rubio said. “That is an area where I think diplomacy could really achieve results because of how important that relationship (is) and how close it is.”

Meanwhile, John Moolenarr, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, wrote a letter to Thailand’s Ambassador to the US last week expressing his alarm over the reports and urged the government to release the men to a third country.

The UN experts also called on Thailand, which is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, to respect its obligations under international law.

“The prohibition on refoulement prohibits the return or transfer in any manner whatsoever to a country where there is real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” they said.

The Southeast Asian kingdom is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not recognize the concept of asylum. Thailand has a history of pushing refugees back across its borders and of deporting dissidents.

In 2015, Thailand deported 100 Uyghurs to China, sparking international outcry. The fate and whereabouts of those returned are unknown, UN experts said last year.

In the same move, more than 170 Uyghur women and children were voluntarily transferred to Turkey. Many families were separated, including those of the men still in detention in Thailand.

“We call for a prompt, effective investigation, and assessment of all the circumstances of the arrest and continued deprivation of liberty of this group of persons,” the UN experts said Tuesday.

Ciudad Juarez was meant to be a city of passage for Cabrera and his family, a final stop before their long-awaited moment in front of US immigration authorities to request asylum.

For several months, Cabrera had been applying for a shot at having his asylum claim heard by US authorities, while navigating around southern Mexico. In early January, confirmation came that he had finally secured an appointment.

But a day before the appointment, a stroke of President Donald Trump’s pen shut down the US immigration processing app known as CBP One – and with it, Cabrera’s hopes.

“So much time waiting, and now this surprise,” Cabrera said with a voice of defeat. “They shut off our dreams.”

Until Trump’s inauguration on January 20, migrants seeking asylum from violence or persecution had the option to schedule an appointment at a legal US port of entry to make their case.

“We are left adrift, we have no resources left, we arrived in Juarez with money to pay for one night in a hotel,” the native Venezuelan said.

Now, many are stranded with no money or any sense of what to do next.

It was just below freezing in Ciudad Juarez on Monday when Cabrera realized what had happened, but he and his family decided to still try to explain the situation to US immigration authorities at the Paso del Norte bridge, which connects the Mexican city with the Texas city of El Paso.

But they were quickly turned away. Cabrera and his family were instead directed to a local Mexican public agency for further guidance. There, they were given some warm soup, but got little information on how to pursue their case.

‘We did everything legally’

Erlianny Colombie, 41, left Cuba seven months ago and had been living in the southern Mexico town of Tapachula along with three relatives.

After finding a place to work and live in Tapachula, he applied for an appointment with US officials.

But the travel and costs of obtaining paperwork stretched his resources to breaking point. “We had enough money for the night before our appointment (…) and now we are on the streets,” he said.

Colombie – who says he fled Cuba due to political persecution – says he “understands” Trump’s decision but asks the president to reconsider for those who already had an appointment.

“If we already were in the process, Mr. Trump, please continue with the scheduled appointments, don’t leave us here stranded,” he said.

The sentiment is echoed by other migrants, who say they carefully followed the rules given to them by the United States, and deserve to be heard out.

“Give us another opportunity,” Venezuelan migrant Rosalyn Vargas, 33, asked of Trump.

“We came here for a brighter future, we are human beings, we did everything legally, we followed the process,” Vargas said from a shelter where she’s staying with other relatives.

Who is helping the migrants at the border?

Migrant shelters in Ciudad Juarez are taking in some of the migrants who have now been stranded.

Casa del Migrante, a shelter about 10 miles from the border, says they are offering shelter, food and psychological help to migrants whose appointments were canceled.

“They want a sign of hope, they want to know what’s going to happen with them, they had their appointment canceled, but is there another option,” Lopez said, adding that “thankfully, they have lawyers helping the migrants.”

Some local officials have taken a blunter approach with migrants, underlining that it’s unrealistic to keep trying to reach the US.

“They won’t obtain anything by trying at the crossing points hoping for the US to receive them,” he said.

Serrano says Mexican city, state and federal officials are working together to address the migrant crisis in Ciudad Juarez and other border towns.

“Migrants here should stay calm, there are no instructions for raids here on the Mexican side, the instructions we’ve been given is to give them proper treatment,” Serrano said.

“Shelters in Juarez are at 40% capacity,” Serrano also said, noting that many Mexican border towns are expanding protective spaces in anticipation of mass deportations from the US.

“Everything changed from one moment to another, we went from hope to desperation,” 23-year-old Fabian Delgado said from a shelter.