Showing 1 - 10 of 26
Has crunch time arrived for 'Bibi' Netanyahu?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 24/05/2024
» It has not been a good week for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, chief decision-maker in the war in the Gaza Strip that has already cost at least 35,000 civilian deaths. (Some thousands of those 35,000 may have been Hamas fighters.)
Thailand's judiciary faces challenges
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/05/2024
» Thailand appears to be a country of 70 million, ultimately ruled by an unelected few. This sobering reality was on display when two connected groups of top generals seized power from democratically elected governments in September 2006 and May 2014. Unlike these blatant military coups over the past two decades, at issue now is the power and role of the judiciary. While Thailand has another democratically elected civilian government under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the question that needs to be asked is whether the country is effectively under judicial rule.
Ethics case plagues PM
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/05/2024
» Even though PM's Office Minister Pichit Chuenban has suddenly resigned from the cabinet, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin -- who appointed him in a controversial reshuffle -- still finds his fate hanging in mid-air.
Build trust in Thai rice
Oped, Editorial, Published on 21/05/2024
» The all-out effort by the Pheu Thai-led government to auction decade-old rice from Yingluck's rice-pledging scheme raises questions about the party's political acumen.
Senate election gets trickier by the day
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 18/05/2024
» The election of the Senate to replace the junta-appointed high chamber, which ended its term early this month, kicked off rather slowly.
The popular decimation of India's democracy
Oped, Pranab Bardhan, Published on 18/05/2024
» India's ongoing parliamentary election, in which nearly a billion people casting their votes over a six-week period, should represent an extraordinary exercise of democracy. The bleak reality, however, is that the election appears poised to consolidate a decade-long process of democratic decay, which has included the decimation of liberal institutions and practices and weakening of political competition. After all, the leader who has presided over this process -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- remains wildly popular.
NACC sparks problems
Oped, Editorial, Published on 18/05/2024
» The decision by the Rayong Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on May 13 to acquit Itthipol Kunplome of granting an illegal construction permit for a high-rise condo project in Pattaya again raises questions about the performance of the National Anti-Corruption Commission -- our independent graft-busting agency.
Thai Human Rights Council aspirations
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/05/2024
» Thailand's quest for membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Geneva, for the period 2025-2027, is rightly gaining interest among the general public. With a new foreign minister today, it is intriguing to prospect whether there will be more (or less) momentum in the competition towards the winning post -- with elections for the HRC due in New York in October.
For journalists, neutrality is not the goal
Oped, Published on 17/05/2024
» My ability to be neutral as a political journalist depends on the intellectual honesty of the people -- and the society -- I cover.
20 years later, time for justice for Tak Bai
Oped, Saritdet Marukatat, Published on 16/05/2024
» Time flies. But it doesn't fly fast enough for security officers responsible for the Tak Bai massacre almost two decades ago.