Showing 1 - 10 of 1,812
The moggy that rules Downing Street
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/02/2026
» Important news from London. This past week Larry the Cat has been celebrating his 15th year as chief mouser at 10 Downing Street. During that time the tabby has served six different prime ministers and has arguably been considerably more popular than any of them.
Why communities pay for mining
Oped, Christopher Rutledge, Published on 19/02/2026
» Last week, policymakers and industry executives of mining companies gathered in Cape Town for the annual African Mining Indaba. They followed a familiar script: governments would court investors, companies would promise jobs and growth, and champagne would flow as speakers tout Africa as indispensable to the global energy transition.
Fiscal deficit will trigger 2026 crisis
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 19/02/2026
» If readers want to be fully convinced that there will be a financial crisis in 2026, I can do that in three minutes. Readers need only look at the last two columns of the attached table, which depict the financing situation of the Thai economy in 2025 (actual) and 2026 (projected).
Japan's Takaichi wins strong new mandate
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 19/02/2026
» A political Tsunami swept across Japan as recent national elections delivered a resounding victory for the incumbent party and its maverick leader, Sanae Takaichi. Though the outcome was assumed, her stunning triumph in the Feb 8 election was unexpected.
Region must not abandon Myanmar
News, Sally Tyler, Published on 16/02/2026
» A particular confluence of events pertaining to Myanmar -- the fifth anniversary of its latest junta, elections early this month widely seen as illegitimate, and the beginning of a case on charges of genocide brought by Gambia at the International Court of Justice -- should have brought increased international scrutiny to the beleaguered nation.
Corruption keeps getting worse
Editorial, Published on 15/02/2026
» Everyone knows corruption in Thailand is bad, but few realise how bad. By global standards, Thailand is slipping into the bottom tier.
How world's super-rich are rewriting the rules
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz & Jayati Ghosh, Published on 13/02/2026
» Ongoing efforts to derail multilateral tax cooperation lie at the heart of a global programme to replace democratic governance with coercive rule by the extremely wealthy -- or what we call 21st-century Caesarism. Any strategy to counter this programme, therefore, must recognise that taxing extreme wealth is essential to saving democracy.
Emerging markets stand strong
Oped, Kristalina Georgieva and Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Published on 12/02/2026
» It used to be that when advanced economies sneezed, emerging markets caught a cold. That is no longer true. Following recent global shocks, such as the post-pandemic inflation surge and a new wave of tariffs, emerging markets have held up well. Inflation has continued to slow, currencies have generally retained their value, and debt issuance costs have remained at manageable levels. There has been no sign of the kind of financial turbulence that came with past economic shocks.
Ground game
Oped, Postbag, Published on 12/02/2026
» Re: "BJT win bodes well for conservatives", (BP, Feb 11). Given the tallies of the nationwide party list vote, I don't understand the justification for the following assertions: "BJT's landslide victory reflects a surge of nationalist sentiment" (5.9M votes); the PP suffered from "lingering voter scepticism" and "eroded public confidence" (9.8M votes).
A fond farewell to the poster people
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/02/2026
» For a couple of months the streets in Bangkok and throughout Thailand have been decorated with posters of political candidates. But now the Big Day has arrived and soon the posters will disappear. In a strange sort of way, I will miss their presence as they were at least something to look at when stuck in the traffic. They generally appeared to be a cheerful lot, beaming at us with big cheesy grins as one would expect in the Land of Smiles.