Showing 1 - 10 of 156
When repressive states choose terror over death
News, Alan Clements, Published on 23/01/2026
» Fyodor Dostoevsky -- one of the few writers to survive state terror and return with a psychology sharp enough to indict it.
The end of China's one-child policy, 10 years later
Oped, Yi Fuxian, Published on 09/01/2026
» Jan 1 marked a decade since China repealed its one-child policy. Just ten days earlier, Peng Peiyun, who long oversaw the often-brutal enforcement of China's family-planning rules, died at the age of 96, having never been held accountable for her actions. Some obituaries praised Peng for being "reform-minded", even though, in practice, she only perpetuated an utterly inhumane policy, whose consequences have barely begun to materialise.
Domestic drivers of bilateral conflict
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/12/2025
» The latest flare-up and intensification of the armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia should be understood less as a new crisis and more as a resumption of a bilateral clash that erupted in late July.
Bibi's strategy to keep justice at arm's length
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/12/2025
» Israel's prime minister, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, has just asked the country's president, Isaac Herzog, to "fully pardon" him of all three charges -- bribery, fraud and breach of trust -- that he has been on trial for since 2020. And the question is: Why did he only ask for it now?
Thailand's unfinished 'Lodi' journey
News, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Published on 24/11/2025
» It all began with a song. "Lodi", written by John Fogerty and sung by Creedence Clearwater Revival, tells of a musician stranded in a small town -- out of luck but not out of hope. "Oh Lord," he sings, "stuck in Lodi again".
'Phoney trade war' may be ending
News, Mike Dolan, Published on 18/10/2025
» After a period of relative calm through the Northern summer, businesses are bracing for a nervier winter, a return of trade and economic uncertainty, and higher financial market volatility to boot.
Renminbi debt in a dollar-denominated world
Oped, Paola Subacchi, Published on 25/09/2025
» When governments borrow on international markets, they do so overwhelmingly in US dollars. Roughly two-thirds of international debt issuance is denominated in foreign currencies, of which nearly half is in dollars and about 40% is in euros. The rest is spread across other currencies, including the Chinese renminbi.
AI set to replace most humans
News, Stephen Jen, Published on 22/08/2025
» Is technology more job augmenting or job replacing? This has been a long-standing debate. But recent academic work suggests that technology has been a net destroyer of jobs for decades.
Global coral collapse a neglected crisis
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 16/08/2025
» Before the crack of dawn on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, Somsak Chaisri paddles his wooden boat over waters that used to shimmer with life. A once-vibrant coral garden below the water surface now consists of dead skeleton-like structures. According to this fisherman, the bleached coral skeletons are the only things he pulls from the water after his father showed him how to fish in living coral reefs. "Now, I drag up ghosts," he murmured. His lament echoes across the tropics. From the Maldives to Mozambique, the once-thriving reefs of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans are being scoured of life.
Why is North Korea courting Russian tourists?
Oped, Saahil Menon, Published on 13/08/2025
» Hoping to replenish state coffers with much-needed foreign exchange reserves and offset the sharp post-Covid decline in Chinese tour groups, the Hermit Kingdom has set its sights on inquisitive holiday-makers from an ideologically aligned Russia.