Showing 1 - 10 of 55
New debate format
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/01/2026
» Re: "Academics sound alarm ahead of poll", (BP, Jan 14). A one-on-one debate format between political parties would greatly help us decide who we want to solve basic structural problems in our economy, society and justice system -- and the media should play a key role in arranging such a debate and setting the theme.
Risky central bank politicisation
Jamie McGreever, Published on 29/08/2025
» There is legitimate debate about the actual independence of modern-day central banks, but almost everyone agrees that overt politicisation of monetary policy — as we appear to be seeing in the United States — is dangerous. Why is that?
The next war comes to a city near you
Oped, Joe Mathews, Published on 03/07/2025
» I was to visit Ukraine this week, but didn't make the trip. Because the same war I would have seen there had already come to Los Angeles.
The conflict in Syria is not quite over yet
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 26/12/2024
» The extraordinary and fast-moving events in Syria have gripped the world. What was viewed as a forgotten, forsaken and frozen conflict churning on for nearly 14 years, has suddenly jumped into the headlines to round out this tumultuous year.
Chronicling the crumbling of the House of Assad
Oped, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Published on 14/12/2024
» The swift collapse, after 54 years, of Syria's al-Assad dynasty has just transformed the Middle East's geopolitical landscape. The lightning offensive by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia took all of Syria's neighbours -- and everyone else -- by surprise. The news that President Bashar al-Assad had fled to Russia confirms the one binding truth about wars: unintended consequences can extend far beyond the theatre of battle.
Rebel win to reshape Syria's fragile future
News, John J. Metzler, Published on 12/12/2024
» The Assad family dictatorship, which ran Syria for 53 years and withstood 13 years of bitter civil war, collapsed in just over a week. A sweeping series of Islamic rebel attacks, starting in late November, captured key cities from Aleppo in the north to Homs and Hama, which fell like dominos, creating an unstoppable military momentum on the road to Damascus.
Putin throws Brics at his global critics
News, John J Metzler, Published on 30/10/2024
» Vladimir Putin put on a good show. The 16th annual Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia, set the stage for the gathering of what's essentially the "Alternative economic club" to the established Western groups such as the G-7 and the IMF. Thirty-five 35 delegations, including 24 heads of state and government, journeyed to Kazan for a three-day summit and schmooze session with the otherwise diplomatically isolated Russian president.
Nato meet faces shadow of Trump, Ukraine divisions
News, Peter Apps, Published on 03/07/2024
» As Nato officials prepared in June for the alliance's July 9-12 summit in Washington, outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg embarked on the traditional pre-meeting shuttle diplomacy aimed at avoiding unexpected disruptions.
The popular decimation of India's democracy
Oped, Pranab Bardhan, Published on 18/05/2024
» India's ongoing parliamentary election, in which nearly a billion people casting their votes over a six-week period, should represent an extraordinary exercise of democracy. The bleak reality, however, is that the election appears poised to consolidate a decade-long process of democratic decay, which has included the decimation of liberal institutions and practices and weakening of political competition. After all, the leader who has presided over this process -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- remains wildly popular.
Govt, BoT spat may not be economic
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 09/05/2024
» The row between the government and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) over its "high" interest rate is all over the news. Many have started questioning the appropriateness of the central bank's independence.