Showing 1 - 10 of 26
Efficiency over pomp
Oped, Editorial, Published on 04/02/2026
» The video of Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt opening the new Phran Nok-Phutthamonthon Sai 4 Road lasts only a few seconds, yet it has gone viral for that exact reason. In an era of elaborate ceremonies, the footage is a testament to bureaucratic restraint -- proving that when leaders prioritise pragmatism over pageantry, the public wins.
Betting on the wrong horse
Oped, Editorial, Published on 11/08/2025
» In times of economic challenge and amid simmering border tensions with Cambodia, Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who doubles as interior minister, has quietly overturned a 67-year-old ban on poker, reclassifying it from gambling to a recognised sport. The sudden move, which happened without public consultation, has sparked criticism and fuelled suspicion about the government's true priorities.
Should the US join China's WWII event?
Oped, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 21/07/2025
» The latest Victory Day parade in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of Germany's independence defeat in May will be bookended in the upcoming September with a commemorative parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing marking the defeat of Japan.
Corrupt monks have lost their way
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 14/07/2025
» Just as Thailand was about to celebrate Asalha Bucha Day and the start of Buddhist Lent, the nation was gripped by the biggest sex scandal ever to rock its clergy. How irony.
Lanna Buddhist legend merits revival
Oped, Suddan Wisudthiluck, Published on 19/12/2024
» When religious pilgrims trek to sacred sites, they reaffirm not only their faith but also their own culture and communities. One example is Spain's ancient route of Santiago de Compostela, which leads to the tomb of St James the Greater, one of the apostles who spread Christianity. It was established more than a thousand years ago, yet this route attracts millions of pilgrims and tourists today. Unesco recognised it as a World Heritage Site in 1985.
Time to address today's learning crisis
Oped, Soohyun Kim, Published on 04/10/2024
» Every May, an alert on my phone nudges me to purchase carnations for my former political science teachers, Prof Lee and Prof Kim. Three decades after I last sat in their classrooms, I wonder if they would still recognise the name written on the tag. But sending my flowers on South Korea's National Teachers Day is the least I can do to thank them for paving the way for my career as a diplomat.
Saffron swindlers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/03/2024
» The news of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct this week handing a 480-year-plus jail term to a former abbot for embezzling temple donations is shocking enough. But the story gets even more convoluted.
So-called democracy
Oped, Postbag, Published on 14/03/2024
» Re: "Poll agency targets MFP for dissolution", (BP, March 13).
Will Cupid's aim improve this year?
Oped, Todd G Buchholz, Published on 14/02/2024
» Cupid may be hitting the mark in the shopping aisle, but he's not having much luck coaxing couples down the wedding aisle. Although Valentine's Day spending on significant others will reach a record high in the United States this year, fewer Americans are marrying and having sex, leading to fewer babies being born. But there is evidence to suggest that Cupid's aim will improve in coming years. If we want to survive as a species, we should be rooting for the pudgy cherub's success.
Ripe time to look east to fix climate regimes
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 05/01/2024
» The Pulitzer-nominated play Other Desert Cities, set in Palm Springs, California, tells a tale about a fractured family's struggles to establish dialogue across political divides. More than a decade after the play premiered in 2011, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), held late last year in another desert city, offered a macrocosmic telling of the same story.