Showing 51 - 60 of 202
'Worthless, risky' cryptocurrencies should be banned
Oped, Published on 12/02/2022
» The price of Bitcoin has undergone yet another wild gyration, rising from $41,030 (1.3 million baht) on Sept 29, 2021, to $69,000 on Nov 10, 2021, before falling back to $35,075 on Jan 23. That is its second-largest decline in absolute value, though it has suffered larger declines in percentage terms, such as between Dec 15, 2017, and Dec 14, 2018, when it fell by 83.8%. More broadly, the cryptocurrency market (comprising some 12,278 coins) was estimated to be worth $3.3 trillion on Nov 8, 2021, before plummeting to $1.75 trillion as of Jan 30.
Stop funding environmental crime
Oped, Published on 09/02/2022
» One of the most profitable global criminal enterprises is one you might not expect. It is crimes like illegal fishing and logging, waste trafficking, and trade in wildlife. And the financial sector is reaping huge rewards from these assaults against the natural environment.
NGO bill problematic
Oped, Editorial, Published on 21/01/2022
» Seksakol Atthawong, an aide to the prime minister, is having a field day at work. His online campaign to gather 1 million signatures to expel Amnesty International (AI) -- the international rights advocacy group -- has gathered momentum.
Tackling the controversial NGO law
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 06/01/2022
» Does Thailand need a law to regulate the operations of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), otherwise known as non-profit organisations (NPOs)? A draft law has emerged recently which is causing a lot of headaches for civil society. The cabinet on Tuesday approved this draft in principle; it is now being forwarded to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for a public hearing, before it is sent to parliament for final approval. The authorities claim the new law is required to make the work of NGOs more transparent and to counter money-laundering.
RTP's missing tycoon fiasco
Oped, Editorial, Published on 25/11/2021
» The disappearance of a tycoon at the centre of an oil smuggling and money laundering racket in the South just hours after his arrest early this month dealt a heavy blow to the Royal Thai Police (RTP). His high-profile escape drew public attention and tarnished the battered reputation of the justice system.
New season for labourers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 12/11/2021
» The end of this year will be remembered as the season of reopening -- a sign that society is returning to normalcy after living under a quasi-straitjacket lifestyle under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peru on edge after Castillo's election victory
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/08/2021
» Peru holds the current record for revolving presidents -- three came and went in a month last November; for coronavirus deaths -- almost 6,000 per million, and for the youngest-looking president -- seen from afar, under his trademark straw hat, he looks like a 13-year-old boy. But appearances are deceiving.
Today it's Zuma, tomorrow it could be Trump
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/07/2021
» Sooner or later ex-president Donald Trump is bound to be indicted for some crime. It doesn't matter which -- it could be a fraud or corruption charge, or a sexual offence, or incitement to violence, or even just tax evasion. (That's what finally got American gangster Al Capone.) And it doesn't matter whether he's convicted, either; the real drama will come before that.
PM shows he has political resilience
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/06/2021
» Half-way through his four-year term, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has time and again shown his staying power in the face of popular discontent. Despite a subpar economic performance and persistent controversies from his cabinet's incomplete oath of office and a cabinet minister's past drug conviction and imprisonment in Australia to his own house on army premises after retirement, the former army chief, who led the military coup in May 2014 to take over as prime minister, has proved politically resilient.
Modi's failed plan to make a Singapore in Gujarat
News, Andy Mukherjee, Published on 22/02/2021
» When Singapore set up an international financial hub in the late 1960s, the city-state was thinking both fast and slow -- seizing an immediate opportunity, and opening a path to long-term economic development. Half a century later, India is attempting something similar in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. But without much thought going into what exactly it's building, for whom and for what purpose, all it may get is a casino for the local rich.