Showing 1 - 10 of 148
Scott saga shows system's flaws
Editorial, Published on 27/04/2025
» A celebrity marine park adviser has been dismissed -- but the real issue isn't him. It's the corruption, secrecy, and autocratic control his departure exposes.
Why do some countries prosper while others falter?
News, Jeffrey Frankel, Published on 06/11/2024
» Why have some countries grown rich and others not? The three winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences -- Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson -- offer a simple answer: institutions. Countries with "inclusive" institutions -- which underpin an open society, accountable government, economic freedom, and the rule of law -- do better than those with "extractive" institutions that reward those in power.
Protect forests, not profits
Editorial, Published on 18/08/2024
» The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is drafting regulations for millions of villagers who have been living "illegally" in national parks. While the move is much needed, these regulations may violate human rights, and do a disservice to conservation efforts.
The deepening political turmoil in South Asia
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/08/2024
» Violent student-led, Islamist-backed protests in Bangladesh have toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, and mob attacks targeting those viewed as supporters of her secular Awami League party -- in particular, the country's dwindling Hindu minority -- are proliferating. At a time when neighbouring Myanmar is engulfed in violence and the Pakistan-Afghanistan belt remains fertile ground for cross-border terrorism, political upheaval in Bangladesh, two years after the overthrow of Sri Lanka's government, is the last thing India, the regional power, needs.
Zimbabwe ruling party eyes supermajority in votes without opponents
AFP, Published on 08/12/2023
» HARARE - Zimbabwe will hold nine by-elections on Saturday with opposition candidates largely absent as President Emmerson Mnangagwa cements his control over the mineral-rich nation.
A Thai view on the Hamas-Israel war
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 20/10/2023
» The Palestinians' longstanding and legitimate grievances have been irrevocably subverted by Hamas' brazen attack against Israel on Oct 7. Unlike previous rounds of conflicts and clashes between Israel and the Palestinians on the one hand and neighbouring Arab states on the other, Thailand has become a direct casualty like never before, as 30 Thai workers have been killed to date, with at least 16 injured and 17 taken hostage. As a militant political movement motivated by Islamic fundamentalism using methods of terrorism to achieve its objectives, Hamas has made a bad name for the Palestinian cause, eliciting condemnation and opposition all the way over here in Thailand.
Park law must aid forest guardians
Editorial, Published on 23/07/2023
» Our forest laws have inflicted immense hardship on more than 10 million people living in national forests.
Fighting in Sudan enters second week
AFP, Published on 22/04/2023
» KHARTOUM: Fighting in Sudan's capital entered a second week Saturday as crackling gunfire shattered a temporary truce, the latest battles between forces of rival generals that have already left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.
Musk's moves felt from Wall Street to the Vatican
AFP, Published on 21/04/2023
» SAN FRANCISCO - Elon Musk was at the news epicenter Thursday, from stripping Pope Francis of Twitter verification to Tesla's drag on stocks and the explosion of the world’s largest rocket.
To reconstruct Turkey, rebuild its democracy
Oped, Published on 04/04/2023
» The devastating earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey (and at least 7,000 in northern Syria) in February have exposed deep-rooted problems in the run-up to potentially epochal presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. Turkey, it is now clear, needs more than a change of government; it needs a fundamental transformation of its politics and economy. That means confronting the hugely powerful construction lobby and attempting to rebuild the country's flailing democracy.