Showing 1 - 10 of 99
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.
Somaliland: Mixed motivations
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/01/2026
» Last week Israel was the first country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland. Not Somalia, a wreck of a country on the East African coast that has been mired in civil war for the past thirty-five years, but Somaliland, a different country just north of there that has been peaceful, relatively prosperous and even democratic for all those years.
A bright spot in global landscape
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 02/01/2026
» It's time to consult the crystal snow globe and try to peer ahead to what may be on the horizon for the new year. Without question 2025 has been tumultuous but the year ahead holds cautious promise to finally solve some political crises mixed with some epic events on tap.
Peace on Earth? Democracy everywhere?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 29/12/2025
» Democracy is in retreat or at least on the defensive almost everywhere, while wars are getting bigger and more frequent. The trend lines are frighteningly bad.
Thai and Omani bridge builders
Oped, Pisanu Suvanajata, Published on 08/10/2025
» On the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Sultanate of Oman, last week, the Royal Thai Embassy in Muscat and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman convened a workshop that transcended mere commemoration. It became a working session on how two middle-power nations, distant in geography but close in outlook, can turn shared principles -- dialogue, moderation, and trust -- into practical pathways for peace and stability.
UN assembly opens amidst wars, other woes
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 23/09/2025
» Presidents, prime ministers, kings and potentates are converging on New York for the United Nations General Assembly session. The upcoming General Debate, starting today, will bring together a cast of thousands of delegates for 10 days.
Solving the conflict in Myanmar
News, Charles Petrie, Published on 15/09/2025
» The Myanmar military has recently launched a new offensive in different parts of the country, determined to claw back territory it has steadily lost since the coup of Feb 1, 2021. These operations, though at times tactically successful, are being carried out through brute force: airstrikes, mortar attacks, and the increasing use of drones. Entire areas are being destroyed. What will follow is not liberation, but military occupation. But how viable and effective will be the administrative structures that the generals will impose to govern these shattered spaces?
UN assembly shadowed by clouds of chaos
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 03/09/2025
» When the new UN General Assembly session opens next Tuesday, world leaders and diplomats will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the global organisation established in the wake of World War II to "maintain international peace and security" for future generations. But at headquarters here oin New York, delegates and staff will be doing far less celebrating than previously planned.
Talking peace with a tyrant: Who'd do it?
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 25/08/2025
» Peace is a beautiful word. It is an ideal condition under which people of different countries, religious faiths, races, cultures and political views can co-exist happily, without having to fight with each other, without having to shed blood as being witnessed across the world from Ukraine in eastern Europe to Gaza and Yemen in the Middle East, and even along the Thai-Cambodian border before a ceasefire agreement was signed late last month.
Southeast Asia facing hidden extremist threat
Oped, Muhammad Makmun Rasyid, Published on 07/07/2025
» In May, Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit arrested an 18-year-old man in Gowa, South Sulawesi, on charges of spreading Islamic State (IS) propaganda and inciting bomb attacks on social media. Identified only as MAS, the suspect represents a deeply troubling development in Southeast Asia's struggle against terrorism: the rise of youth radicalisation driven entirely by online exposure.