Showing 1 - 10 of 26
Reinvent Thailand to revive growth
Oped, Boonwara Sumano, Published on 11/02/2026
» In the 1990s, Thailand ranked second in Asean for state performance, behind only Singapore. Today, we trail several neighbours. This decline has unfolded gradually over three decades -- through repeated economic crises, institutional stagnation, and reforms that never quite went far enough. What is different today is that the cost of inaction has become far more dangerous.
When infrastructure meets AI
Oped, Bertrand Badré & Saurabh Mishra, Published on 16/01/2026
» Infrastructure investment is booming. Around the world, governments are pouring trillions of dollars into roads, power grids, data centres, water systems, and housing, with many responding to intensifying climate shocks and the growing need for adaptation. Yet the construction industry -- the single largest force physically reshaping the planet -- is among the last major sectors to unlock all the benefits that digital technology offers. As a result, it accounts for about 21% of greenhouse-gas emissions, produces half of global landfill waste, and overspends by US$1.6 trillion a year.
It's the economic history, stupid
Oped, Iker Saitua, Published on 14/01/2026
» Every year, I walk into a first-year lecture hall in Bilbao at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and watch shoulders slump. The title of the course I'm teaching -- "Economic History" -- draws a similarly dejected reaction from my students: "Meh." "Boooring." "What's this even for?" Some call it "the history class", as if it belonged to another century.
Nuanced Thai smiles
Oped, Postbag, Published on 09/01/2026
» Re: " 'Mai pen rai' paradox: from kindness to toxic silence", (Life, Jan 7). This is an excellent article, but alas goes down a rabbit hole, akin to mitigating daily road fatalities and addressing other issues often lamented in this column that we're acquainted with.
'Land bridge' will harm nature
Oped, Kitichate Sridith, Published on 31/12/2025
» The end of 2025 brought Thais the good news that one of the world's most endangered felines -- the flat-headed cat -- has not gone extinct in our nation, as had long been feared. But our natural heritage is under relentless pressure. We need to treat our habitats, flora and fauna as assets that demand science-led protection.
When the news is wrong about my homeland
Oped, José González Vargas, Published on 11/12/2025
» The people of Venezuela conjure contradictory images, particularly for those living in the Global North. We're starved and oppressed masses under a totalitarian thumb, but also arrogant and pigheaded émigrés living in golden exile from Miami to Madrid. More recently, we are hordes of criminals, the scum of the Earth, flooding into the United States. Where's the truth? Where's the lie?
Trump's doubling of tariffs is hitting India hard
Oped, Shashi Tharoor, Published on 05/12/2025
» US President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on a wide range of Indian goods, from a steep 25% to a catastrophic 50%, is reshaping India's export economy. Half of what India sells to the United States -- its largest trading partner -- is now prohibitively expensive, and ordinary Indians are suffering as a result.
Why gold matters in a changing world
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 13/11/2025
» After reading my previous article, "Thailand has become the sick man of Asean", a good friend asked me what would happen to the Thai economy after becoming the sick man?
In defence of encryption for a digital future
Oped, Sally Wentworth, Published on 22/10/2025
» Encryption, the simple act of scrambling data so that it cannot be read by third parties, keeps us, our loved ones, and our communities safe by protecting everything from private messages to online-banking details and medical records. It is the foundation of trust in our digital society, as crucial for personal security as it is for national security.
How G20 could help end hunger
Oped, Raj Patel & Refiloe Joala, Published on 21/10/2025
» Upon assuming the G20 presidency in December, South Africa chose "solidarity, equality, and sustainability" as its theme. Far from being an empty slogan, this vision reflects the principles on which any credible international response to today's hunger crisis must rest.