Showing 1 - 10 of 383
Conscript deaths
Oped, Postbag, Published on 27/02/2026
» Re: "Senate probes conscript death case", (BP, Feb 24). The news that a Senate committee will inquire into the death of Pvt Phetcharat Kamlangying is a step in the right direction. But is it enough?
Hedgehoppers in search of good news
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/02/2026
» Being the very first day of February it would have been nice if there was some good news worth celebrating, but unfortunately nothing immediately springs to mind. Cheerful news is an increasingly rare commodity these days. It all seems to be gloom and doom and hardly portends a joyful 2026. It can get a bit wearying grappling with news reports featuring contradictions, cover-ups and cock-ups, often accompanied by half-truths, prevarications and porky pies. But this is the world we now live in.
New debate format
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/01/2026
» Re: "Academics sound alarm ahead of poll", (BP, Jan 14). A one-on-one debate format between political parties would greatly help us decide who we want to solve basic structural problems in our economy, society and justice system -- and the media should play a key role in arranging such a debate and setting the theme.
What would happen if Khamenei falls?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/01/2026
» The demonstrations began again in Iran last week, only two years after the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement convulsed the country for months. However, the current protests are potentially much broader than that episode because they are driven by the collapse in Iran's currency, the rial (now 1,420,000 to the US dollar), and the explosive rise in the cost of living.
Jimmy Lai, the HK tycoon who stood up to China
News, James Pomfret & Jessie Pang, Published on 17/12/2025
» Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, was found guilty on Monday on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of sedition under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.
Venezuela: Performative purging
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 09/12/2025
» 'If you're on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl or whatever, headed to the United States, you're an immediate threat to the United States," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. So it's perfectly reasonable for the US armed forces to kill everybody on that boat (including a "double tap" on any survivors in the water).
Thailand hit by a confluence of crises
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/12/2025
» Thailand is currently facing multiple crises of unprecedented proportions in the highest corridors of power that will pose adversity for the economy and political stability next year and beyond.
Derelict outpost
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/12/2025
» Re: Toxic threat sweeps all before it", (BP, Dec 1). Your recent report left me more than a little confused about a village I have known for 37 years. The description bore little resemblance to the village I visit maybe four times a week when I visit my local supermarket or withdraw money from the ATM. Those golden years of rafting took place before the highway was constructed over the mountain range.
Where there's Muck there's puffins
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/11/2025
» Important news from Northern Ireland. For the first time in more than 25 years puffins have been spotted on the quaintly named Isle of Muck. The isle is a nature reserve on the Antrim coast and derives its unusual name from the adjacent town of Portmuck.
Where's the data?
Oped, Postbag, Published on 27/11/2025
» Re: "Partnering up for a resilient future", (Opinion, Nov 20). My social media feeds have been overflowing with desperate reels from the recent mega-flooding. And amid all this chaos, one question hangs heavily in the air: Where is the government? And more importantly, even if it wanted to respond, how would it know where help is needed?