Showing 1 - 10 of 57
Plentiful policy on offer
Oped, Editorial, Published on 19/01/2026
» Thailand is heading towards a consequential general election on Feb 8. In the weeks leading up to polling day, voters have been bombarded with policy proposals from across the political spectrum. Many are attractively packaged and, if fully realised, would seemingly transform the country overnight.
France stumbles through an autumn of woe
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 05/11/2025
» France has faced a tumultuous autumn. The usual strikes, government shuffles, and sensational events -- from a high-profile daylight heist at the world-famous Louvre Museum to the imprisonment of a former president -- have characterised a disquieting period.
President Trump is losing his geo-economic war
News, Harold James, Published on 16/10/2025
» In an age of shifting geopolitics, many countries' strategic planning includes imaginative exercises in weaponising their positions in the world. While Russia and China have been moderately successful at this game, America's efforts have already boomeranged back on it.
Venezuela's fall deepens under Maduro's rule
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 15/05/2025
» What was akin to a celebration of global dictators and political rogues, Venezuela's Marxist dictator, Nicholas Maduro, visited Moscow to join Vladimir Putin in celebrating Russia's May 9 Victory Day Parade, the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany. Mr Putin's pantheon included communist China's leader Xi Jinping and Brazil's President Lula da Silva, among others.
Gaza impunity: Israel and the Great Eviction
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/05/2025
» Israel may or may not have God on its side (opinions vary), but it certainly has the US government, and that seems to be enough. It has just attacked an unarmed civilian ship called Conscience with armed drones near Malta in the central Mediterranean, almost 2,000 kilometres from Israel -- and nobody has said "boo".
The Houthi threat to global shipping
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 28/03/2025
» Amidst the unpredictable arc of crisis shadowing the Middle East, the systemic and sustained merchant shipping attacks in the Red Sea persist. The culprits are a shadowy but lethal Iranian proxy force, the Houthis, who use their control of mountainous parts of the Yemeni coast to launch missile, drone and speedboat attacks on vital shipping lanes connecting the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Aden.
Frigates beat subs
Oped, Postbag, Published on 04/01/2025
» Re: "Sub deal 'complete in six months'", (BP, Dec 31, 2024) and "China agrees to supply ship instead of sub to navy", (BP, March 28, 2024).
The day Sukhumvit almost sunk
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/09/2024
» Reading about the extensive flooding in the North and Northeast got me thinking about the worst inundations experienced in Bangkok. It was probably back in 1983 when much of the city was underwater for several weeks. However one that really affected me was a few years later in 1986 after a huge storm had left the eastern part of Bangkok awash.
Covid closure is needed. Congress blew its chance
News, FD Flam, Published on 07/06/2024
» Congress blew its chance on Monday to give Americans some insight into the Covid pandemic that dominated our lives for years. Following a 15-month inquiry, Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic called Anthony Fauci to testify in public at a special hearing, but committee members spent most of the time posturing rather than probing the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
High-stakes submarine talks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/05/2024
» A Chinese delegation is visiting Thailand and will meet the government on Wednesday to negotiate a long-overdue submarine purchase. Then, the Thai government will make the final decision on whether to ditch or take the submarine.