Showing 4,721 - 4,730 of 4,870
Prayut apeing Thaksin
News, Postbag, Published on 01/10/2018
» Re: "Reckless statements", (PostBag, Sept 30).
'Belt and Road' is buckling under scrutiny
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 01/10/2018
» On a recent official visit to China, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticised his host country's use of major infrastructure projects -- and difficult-to-repay loans -- to assert its influence over smaller countries. While Dr Mahathir's warnings in Beijing against "a new version of colonialism" stood out for their boldness, they reflect a broader pushback against China's mercantilist trade, investment, and lending practices.
Military digs a bigger hole
News, Editorial, Published on 01/10/2018
» A middleman in the purchase of the militarily useless, strategically harmful "black box hardware" for the army has been sentenced, twice, to a prison term of 19 years. Ex-businessman Sutthiwat Wannakij was convicted by the Don Muang district court for his part in the purchase of the fake bomb detectors known as GT200. The military men involved in this shameful saga more than 10 years ago have never been brought to justice. They include several of those in high positions in the military regime and National Council for Peace and Order.
Marriage in China breaks the bank
News, Adam Minter, Published on 01/10/2018
» Getting married isn't cheap in China. In Da'anliu, a small farming village outside Beijing, the local "bride price" -- the fee that a groom's family pays to a bride's in advance of their nuptials -- recently breached the US$30,000 mark (972,000 baht). That's extreme for a village where incomes average $2,900 per year. So, this summer, local officials decreed that bride prices and associated wedding expenses shouldn't exceed $2,900. Violators will be treated as human traffickers.
New Nafta deal will please globalists
News, David Fickling, Published on 02/10/2018
» For the group of people meant to be enemies of President Donald Trump's trade agenda, the revised North American trade deal reached shortly before the stroke of midnight on Sunday looks pretty good.
China should heed Asia's wise man
News, Pankaj Mishra, Published on 02/10/2018
» Visiting Beijing in August, Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's recently elected prime minister, startled his hosts by boldly warning against a "new version of colonialism". He was referring to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the trillion-dollar infrastructure plan which aims to put the People's Republic at the heart of a global commercial web.
Score gold by protecting activists, not mine operators
News, Published on 02/10/2018
» Thai authorities and a local gold mining company have targeted and violated the rights of environmental defenders involved in opposing a gold mine in northeastern Thailand for more than a decade, a new report conducted by Fortify Rights has found.
Future learning
News, Postbag, Published on 02/10/2018
» I read the Sept 29 article, "Thailand's education stands at a crossroads", with interest.
One step forward, two steps back for cultural progression
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/10/2018
» There was bound to be a backlash to the "Me Too" movement, and the struggle over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court is clearly part of that culture war. "Me Too" is going to lose this battle unless there is some new and horrendous revelation of Mr Kavanaugh's past behaviour in the next few days, and lots of people in the US and elsewhere see this as evidence that the war itself is being lost.
Europe is helping Uber to improve
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 03/10/2018
» On Monday, Uber returned to Dusseldorf, Germany, a city it was forced to abandon in 2015. This is a victory both for German regulators and for Uber, or rather, for its new version under Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi. It shows that the San Francisco-based company can actually function as a tech platform, rather than as a taxi business that pretends to be a tech platform.