Showing 1 - 10 of 274
State Audit Office collapse still demands answers
Oped, Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Published on 27/03/2026
» One year has passed since the collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building -- a broad-daylight engineering tragedy that shocked Thailand and, through countless video clips shared online, much of the world. The images were unforgettable: a high-rise sinking almost straight down and ending as a flattened stack of debris within seconds.
News bulletins are going 'off-ramp'
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/03/2026
» An expression that is being used with increasing frequency in recent news reports, particularly concerning the goings on in the Middle East, is "off-ramp". Switch on the TV and it won't be long before a "talking head" will be authoritatively discussing "off-ramp" opportunities.
Loving the lizards
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/03/2026
» Re: "It's not just the park's lizards", (BP, March 16) & "Monitor monitoring", (BP, April 26, 2025).
Stepping up against discrimination
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 14/03/2026
» Amidst the global turmoil happening today, it is easy to yield to a sense of despair and despondency. Yet, there are positive changes at the national-local level which seem incremental at first glance, but which are, in reality, monumental; they act as a gentle palliative projecting hope. On this front, Thailand experienced a sense of elation a year ago, when the possibility of same-sex marriage became the norm in the country due to reform of the Thai Civil Code.
Long-stay limbo
Postbag, Published on 28/02/2026
» Re: "Omnibus law sought to unlock investment", (Business, Feb 25).
Barcode vote row
Oped, Postbag, Published on 25/02/2026
» Re: "Barcodes may make poll void", (BP, Feb 20). With due respect to those prominent legal scholars, especially Prof Wissanu Krea-ngam, the presence of barcodes and QR codes printed on each ballot paper could render the entire general election process void.
Rethinking global health finance
Oped, Walter O Ochieng & Tom Achoki, Published on 06/02/2026
» For the past half-century, the economics of global health were straightforward. Under the so-called "grant-based" approach, rich countries donate to poor countries, which use the funds to meet their populations' health needs. Success was measured by services provided or lives saved, rather than by balance sheets. While this model was far from perfect, the latest approach replacing it -- focused on using tools like guarantees and blended finance to crowd in private capital -- threatens to produce even worse outcomes.
Medals abound
Postbag, Published on 30/12/2025
» Re: "Medals to millions as stars hit jackpot", (Sport, Dec 27).
Southeast Asia squeezed by superpowers
News, Manishi Raychaudhuri, Published on 15/11/2025
» Southeast Asian nations are in a bind. While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean) exporters face increasing pressure from US tariffs and heightened scrutiny of transshipments, their domestic markets are increasingly being dominated by Chinese goods.
Asean's moment of truth is now
Oped, Mari Elka Pangestu & Tan Sri Rebecca Fatimah Sta Maria, Published on 05/11/2025
» For decades, integration into the global trading system has been vital to economic growth and development. Now, however, integration implies vulnerability, as powerful actors -- beginning with the US -- wield tariffs, export restrictions, and financial sanctions. For Southeast Asia, this turn of events represents both a warning and a call to action: countries must work together to shape their own destiny or others will decide their fate for them.