Showing 1 - 10 of 148
Trump's 'America First' in overdrive
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/01/2026
» President Donald Trump's extraterritorial capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on cocaine-trafficking and terrorism-related charges earlier this month and repeated demand to take over Greenland at the World Economic Forum this week are part and parcel of a belligerent and transformative "America First" paradigm that dates back at least four decades.
2026 outlook calls for recalibration
News, Mohamed A El-Erian, Published on 17/01/2026
» For global markets, 2025 was defined as much by what did not happen as by what did. The year offered a masterclass in the power of a single narrative, with massive, concentrated bets on AI masking various other unanswered questions. Yet as we move further into 2026, the AI narrative is unlikely to prove strong enough to continue overshadowing other lingering uncertainties, many of which reflect deeper structural shifts. For investors, central banks, and governments alike, the situation demands adaptation.
When infrastructure meets AI
Oped, Bertrand Badré & Saurabh Mishra, Published on 16/01/2026
» Infrastructure investment is booming. Around the world, governments are pouring trillions of dollars into roads, power grids, data centres, water systems, and housing, with many responding to intensifying climate shocks and the growing need for adaptation. Yet the construction industry -- the single largest force physically reshaping the planet -- is among the last major sectors to unlock all the benefits that digital technology offers. As a result, it accounts for about 21% of greenhouse-gas emissions, produces half of global landfill waste, and overspends by US$1.6 trillion a year.
Missed timing undermines Big Tech competition
Oped, Madhavi Singh, Published on 18/12/2025
» When a US federal judge ruled in late November that Meta does not maintain an illegal monopoly in social media, it was a reminder that even the strongest evidence can look weak when enforcers act too late.
Disaster struck as preparation fell short
News, Nuthasid Rukkiatwong, Published on 03/12/2025
» To understand the devastation in Hat Yai, we need to refrain from finding excuses and culprits and start looking at the factors that led to this catastrophe.
When societies rise, fall, and face catastrophe
News, Antara Haldar, 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.
It's a fishy start
Oped, Postbag, Published on 04/09/2025
» Re: "Pak Klong Sam Saen to become new tourist hub" & "Fish deaths in canal spark probe", (BP, Sept 3). The ironic juxtaposition of these two headlines in Wednesday's edition appears not to bode well for future grandiose plans. One wonders if the irony was intentional.
Gaza hunger invites global shame
Oped, Binaifer Nowrojee, Published on 25/08/2025
» Starvation is the slow, silent unmaking of the body. Deprived of basic sustenance, the body first burns through sugar stores in the liver. Then it melts muscle and fat, breaking down tissue to keep the brain and other vital organs alive.
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.
Farmers fret at tariff deal
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/08/2025
» Local farmers are gradually voicing their fears about the economy after learning that the Thai government may remove non-tariff barriers and reduce the tariff for imported goods from the United States.