Showing 1 - 10 of 18
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.
Let's give June a warm, wet welcome
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/06/2025
» It's hard to believe we are already into the sixth month of the year celebrating the first day of June, a month Canadian author M L Montgomery referred to as "the pearl of summer, shining with warmth and joy."
It was the Year of the Happy Hippo
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/12/2024
» Well, we've just about scraped through 2024 although there have been dodgy moments. Most of us will probably be happy to see the back of the Year of the Dragon.
Economic might and Olympic performance
Oped, Zaki Laïdi, Published on 27/08/2024
» Why do certain countries dominate the Olympics? The answer may lie in the correlation between athletic performance and GDP. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games were a case in point: the top seven medal winners -- the United States, China, Japan, Australia, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom -- are all among the world's 20 largest economies.
Many faces of Olympic triumph
News, Howard Chua-Eoan, Published on 15/08/2024
» I was a messy Olympics fan. During the Games in Paris, I rooted for several national delegations. Because I was born in the Philippines, I cheered for the Filipinos. I'm ethnic Chinese, so I was thrilled by the achievements of China, Hong Kong and, uhm, Chinese Taipei. I'm an American citizen, so I'm happy when Team USA is No 1 (or 2 or 3). I live in London, so whenever the UK medalled, I experienced frissons of delight.
Simone Biles is redefining athletic resilience
News, Lisa Jarvis, Published on 31/07/2024
» With the Olympics underway in Paris, the world has a front seat to something truly magical: the gravity-defying skills of US gymnast Simone Biles. And although I'm, of course, looking forward to watching her attempt the Yurchenko double pike vault -- a jump she is the only woman to even attempt in competition, and which she smashed during practice in Paris last week -- I'm really just glad to see her back in a leotard, beaming while high-fiving her teammates.
Games must be more sustainable
News, David Fickling, Published on 30/07/2024
» What's the biggest event at the Olympic Games?
There ain't no mountain high enough
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/01/2024
» In the final weeks of 2023 the old chestnut of introducing a cable car system on Phu Kradeung (Bell Mountain) national park resurfaced. It came as no surprise when a Bangkok Post headline concluded on the very last day of the year that the project "faces uncertainty".
Nike shoes aren't performance-enhancing drugs
News, Adam Minter, Published on 24/10/2023
» World records in marathons have toppled like track hurdles in recent weeks. Tigst Assefa, the new women's record holder, beat the old one by more than two minutes. Kelvin Kiptum, the latest men's record holder, took 34 seconds off his predecessor's time. These are astonishing accomplishments. But not everybody is crediting the athletes. Instead, critics argue that Assefa and Kiptum couldn't have run at top speeds without a new generation of high-performance "super shoes". Some go so far as to equate the souped-up shoes to performance-enhancing drugs.
Crisis beckons
News, Postbag, Published on 02/04/2023
» Re: "World faces prospect of financial tumult", (Opinion, March 23, by Chartchai Parasuk).