Showing 1 - 10 of 691
Three main parties and two directions
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/01/2026
» Although Thailand's election campaign is reaching fever pitch ahead of voting day on Feb 8, the dynamics and contours of its final outcome can be gleaned from past polls over the last 25 years. Only once in January 2001, as was indicated in this space last week, were voter results fully honoured and carried out. Other elections were either upended by military coups or manipulated by judicial interventions.
Graft body faces test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/01/2026
» Two statements issued by National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officials, urging a commissioner to resign over bribery allegations involving gold bars, suggest moral hazard at the country's graft-busting office.
America's new age of empire dawns
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz, Published on 13/01/2026
» US President Donald Trump has drawn a wave of criticism for his actions in Venezuela, violations of international law, disdain for longstanding norms, and threats against other countries -- not least allies like Denmark and Canada. Around the world, there is a palpable sense of uncertainty and foreboding. But it should already be obvious that things will not end well, neither for the United States nor the rest of the world.
EU's carbon challenge
Oped, Editorial, Published on 01/01/2026
» From today, exporters of five types of products to the European Union must comply with the bloc's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The politics of taste in our election season
Oped, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/12/2025
» Hell is other people's tastes. Hell is when we passionately hate what people unconditionally love. Hell is when we can't fathom how anyone on the face of the earth can like someone or something we find revolting -- a food, a film, a style, an opening ceremony, a politician, a president.
It's time to choose peace
Oped, Editorial, Published on 25/12/2025
» More than two weeks after armed clashes were reignited on Dec 7, Thailand and Cambodia have tentatively agreed to return to square one by reviving a key bilateral mechanism -- the General Border Committee (GBC) -- with the aim of seeking a peaceful resolution, or at least a ceasefire.
Brazil's bold industrial turn is a gamble
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 25/12/2025
» For many in the developing world, Brazil is a rare beacon of hope in an otherwise bleak global landscape. Along with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is among the few world leaders who have stood up to US President Donald Trump with dignity and a measure of success.
Trade conflicts destroy the planet
Oped, Qiyuan Xu, Published on 12/12/2025
» Tariff wars are often justified as necessary to protect or reshore manufacturing jobs and to improve national security. But, according to new research, these conflicts produce another outcome that is largely overlooked: pollution. When global supply chains are forced into inefficient detours, carbon dioxide emissions rise.
Taking the National Universal Health Coverage experience global
Oped, Catharina Boehme, Published on 11/12/2025
» As Thailand convenes its National Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Conference 2025, the stakes could hardly be higher. The world is navigating a period of profound transition in financing of health and development. Traditional sources of global support are shifting, while new pressures -- from climate change to ageing populations -- are reshaping national health priorities. In this dynamic landscape, Thailand's leadership on UHC is both timely and essential, building on the nation's sustained progress toward achieving health for all. The World Health Organization (WHO) is looking to this conference for guidance on how best to advocate for renewed and sustained investment in health across all sectors.
Venezuela: Performative purging
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 09/12/2025
» 'If you're on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl or whatever, headed to the United States, you're an immediate threat to the United States," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. So it's perfectly reasonable for the US armed forces to kill everybody on that boat (including a "double tap" on any survivors in the water).