Showing 1 - 10 of 109
Japanese PM Takaichi comes out on top
Oped, Taniguchi Tomohiko, Published on 11/02/2026
» Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has just scored an unprecedented victory in the country's general election. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which she leads, won 316 seats in the 465-member House of Representatives (the Diet's lower house), up sharply from 198. The combined strength of two parties that had merged hastily -- despite their fundamentally opposing platforms -- in an effort to bring Ms Takaichi down fell from 167 seats to just 49. The LDP, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, has never looked more robust.
Thailand's political trajectory in 2026
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/01/2026
» What happens in Thai politics this year and the immediate horizon will be determined by the upcoming election on Feb 8. While contesting political parties are in full campaign mode, the contemporary history of Thai polls so far in the 21st century is not encouraging. Only once in the past 25 years have voting results went the way they were meant to, in accordance with the popular will. Whether the vote in four weeks will follow the same pattern will depend on whether the conservative establishment gets its preferred outcome.
Trump's Greenland logic rattles Europe, Nato
News, Sara Sjolin & Andrea Palasciano & Sanne Wass, Published on 08/01/2026
» Donald Trump's rationale for decapitating Venezuela's government is fuelling concerns among European officials that they could soon face an existential dilemma over Greenland.
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.
China's bluster over Japan's Taiwan remarks
News, John J Metzler, Published on 05/12/2025
» Beijing has gone rhetorically ballistic over comments by Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute "a situation threatening Japan's survival" that thus could trigger a military response. Her statement poses uncharacteristically tough talk from Tokyo at a time when tensions are running high in the Far East.
Intent matters
Oped, Postbag, Published on 12/11/2025
» Re: "Critics question PM's MoU on scams", (BP, Nov 8) & "No conclusion yet on MoUs, panel says", (BP, Oct 28).
A Faustian bargain for the Global South
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 05/08/2025
» US President Donald Trump's tariff policies have unleashed global economic turmoil and a wave of protectionist measures. While many of his frequently changing tariffs may prove short-lived, their use as geopolitical weapons is poised to reshape international trade for years to come.
Resetting development finance
Oped, Carlos Cuerpo and Joseph E Stiglitz, Published on 03/07/2025
» At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development this week in Seville, delegates are calling for urgent action to fix a system that has stopped working. Prior to the third such gathering a decade ago, in Ethiopia, we had witnessed unprecedented advances towards reducing poverty, increasing school enrolment, and providing clean water worldwide. Today, however, progress is not only slowing but potentially stagnating -- or, worse, reversing.
Urgent issues at hand
News, Editorial, Published on 07/04/2025
» As a wave of crises -- a devastating earthquake, a deadly building collapse and the looming shockwave of 36% import tariffs imposed by the United States -- hits Thailand, it is both startling and deeply disconcerting to see the ruling party channelling its energy into a fast-tracking its casino legislation.
US friends and foes buckle up for 'America First'
News, Peter Apps, Published on 01/02/2025
» Less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Monday, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio met foreign minister counterparts from America's closest allies in the Indo-Pacific -- the so-called "Quad" with Australia, India and Japan, as aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson finished its first big 2025 training exercise in waters near the Philippines.