Showing 1 - 10 of 129
Graft body faces test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/01/2026
» Two statements issued by National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officials, urging a commissioner to resign over bribery allegations involving gold bars, suggest moral hazard at the country's graft-busting office.
America's new age of empire dawns
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz, Published on 13/01/2026
» US President Donald Trump has drawn a wave of criticism for his actions in Venezuela, violations of international law, disdain for longstanding norms, and threats against other countries -- not least allies like Denmark and Canada. Around the world, there is a palpable sense of uncertainty and foreboding. But it should already be obvious that things will not end well, neither for the United States nor the rest of the world.
Dispel steel bar doubts
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/10/2025
» The decision by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) to release 40,000 deformed steel bars, confiscated in the wake of the State Audit Office (SAO) collapse, has stirred controversy. The move came only shortly after the new government took shape, raising questions over timing and transparency.
Symbolic acts won't create a real Palestine
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 25/09/2025
» Ten more countries are recognising Palestine as a sovereign state in the course of this week. That brings the total up from 147 to 157. It's a big deal to an extent because for the first time it includes quite a few big, rich Western countries (France, the UK, Canada and Australia). But it is not unified, and it still controls no territory.
Thaksin chapter closes, another opens
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/09/2025
» In yet another dramatic twist in Thai politics, erstwhile anti-establishment political juggernaut and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra accepted a one-year jail sentence and began serving his time behind bars on Sept 9. After his return from a 15-year self-imposed exile in August 2023 and a concomitant royal pardon that reduced his eight-year imprisonment on corruption convictions to just one year, Thaksin cited his gravely ill health and spent the time comfortably at the Police General Hospital before being released on parole. The Supreme Court's ruling that his get-out-of-jail health card was invalid means Thaksin's renewed imprisonment and its aftermath are likely to reshape and realign Thailand's political landscape ahead of the next election, due by mid-2027.
Lawless state capitalism no answer to China's rise
Oped, Curtis J Milhaupt & Angela Huyue Zhang, Published on 19/09/2025
» It is tempting to frame the Sino-American economic rivalry as a clash between engineering doers and lawyerly naysayers, as the Chinese-Canadian analyst Dan Wang does in his new book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. But this is a false dichotomy, because law is a crucial feature of US capitalism.
Jail stay could be short
Oped, Editorial, Published on 11/09/2025
» As the public welcomed the Supreme Court ruling against Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday for violating the terms of his incarceration, the question remains as to whether the spiritual leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party would benefit from a home detention programme that could see his one-year prison term cut short.
Can't buy everything
Oped, Postbag, Published on 31/07/2025
» Re: "Thai army condemns Cambodia for breaking ceasefire agreement", (BP, July 29) & "Ulterior motives" (PostBag, July 29).
In the 'kingdom of silence', the caged bird raps
Oped, Mohammad Abu Hajar, Published on 18/07/2025
» In Syria, the caged bird raps. On my first night imprisoned, I began to write:
Only courts can deal with Thaksin
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 30/06/2025
» The rally at the Victory Monument on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resembled the so-called "Bangkok Shutdown" held in 2014 by the People's Democratic Reform Committee to demand the ouster of the government of then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Ms Paetongtarn's aunt.