Showing 1 - 10 of 41
A fond farewell to the poster people
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/02/2026
» For a couple of months the streets in Bangkok and throughout Thailand have been decorated with posters of political candidates. But now the Big Day has arrived and soon the posters will disappear. In a strange sort of way, I will miss their presence as they were at least something to look at when stuck in the traffic. They generally appeared to be a cheerful lot, beaming at us with big cheesy grins as one would expect in the Land of Smiles.
Survival of the tastiest in 2026
Petprakai Hansiri, Published on 20/01/2026
» Over the past year, our social media feeds were flooded by highly visual treats, from cheese-pull sensations to extravagant snacks. When looking back in a fridge today, those fleeting trends have been replaced by familiar, simple-looking essentials.
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.
Legal hurdles after same-sex marriage
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 06/11/2025
» With the great news of the same-sex marriage law in Thailand comes another question -- how to facilitate the lives of couples, especially when one of them is not a Thai national. Two lingering and nagging issues concern the acquisition of nationality and the channels for adopting a child.
Rethinking identity from the start
Oped, Watcharin Ariyaprakai, Published on 29/10/2025
» Thailand has made history by recognising same-sex marriage, affirming the right of adults to love and marry freely. This will rightly be celebrated as a triumph for equality and human dignity. Yet, in the same society, another group remains voiceless: newborns born with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD).
Southeast Asia facing hidden extremist threat
Oped, Muhammad Makmun Rasyid, Published on 07/07/2025
» In May, Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit arrested an 18-year-old man in Gowa, South Sulawesi, on charges of spreading Islamic State (IS) propaganda and inciting bomb attacks on social media. Identified only as MAS, the suspect represents a deeply troubling development in Southeast Asia's struggle against terrorism: the rise of youth radicalisation driven entirely by online exposure.
Shifting from tolerance to real inclusion
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 23/05/2025
» On the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia on May 17, UN human rights experts recently called for countries to work with LGBTI communities and not to police them. This was an apt message that has to resonate at the national and local levels, especially when the world is witnessing regression in regard to policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Pope Francis the shepherd on the animal kingdom
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 07/05/2025
» When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, many liberals had high expectations. Would priests be allowed to marry? Or, more radical still, perhaps he would open a path for women to be ordained? There were even some hints that he might recognise same-sex unions.
Ideas for cleaner air
Postbag, Published on 30/03/2025
» Re: “Chiang Mai rejoins list of top 10 polluted cities”, (BP, March 26), “Petition filed in push for equal citizenship”, (Life, March 25) and “Historic new rights laws fight old bias: Same-sex marriages shake things up”, (BP, Feb 16).
Supporting women as bridge-builders
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 28/03/2025
» How is the situation of women's rights and their role as bridge-builders today, connecting the multilateral and local settings? A recent seminar at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted by its International Studies Center, elaborated upon the situation in a world that is witnessing tumultuous changes.