Showing 1 - 10 of 1,396
Myanmar's robbery of a democracy
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/04/2026
» Five long years after Myanmar's military seized power on 1 Feb 2021, what has taken place in recent weeks amounts to a delayed fait accompli. Led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, then commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the coup diverged from its traditional playbook seen in 1962 and 1988, when tanks rolled and the military ruled by brute force. This time, the takeover nearly unravelled amid a nationwide uprising that evolved into a civil war, waged by an armed and determined resistance comprising the civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG), the People's Defence Forces (PDFs), and a constellation of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs).
How can we future-proof the global economy?
Oped, Mohamed A El-Erian, Published on 23/04/2026
» An uncomfortable reality is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The global economy is in a period of "more frequent and violent shocks", as Nobel laureate Michael Spence puts it. Instead of facing isolated and temporary disruptions, we are confronting a structural shift towards unsettling volatility, deepening fragmentation, and a wider dispersion of outcomes for countries, companies, and households. The old world is gone, and virtually everyone risks losing out in the new one. The question is by how much and what to do about it.
Rupture, reform and how to rebuild
Oped, Robert F Godec, Published on 23/04/2026
» The world is teetering on the edge of a cliff. Russia, China, and the United States are using their military and economic power in the ruthless pursuit of power and domination. In doing so, they have ruptured an international system that for 80 years was characterised by rules, institutions, and a measure of cooperation.
Vaping menace shifting more into childhood
Oped, Karnjana Karnjanatawe, Published on 23/04/2026
» The news of primary school children posting themselves vaping on Instagram is a warning sign. Viral images of young students vaping or smoking e-cigarettes have now become strikingly casual and performative, speaking volumes about how far the problem has gone.
Is the Iran war America's Suez or its Gallipoli?
Oped, Yanis Varoufakis, Published on 21/04/2026
» When Egypt closed the Suez Canal for five months in 1956, it triggered events that shrunk the global standing of Britain's pound sterling, inaugurated the petrodollar age, and demonstrated how a small country can inflict serious damage upon the economic power that had subjugated it decades earlier.
Mining is killing region's rivers
Oped, Pianporn Deetes, Published on 21/04/2026
» Last week, Thailand's Pollution Control Department (PCD) released a report on its tenth round of water quality monitoring tests on three rivers in the northern region. The report is based on samples taken from the Kok, Sai, Ruak, and Mekong rivers in the country's northernmost area.
Crypto push undermines US power
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 20/04/2026
» The Ouroboros, the ancient image of a serpent devouring its own tail, has long symbolised self-defeating strategies. It is thus an apt metaphor for US President Donald Trump's current policies. His reckless and illegal war against Iran is the clearest example, but his administration's enthusiastic embrace of crypto currencies represents a subtler, slower-burning expression of the same self-destructive tendency.
Norathip's gaffe shows mistrust still rife
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 20/04/2026
» A campaign is being aggressively launched on the social media to save Lt-Gen Norathip Poynok, commander of the southern-based Fourth Army Region, from being transferred out of the region as demanded by the federation of private religious schools in the Deep South, known as the Pondok and Tadika schools.
Car scheme doubts
Oped, Editorial, Published on 20/04/2026
» The government's planned "old car for new" scheme, a campaign to provide a subsidy and soft loans to accelerate electric vehicle adoption, marks a policy push to advance the transition towards net zero. In principle, the direction sounds good.
When will the IMF ever learn?
Oped, Timothy Kaldas, Published on 16/04/2026
» This year's International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings come at a time of heightened economic uncertainty and intense scrutiny of the institution's capabilities and approach. Critics on the left argue that the IMF imposes regressive austerity measures on borrowers, exacerbating poverty, hampering economic growth, and undermining their ability to achieve debt sustainability. On the right, US President Donald Trump's administration has accused the IMF of "mission creep," claiming that it has strayed from its core mandate of maintaining macroeconomic stability.