Showing 1 - 10 of 1,270
All eyes trained on coalition maths
News, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 07/02/2026
» As the election campaign enters its final stage, with more than 53 million eligible voters heading to the polls tomorrow, experts are making their final tea-leaf readings.
Pheu Thai bets again on loyal red-shirt base
News, Anucha Charoenpo, Published on 06/02/2026
» The Pheu Thai Party's call for supporters to wear red shirts today appears to be a last-ditch effort to re-energise its traditional "red-shirt" base.
Will poll be breakout or more of same?
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/02/2026
» As Thais go to the polls this Sunday, the most consequential question is whether Thailand will finally break out of its debilitating cycle of political instability and economic underperformance that has marked the past two decades. The signs and signals suggest otherwise -- at least not yet.
Iran: Don't intervene there, Mr Trump
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/01/2026
» Any day now, the United States will "come to the rescue" of the protesters in the streets of Iran's cities and American bombers will unleash "hell" on the minions of the theocratic regime -- or not, as the case may be.
Three main parties and two directions
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/01/2026
» Although Thailand's election campaign is reaching fever pitch ahead of voting day on Feb 8, the dynamics and contours of its final outcome can be gleaned from past polls over the last 25 years. Only once in January 2001, as was indicated in this space last week, were voter results fully honoured and carried out. Other elections were either upended by military coups or manipulated by judicial interventions.
National history in Children's Day mottos
Nonthawat Phakham, Published on 14/01/2026
» In Thailand, Children's Day falls on the second Saturday of January, a tradition that began in 1955 to raise public awareness of the importance of children. Each Children’s Day, the prime minister provides a motto that apparently reflects national situations during that period.
Thailand's political trajectory in 2026
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/01/2026
» What happens in Thai politics this year and the immediate horizon will be determined by the upcoming election on Feb 8. While contesting political parties are in full campaign mode, the contemporary history of Thai polls so far in the 21st century is not encouraging. Only once in the past 25 years have voting results went the way they were meant to, in accordance with the popular will. Whether the vote in four weeks will follow the same pattern will depend on whether the conservative establishment gets its preferred outcome.
The end of China's one-child policy, 10 years later
Oped, Yi Fuxian, Published on 09/01/2026
» Jan 1 marked a decade since China repealed its one-child policy. Just ten days earlier, Peng Peiyun, who long oversaw the often-brutal enforcement of China's family-planning rules, died at the age of 96, having never been held accountable for her actions. Some obituaries praised Peng for being "reform-minded", even though, in practice, she only perpetuated an utterly inhumane policy, whose consequences have barely begun to materialise.
What would happen if Khamenei falls?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/01/2026
» The demonstrations began again in Iran last week, only two years after the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement convulsed the country for months. However, the current protests are potentially much broader than that episode because they are driven by the collapse in Iran's currency, the rial (now 1,420,000 to the US dollar), and the explosive rise in the cost of living.
Secret intel guy
Postbag, Published on 28/12/2025
» Re: "Not an easy feat", (PostBag, Dec 22) & "Four killed in US strike on 'narco-trafficking vessel'." (World, Dec 18).