Showing 1 - 10 of 22
Asean must grab its rare-earth shot
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 22/11/2025
» US President Donald Trump's return to Southeast Asia last month felt like a rerun -- tariffs, tough talk, and televised deals. But this time, he left behind more than headlines. From Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi, Mr Trump inked trade pacts promising tariff relief on US exports in exchange for joint ventures in mining and refining the rare-earth minerals that power the world's clean-tech boom.
Climate finance for urban resilience
News, Imran Arif, Published on 29/10/2025
» Heavy rainfall and floods continue to plague Thailand's cities. A trifecta of heavier-than-usual rainfall exacerbated by the La Niña weather pattern, unsafe overcapacities at major dams, and unusually high sea tides is a stern reminder of how vulnerable Thailand's urban centres are amid the world's changing climate.
Global coral collapse a neglected crisis
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 16/08/2025
» Before the crack of dawn on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, Somsak Chaisri paddles his wooden boat over waters that used to shimmer with life. A once-vibrant coral garden below the water surface now consists of dead skeleton-like structures. According to this fisherman, the bleached coral skeletons are the only things he pulls from the water after his father showed him how to fish in living coral reefs. "Now, I drag up ghosts," he murmured. His lament echoes across the tropics. From the Maldives to Mozambique, the once-thriving reefs of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans are being scoured of life.
More missiles, memes, and the new resistance
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 19/07/2025
» There was a time, not so long ago, when Walter Cronkite's sombre baritone could turn battlefield dispatches into moments of collective reckoning. Even the first "television war" of 1991, piped in grainy bursts from Baghdad, felt slow enough for shock to sink in. These days, the missiles that streak above Natanz or Esfahan arrive on TikTok between latte art tutorials and kittens sliding off sofas. The effect is less shock-and-awe, more scroll-and-shrug.
Has Pakistan's military finally lost its mystique?
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 14/02/2024
» Its leader was clapped in jail, its ballot symbol erased, and its candidates forced to run as independents -- and yet the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former prime minister Imran Khan shockingly pulled ahead of its two biggest rivals in last week's elections. Although Pakistan's powerful army did not conceal its desire to end Khan's political career, many voters clearly had other ideas. In the process, they have delivered an unprecedented and shocking rebuke to the military brass who have exerted inordinate influence over the country's fate since its birth in 1947.
An ugly side to the beautiful game
News, Martin Ivens, Published on 15/11/2022
» When the World Cup kicks off next weekend, a Western sense of fair play will be outraged that a country without any native tradition in the game has won the right to host the tournament through financial muscle. Insult is added to injury too -- due to Qatar's extreme temperatures, the World Cup isn't being staged during the usual summer break but in November, disrupting domestic soccer competitions in the northern hemisphere for six weeks. Fans and players just have to lump it.
Fresh start seeds new trade deals
News, Phusadee Arunmas, Published on 17/05/2022
» The government is planning to import fertilisers from Saudi Arabia to ensure an adequate supply during the peak planting season, amid shortages in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
Multilateralism the key for Pakistan, Thailand
News, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Published on 26/08/2020
» Pakistan and Thailand have traditionally relied on multilateralism in the conduct of foreign policy. Abiding faith in the value of multilateralism drives our commitment to regional and international cooperation. With other like-minded friends, our two countries collaborate at the United Nations and a host of regional and cross-regional organisations to advance our shared objectives of peace and development.
Mideast ties strong, says Don
News, Aekarach Sattaburuth, Published on 17/01/2020
» Although absent from a House committee meeting in which he was to be asked to clarify his "misinformed" remarks about the conflict between the US and Iran, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said Thailand's ties with the Middle East are good.
Don backs Rohingya repatriation
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 29/09/2019
» Asean supports the repatriation of displaced Rohingya, says Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, speaking as the Asean chair.