Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Border power cut, but problems remain
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 11/02/2025
» Hooray. After nearly a fortnight of to-and-fro brinkmanship and passing the buck among Thai agencies, the Thai government finally cut power to five border towns in Myanmar last week.
Indonesia leads Asean into Brics+
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/01/2025
» As the new year gets underway with the looming re-inauguration of United States President Donald J Trump, countries and entire regions are having to manoeuvre and realign in view of an accelerated breakdown of the post-Second World War rules-based liberal international order.
Trump's tariff blackmail boosts Brics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/12/2024
» Even before officially taking office, United States President-elect Donald J Trump is shaking up the international system with drama and fanfare unlike any other major leader in recent memory. His most recent outburst to slap 100% tariffs on the "Brics" countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates -- is a case in point. While it will coerce developing economies to think twice about the cost of going their own way, this tariff blackmail and others like it also risk pushing smaller countries away from the US to other rival big powers, particularly China.
Can we relocate our climate-threatened cities?
Oped, Michael E Smith, Published on 14/11/2024
» When my crew and I started excavating Calixtlahuaca -- an Aztec city-state capital near the modern-day city of Toluca in central Mexico -- I knew our findings might help answer questions of the past.
Strengthening Asian identity
Oped, Ali Bagheri Kani, Published on 27/06/2024
» This week, Tehran hosts a Ministerial meeting for Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) member states. Foreign ministers and senior officials from 35 countries, along with heads of regional and multilateral Asian organisations, are taking part in this gathering.
Implications of an ageing population
Oped, Daniel Moss, Published on 11/04/2024
» Thailand is racing to both revive -- and renovate -- the economy, bringing with it profound social changes. Infamous for its role in Asia's financial meltdown a generation ago, the country is today running headlong into a hurdle confronting the region: a dwindling and greying population.
Juggling funds
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/03/2024
» Re: "EC asked to probe minister's shares", (BP, Feb 26).
Time to ditch the death penalty
Oped, Andrea Giorgetta, Published on 10/10/2023
» Today marks the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty. For Thailand, it marks the fifth consecutive year without executions.
Can Thai passports' power get a lift?
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/09/2023
» At the first cabinet meeting last week, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced one of the government's priorities -- improving the power of Thai passports. It is a headline goal that will require extraordinary efforts to achieve. Upgrading a national passport to a higher level involves numerous factors -- economic, socio-cultural, and political -- as well as the general optics of the partnership countries. After all, the large number of visitors to a country is not an indicator of how powerful its passport is. A country might be given more visa-free accessibility and be popular for foreign passports, but its own passport's power can still be low.
MotoGP becomes soft power for Asia
Oped, Satrio Samtha Nugraha, Published on 07/01/2023
» Launched as the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix in 1949, MotoGP is now the oldest and most prestigious motorcycle racing tour in the world. Last September, Dorna Sport, the organiser of MotoGP revealed MotoGP's provisional calendar for the 2023 season with 21 race weekends spread across 19 countries. It's interesting to note that MotoGP confirmed two new series at Sokol International Racetrack in Kazakhstan and Buddh International Circuit in India. So, the number of MotoGP race series in Asia will increase to 8 rounds including Australia while the number of race series in Europe will decrease to 11 rounds for the upcoming season.