Showing 1 - 10 of 45
Somaliland: Mixed motivations
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/01/2026
» Last week Israel was the first country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland. Not Somalia, a wreck of a country on the East African coast that has been mired in civil war for the past thirty-five years, but Somaliland, a different country just north of there that has been peaceful, relatively prosperous and even democratic for all those years.
Symbolic acts won't create a real Palestine
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 25/09/2025
» Ten more countries are recognising Palestine as a sovereign state in the course of this week. That brings the total up from 147 to 157. It's a big deal to an extent because for the first time it includes quite a few big, rich Western countries (France, the UK, Canada and Australia). But it is not unified, and it still controls no territory.
Israel's Gaza campaign is making it a pariah state
Oped, Thomas L Friedman, Published on 03/09/2025
» I will leave it to historians to debate whether Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. But what is absolutely clear to me right now is that this Israeli government is committing suicide, homicide and fratricide.
Israel's Gaza plan not quite the final solution
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 11/08/2025
» 'Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas [from Qatar]," Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu told the parliamentary members of his Likud Party in 2019. They were questioning his policy of backing Hamas, and he was explaining why.
Fortress North America? My brain hurts
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 08/03/2025
» 'Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 4. "At the same time, they're talking about working positively with Russia. Appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator."
So what are we supposed to make of MAGAnomics?
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 20/02/2025
» While the end of World War II 80 years ago ushered in an age of reason, Donald Trump's return to the White House has ushered it out. His MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement promises to take a wrecking ball to the postwar global economic order, raising the question of what will replace it.
Short arm of the law
Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/10/2024
» As the expiry of the statute of limitations in the Tak Bai case looms, the ruling Pheu Thai Party has yet to show its willingness to bring those involved to justice -- if only as a gesture of respect for the rule of law. That is upsetting, to say the least.
Bdap's arrest a litmus test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/06/2024
» As Thailand vies for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2025-2027 term -- something the previous Prayut government failed to do -- the arrest of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese political activist with UN refugee status, will serve as a litmus test for Thailand's human rights standards.
Lop Buri before the monkeying around
Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2024
» One of the first towns I visited in Thailand in the early 1970s was Lop Buri, about 150 km north of Bangkok. Its main appeal was its convenient three-hour train journey from Hua Lamphong. It offered a chance to escape Bangkok for a couple of days and experience a taste of life in a small town.
Israel-Hamas war can only be stopped by Biden
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 28/02/2024
» More than four months into the sixth Arab-Israeli War, with about 1,500 Israelis dead and 30,000 Palestinians dead, all the major local actors are stuck. Only the United States can stop the killing -- if it chooses to do so.