Showing 1 - 10 of 1,220
Myanmar's odd new govt takes shape
News, Larry Jagan, Published on 06/04/2026
» Finally, Myanmar's former army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been appointed as the country's next president. Amid much pomp and ceremony on Friday, Myanmar's newly elected parliamentarians approved his nomination by an overwhelming majority: 429 out of the 584 MPs.
Conflicts of interest worsen crisis
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 06/04/2026
» Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn's resignation as head of the committee handling the oil crisis caused by the war in the Middle East has spared him from public criticism over a potential conflict of interest linked to his family's oil trading business.
Trump's threat to exit Nato forces rethink
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/04/2026
» As Washington abandons the transatlantic pact following an unprovoked attack on Iran, Europe must prepare for a future without US security guarantees.
Cornered Orban at risk of losing next election
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 28/03/2026
» Viktor Orban has not aged well. When I met him in Budapest two months before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, he was a typical hyper-ambitious student leader. Anybody who has been to university knows the type: fluent, ruthless, perpetually on the look-out for the main chance, and oddly old still to be a student. (He was 26.)
Truth will prevail over Russia's war on Ukraine
Oped, Viktor Semenov, Published on 25/03/2026
» This recent February marked 12 years of armed aggression against my country and also marks five years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has constructed a series of myths that revolve around Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, which Russia labels a "coup d'état by a junta," the alleged "threat from Nato", the so-called "protection of Russian-speaking population", and the sham referendums conducted at gunpoint in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which are legally null and void.
Lesson from India to avoid the middle-income trap
Oped, Arvind Panagariya, Published on 18/03/2026
» Among Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most ambitious goals is to transform his country into a developed economy by Aug 15, 2047 -- the centenary of Indian independence. Given India's growth record over the past two decades, the speed and scale of its infrastructure development in recent years, and the Modi government's willingness to enact large-scale economic reforms, India is likely to become one of the few developing countries to avoid the middle-income trap.
Trump shows China how to handle Taiwan
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 17/03/2026
» Since returning to office last year, US President Donald Trump has ordered military strikes from the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to Africa and the Middle East, targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and suspected terrorist groups. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader. And he has joined Israel in a large-scale assault on Iran. Meanwhile, he is tightening a noose around Cuba, in the hope that the resulting humanitarian crisis will open the way for a "friendly takeover" of the island by the United States.
Ireland ready to lead EU amid global challenges
News, Patrick Bourne, Published on 17/03/2026
» In a world as fast-moving and unpredictable as the one we are navigating right now, it is good to know there are reliable lighthouses on the horizon and at least a few certainties upon which we can depend. One of those is that St Patrick's Day, every March 17, is an occasion that Irish people, and people of Irish heritage, and friends of Ireland, will be keen to celebrate all over the world, including here in Thailand. And for our small island, from which so many people emigrated throughout our history, this really is a global celebration of our history, culture, connections and shared values.
Stepping up against discrimination
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 14/03/2026
» Amidst the global turmoil happening today, it is easy to yield to a sense of despair and despondency. Yet, there are positive changes at the national-local level which seem incremental at first glance, but which are, in reality, monumental; they act as a gentle palliative projecting hope. On this front, Thailand experienced a sense of elation a year ago, when the possibility of same-sex marriage became the norm in the country due to reform of the Thai Civil Code.
Cornflakes, cats and grizzly bears
Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/03/2026
» Readers are no doubt aware that the official codename for the current US action in the Middle East is Operation Epic Fury which admittedly sounds more like the title of a martial arts B movie. It should not be confused with Operation Urgent Fury, the name given to the US invasion of Grenada back in 1983 during the Reagan administration. Israel incidentally has its own name for the current mission, Operation Roaring Lion.