Showing 1 - 10 of 331
Another day, another massacre
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 08/11/2025
» The ceasefire in Gaza, however shaky, is freeing up some bandwidth for the world's media to fret about other ongoing massacres, and UN Secretary General António Guterres wasted no time in turning the spotlight on Sudan. "The horrifying crisis in Sudan … is spiralling out of control," he said on Monday -- but he didn't explain why.
When societies rise, fall, and face catastrophe
News, Published on 11/10/2025
» When the United Nations emerged from the rubble of two world wars 80 years ago, it represented humanity's most ambitious attempt ever to turn catastrophe into cooperation. But while the scarred world of 1945 had hope following the Allied victory, that optimism has since curdled. The UN today is underfunded, risk-averse, and paralysed.
Authoritarians' brave new cities
Oped, Published on 23/09/2025
» Few policy ideas are as radical -- or as misleadingly packaged -- as "freedom cities". Championed by Silicon Valley's techno-libertarian elite and recently embraced by right-wing politicians like Donald Trump, the idea is to create digitally powered, master-planned enclaves of deregulated innovation.
Path to a new charter
News, Editorial, Published on 15/09/2025
» Thailand stands at a critical moment again. Voters and parties are debating how to make amendments to the junta-engineered 2017 constitution to serve real democracy and institutional reform and how to keep political bargaining chips among parties at bay.
Indonesia and Nepal's 2025 wake-up call
Oped, Published on 12/09/2025
» Two nations with different characteristics -- Indonesia and Nepal -- experienced identical severe storms when 2025 arrived. The people of Jakarta took to the streets to express their discontent about elite advantages, economic difficulties and government secrecy. The Nepalese government issued a ban on 26 social media platforms, which triggered youth protests that evolved into violent civil unrest throughout Kathmandu.
Limits of Xi, Putin's 'no-limits' alliance
Oped, Published on 05/09/2025
» Much has changed since Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin last stood together atop Tiananmen Square in 2015. When they did so again this week, it was supposedly as equal partners. But, of course, the reality is far more complex.
Not above the law
Postbag, Published on 26/07/2025
» Re: "PP backs public criticism of ruling in cadet's death", (BP, July 24).
Musk, Trump and Mao have a lot in common
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 11/07/2025
» The only place where some people still see Elon Musk as a political genius is China. "Brother Musk, you've got over a billion people on our side backing you," wrote a fan on Weibo, China's biggest social media site. "If Elon Musk were to found a political party," wrote another, "his tech-driven mindset could inject fresh energy into politics."
Southeast Asia facing hidden extremist threat
Oped, Published on 07/07/2025
» In May, Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit arrested an 18-year-old man in Gowa, South Sulawesi, on charges of spreading Islamic State (IS) propaganda and inciting bomb attacks on social media. Identified only as MAS, the suspect represents a deeply troubling development in Southeast Asia's struggle against terrorism: the rise of youth radicalisation driven entirely by online exposure.
Women build Myanmar's future
Oped, Published on 01/07/2025
» Amid Myanmar's unrelenting crisis, it is women who are quietly reshaping the nation's future. As the country reels from military violence, institutional collapse, and humanitarian catastrophe, women have stepped forward -- not just as survivors, but as leaders. Their courage is grounded in daily acts of resistance, care, and community-building that keep society intact.