Showing 1 - 10 of 133
The treacherous sycophancy of the populists
Oped, Michael Burleigh, Published on 15/12/2025
» Until a few days ago, it had never crossed my mind that people across Europe -- including Londoners like me -- were living in a strife‑afflicted hell hole, "suffocated" by regulations, stripped of political liberties, and bound for "civilisational erasure". So, it was with some surprise that I read this assessment in the new US National Security Strategy -- a document that echoes pseudo‑intellectual propaganda more than resembling any serious foreign‑policy analysis.
On top of the world in Kathmandu
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/09/2025
» I was sorry to read about the unrest in Kathmandu this week. As a kid in the UK during the 1950s I used to daydream about far away places with strange-sounding names. One of those places was Kathmandu.
Cheating in exams now a sophisticated art
Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/07/2025
» It was Oscar Wilde who once observed: "Exams sir, are pure humbug. If a man is a gentleman he knows quite enough, and if he is not a gentleman, whatever he knows is bad for him.''
Clear danger as war in Europe is in the air
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/06/2025
» 'There is a clear, present risk, particularly as Vladimir Putin does see himself as being at war with the West. The homeland is again (in peril)...Air and missile attacks will potentially cause civilian casualties (in the United Kingdom) in very large numbers." Therefore, concludes Gen Sir Richard Barrons, the UK needs to bring back air raid sirens and air raid drills.
Test of old ties
Oped, Postbag, Published on 05/06/2025
» Re: "Can Thailand engage with Trump's US?", (Opinion, June 3).
SAO collapse probe shreds reputations
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 21/04/2025
» Out of the blue and rather belatedly, former auditor-general Phisit Leelavachiropas offered a ridiculous apology over the collapse of the State Audit Office (SAO) building in Chatuchak district, saying he was sorry for using feng shui in his selection of the building's location.
Congo: Where the tail is still wagging the dog
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/03/2025
» 'Joseph Kabila boycotted the election and is preparing an insurrection because he is the AFC," said President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo last October, and lo! It is coming to pass just as he predicted. But you can't tell the players without a programme, so a little bit of explanation first.
The art of choosing the right words
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/03/2025
» The word "diplomacy" has been making frequent appearances on newspaper pages in recent days and unless you have been in hibernation there is no need to explain why.
The lonely songbird in a gilded cage
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/02/2025
» A few words on singer/actress Marianne Faithfull who died last week at the age of 78. I have followed her career with some interest because she lived in my home town of Reading in the early 1960s, attending St Joseph's Convent school.
Still plenty of smiles in Thailand
Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/01/2025
» A reader politely questioned a reference to the "Land of Smiles" in last week's column, suggesting the smiles are maybe not as forthcoming as they once were. Perhaps they are not but deep down Thai people remain a cheerful lot. After five decades in the kingdom I still get a kick out of an unsolicited Thai smile whether it be from a shopkeeper, check-out lady, bank cashier or simply someone on the street. Maybe it's because I look a bit funny.