Showing 1 - 10 of 29
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.
Is Takaichi Sanae the 'Iron Lady' of Japan?
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 10/11/2025
» For the first time in its history, Japan's parliament has selected a woman, Takaichi Sanae of the Liberal Democratic Party, to be prime minister. In this sense, Ms Takaichi has already followed in the footsteps of her political idol, Margaret Thatcher -- the UK's first female PM. But whether she is remembered as Japan's own "Iron Lady" will depend on her ability to manage three key challenges: inflation, low female labour-force participation and a fraught geopolitical environment.
Mekong region's chance to reset
Oped, Than Tha Aung, Published on 12/09/2025
» The 2025 Cambodia–Thailand border clashes did more than just revive old tensions. They have exposed the fault lines of the regional economy in Southeast Asia and the lower Mekong region, built on fragile interdependence.
Thaksin exit seals party's dismal fate
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 08/09/2025
» The Pheu Thai Party is collapsing like a house of cards. The last few days have seen a once great party lose all its pride but not its thirst for power.
New tourism path for climate survival
Oped, Kamphol Pantakua, Published on 20/08/2025
» Hotel bookings are vanishing. Tour buses sit idle. Empty beaches. The culprit? Not mass protests. Not pandemics. But smoke, dust, and heat. Tourism fuels Thailand's economy, yet smog, heat waves, and flash floods are rapidly choking it. Can paradise still sell if it's unbreathable?
Clean energy offers opportunities
Oped, António Guterres, Published on 24/07/2025
» Energy has shaped humanity's path -- from mastering fire, to harnessing steam, to splitting the atom. Today, we're at the dawn of a new era. The sun is rising on a clean energy age.
Today, Tuvalu. Tomorrow, the entire world
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 15/07/2025
» Some big changes arrive with a bang, but usually they sort of sneak in and you barely notice them at first. Last month's big change saw the creation of the world's first climate-change visas. It's a way of giving potential climate refugees some hope and some dignity, and it would certainly be an improvement on the current migration mess.
Gaza impunity: Israel and the Great Eviction
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/05/2025
» Israel may or may not have God on its side (opinions vary), but it certainly has the US government, and that seems to be enough. It has just attacked an unarmed civilian ship called Conscience with armed drones near Malta in the central Mediterranean, almost 2,000 kilometres from Israel -- and nobody has said "boo".
Asean falters on Myanmar crisis
Oped, Shayna Bauchner, Published on 19/12/2024
» Thursday and Friday, Thailand hosts regional representatives in their latest meetings on the Myanmar crisis. Neighbouring countries will first come together to discuss border security with the Myanmar junta's minister of foreign affairs, Than Swe, followed by a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Israel, Hamas and the elusive ceasefire
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/05/2024
» Hamas did not need a ceasefire. It had already demonstrated that Israel could not eradicate it. It had achieved its primary goal of wrecking the anti-Iran alliance that was brewing between Israel and the major Arab Gulf states. And it doesn't care about how many Palestinians get killed; they are all "martyrs" for the cause.