Showing 1 - 10 of 25
Getting soft power right
Life, Published on 08/01/2024
» After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.
UK ‘disappointed’ by Eurovision ban on Zelensky message
AFP, Published on 12/05/2023
» LIVERPOOL: The UK government on Friday hit out at European broadcasters for banning a message by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at this weekend's Eurovision final, for fear of politicising the event.
The tough road to democratisation
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/10/2022
» Taiwan has been hailed as a textbook example of a successful transition to democracy. At the end of the civil war in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), lost to Mao Zedong's communist forces and fled to the island. After almost four decades of martial law until 1987, Taiwan eventually held its first presidential election in 1996.
Calls made for Bob Marley to be named Jamaican hero
Life, Published on 06/06/2022
» A Jamaican legislator is asking the country's parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking Caribbean countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past.
Three wins for Adele at non-binary Brit Awards
AFP, Published on 09/02/2022
» LONDON: British superstar Adele won three awards, including the coveted Album of the Year, at the Brit awards on Tuesday, during a ceremony that did away with gender specific categories for the first time.
Master of spy thriller John le Carre dies at 89
AFP, Published on 14/12/2020
» LONDON: John le Carre, who has died aged 89, shot to fame during the chilly depths of the Cold War as master of the spy thriller, before evolving to become a scathing chronicler of the moral costs of globalisation.
Experiencing Australia's rich and complex history
B Magazine, Published on 13/10/2019
» Christopher Jakobi, an Aboriginal guide, squatted with his kangaroo-skin bag to burn native plants in a coolamon. They gradually caught fire and produced a cloud of white smoke. I stood in awe of the descendant of the Aboriginal people, who had lived in Australia for thousands of years before British explorer Capt James Cook arrived in the late 18th century.
Saved by the scooter
Asia focus, Published on 01/04/2019
» The sight of former transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt gliding in on an electric scooter to cast his vote at a school in Ekamai district of Bangkok recently reminded me of a conversation I had with Zachary Wang, the co-founder of Neuron Mobility.
Situation normal: all fouled up
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 31/03/2019
» Den is back from upcountry, 250 baht richer, but confused.
A matter of life and death
Life, Dave Kendall, Published on 22/03/2019
» A river that sustains approximately one-tenth of the world's population is dying. Victor Mallet's River Of Life, River Of Death: The Ganges And India's Future explores why -- and simultaneously melds political and economic analysis with a compelling travelogue and a journey through the mythology of one of the world's great religions.