Showing 1 - 10 of 104
Hedgehoppers in search of good news
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/02/2026
» Being the very first day of February it would have been nice if there was some good news worth celebrating, but unfortunately nothing immediately springs to mind. Cheerful news is an increasingly rare commodity these days. It all seems to be gloom and doom and hardly portends a joyful 2026. It can get a bit wearying grappling with news reports featuring contradictions, cover-ups and cock-ups, often accompanied by half-truths, prevarications and porky pies. But this is the world we now live in.
Jimmy Lai, the HK tycoon who stood up to China
News, James Pomfret & Jessie Pang, Published on 17/12/2025
» Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, was found guilty on Monday on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of sedition under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.
Liquor logic lost
Postbag, Published on 01/11/2025
» Re: "Restaurants voice concern over new alcohol law", (Business, Oct 29).
What went so wrong in Latin America?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/10/2025
» Javier Milei, the Elon Musk wannabe who became president of Argentina two years ago, chainsaw in hand, is now in deep trouble with the voters, and the mid-term elections are due this month. He has the same political agenda as Donald Trump, give or take a folly or two, so he asked his populist big brother for help, and Mr Trump delivered.
Cutting Asia's reliance on dollars
Oped, Yasuto Watanabe & Hiro Ito, Published on 02/10/2025
» The US dollar remains the world's leading reserve currency, but recent developments -- particularly President Donald Trump's unilateral economic diplomacy, including weaponisation of the dollar -- have fuelled doubts about whether it will maintain that status. While some of America's geopolitical rivals may hope to displace the dollar, the real challenge facing Asian economies is to manage the vulnerabilities created by their heavy dependence on it.
Act now as Suu Kyi is gravely ill
Oped, Alan Clements, Published on 10/09/2025
» Just days ago, Kim Aris, the youngest son of 80-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, told The Independent that his mother -- Myanmar's imprisoned democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate -- is gravely ill with worsening heart disease.
Monastic discipline in the digital age
Oped, Watcharin Ariyaprakai, Published on 23/07/2025
» At a time when Thai society is reeling from scandals in the monastic community -- from leaked audio clips of money transfers via apps to secret relationships with women -- we are not merely shocked that "monks have done wrong", but rather at how swiftly the "image of purity" we've long upheld has collapsed.
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:
Reshuffle casts cloud
Oped, Editorial, Published on 19/06/2025
» Now that a cabinet reshuffle is inevitable for the Paetongtarn Shinawatra government, the prospective changes are aimed primarily at solving political problems with regard to the government's nose-diving popularity, rather than tackling the real crises facing the country, such as the protracted economic slump, social maladies and border conflicts with Cambodia.
Thaksin could still escape jail time
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 16/06/2025
» What does it mean for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra now that Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin's last-ditch attempt to shield his master from the prospect of being sent back to jail to serve his one-year jail term was crushed by the Medical Council of Thailand at a crucial meeting last Thursday?