Showing 11 - 20 of 387
US readiness for war -- watch its Navy missile policy
News, Peter Apps, Published on 19/04/2024
» In October 2022 a US destroyer and supply ship pulled alongside each other in San Diego harbour to attempt something the Pentagon had never tried before -- reloading missiles on a US warship at sea rather than tied up alongside a pier.
Southeast Asian banks must stop funding coal
Oped, Published on 11/04/2024
» Indonesia is by far a major top producer of dangerous climate emissions -- more than any country in the Southeast Asian region, mainly due to its burning of coal. The country is also feeling the full force of worsening climate disasters, from floods and storms to deadly landslides. My hometown, Jakarta, is sinking -- and this is compounded by regular catastrophic flooding and air pollution that disrupts millions of lives. Indonesia faces huge risks as it currently sits as the second most disaster-prone country in the world, according to the World Risk Report 2023.
Diabolical toy pods merit firm ban
Oped, Published on 11/04/2024
» The latest news on the rising popularity of "toy pods" -- as well as the Bangkok Post's editorial titled "Save children from toy pods" -- reminded me of commercial determinants of health (CDoH), a topic which was addressed at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in January.
Marriage equality is good business
Oped, Published on 09/04/2024
» Thailand has an incredible reputation for being LGBTQ-friendly, but its national laws and policies don't quite match the open-minded brand that its government projects. This dissonance -- what the UN called "tolerance but not inclusion" in a 2019 report -- is what the Thai parliament is on the brink of changing in a seismic decision to legalise same-sex marriage that will have a positive far-reaching impact on Thailand's economy for years to come (and hint: it's much more than the millions of dollars to be generated by the weddings themselves).
Thaksin's influence no longer potent
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 01/04/2024
» The return of Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand continues to raise questions about the fairness of our justice system.
US TikTok ban not the right move
Oped, Published on 27/03/2024
» On March 13, the United States House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. It is no secret that the bill takes aim at TikTok. The massively popular video-sharing platform is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and is thus subject to the laws of the People's Republic of China and potentially to the control of the Communist Party of China (CPC), despite assurances to the contrary from company executives.
Politics at the root of world's three famines
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/03/2024
» There are three incipient famines in the world today, and politics is at the root of all of them. That's not unusual, actually: famines are almost always political events.
Saffron swindlers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/03/2024
» The news of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct this week handing a 480-year-plus jail term to a former abbot for embezzling temple donations is shocking enough. But the story gets even more convoluted.
Education woes aren't about funding
Oped, Published on 13/03/2024
» The education ministry has always received the largest share of the fiscal budget. The Thai government's investment in education is actually comparable to that of developed nations based on the percentage of national budgets.
Why is China's economic performance stalling?
Oped, Published on 06/03/2024
» It has been a year since China relaxed the zero-Covid measures that had been stifling economic activity, but the country has yet to experience the rebound that policymakers and pundits anticipated. Instead, economic indicators from the past year have painted a disheartening picture.