Showing 1 - 10 of 73
Emerging markets stand strong
Oped, Kristalina Georgieva and Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Published on 12/02/2026
» It used to be that when advanced economies sneezed, emerging markets caught a cold. That is no longer true. Following recent global shocks, such as the post-pandemic inflation surge and a new wave of tariffs, emerging markets have held up well. Inflation has continued to slow, currencies have generally retained their value, and debt issuance costs have remained at manageable levels. There has been no sign of the kind of financial turbulence that came with past economic shocks.
Somaliland: Mixed motivations
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/01/2026
» Last week Israel was the first country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland. Not Somalia, a wreck of a country on the East African coast that has been mired in civil war for the past thirty-five years, but Somaliland, a different country just north of there that has been peaceful, relatively prosperous and even democratic for all those years.
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?
Pageant fallout
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/11/2025
» Re: "Turmoil in tiaras at Miss Universe in Thailand", (BP, Nov 6). There was an international furore a couple of weeks back over comments made by the co-organiser of the Miss Universe Pageant, Nawat Itsaragrisil, to Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch.
In an Irish memorial, I see echoes of Palestine
Oped, Andy Young, Published on 03/10/2025
» The figures by the River Liffey in Dublin are more clothes than flesh. The Famine Memorial, created by Rowan Gillespie, holds in bronze a moment of suffering, the settling in of the Great Hunger, which would cut Ireland's population by more than a quarter, the gone either dead or emigrated.
When non-interference becomes policy
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 20/05/2025
» What US President Donald Trump said in Saudi Arabia on May 14 resonates very well in Thailand. Last week in Riyadh, Mr Trump reiterated that the Middle East had changed because "local people did it", and not because "Western countries interfered and told you how to live or run your countries".
Saudi price war looks like unspoken gift to Trump
News, Ron Bousso, Published on 16/05/2025
» Oil barely garnered a mention from US President Donald Trump during his glitzy visit to Saudi Arabia this week. But the black gold may explain why the trip went so smoothly.
The art of choosing the right words
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/03/2025
» The word "diplomacy" has been making frequent appearances on newspaper pages in recent days and unless you have been in hibernation there is no need to explain why.
Reflections from a fire-ravaged LA
Holiday Time, Drue Kataoka & Curtis S Chin, Published on 01/02/2025
» Thailand's blockbuster How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Lahn Mah), directed by Pat Boonnitipat might not have been on the nominees list -- and Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul was not (yet) a Golden Globes winner or presenter -- but when the 82nd Golden Globes Awards ceremony concluded this Jan 5 (local time) in Los Angeles, there were so many Asian and Asian American achievements to celebrate. This included much greater global visibility for actors, directors and creative content from Korea to Japan to India and beyond.
Syria needs another miracle for peace to stay
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/12/2024
» They're still celebrating the miraculous fall of the Assad regime in Damascus, and the killing has stopped in Syria except for parts of the north, east and south. So what are the odds that the man whose fighters brought down the regime, Ahmed al-Sharaa, can bring peace, prosperity and even democracy to Syria?