Longer-form commentary and opinion pieces across all geographic sections
With Bangkok’s budget ranging between 70 billion and 80 billion baht per year, people voting for the city’s new governor this Sunday may be keen to find out which candidate supports “participatory budgeting”. This form of citizen participation gives ordinary people a say, via a process of democratic deliberation and decision-making, in how public money
Schools in Thailand will open their doors for the first time in more than two years on May 17, as the pandemic recedes. The Education Ministry made the decision to send kids back to school in line with the government’s transition to living with COVID as an endemic disease. But while many children will be
ASEAN foreign ministers have reached an agreement with the US over the joint vision statement, which contains 27 paragraphs containing 2,695 words, covering the whole gamut of their relations in the coming years, according to the draft seen by Thai PBS World. Both ASEAN and the US leaders have to give the green light when
Battle is heating up both online and offline as Bangkok governor candidates woo voters of all generations ahead of the May 22 election. In the offline realm, candidates are jostling for attention via banners, billboards, leaflets, radio spots, newspaper ads, and even TV commercials. In cyberspace, they are bombarding voters with creative content and eye-catching
The leaders of ASEAN countries will meet with US President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. on May 12-13 for a special summit to commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two sides. It is the second special summit being held in the US since Barack Obama hosted the first one on February 15-16,
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s worries over his remaining time in office may have evaporated following an important resolution on the Constitutional Court president’s tenure. Worawit Kangsasitiam can stay on in his post, after a powerful selection committee ruled on April 22 that his term will expire when he has served for nine years or reaches
During his three-nation visit to ASEAN member countries over the past five days, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida demonstrated his country’s middle-of-the-road approach to diplomacy when it comes to special relations with ASEAN. His timely visit to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand was successful and significant. Japan is able to adapt its foreign policy approach to
Cambodia, the current chair of ASEAN, is to hold a high-level consultative meeting on May 6th, to discuss ways and means ofproviding humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, according to an informed source. The source said that the one-day hybrid meeting will be attended by all ASEAN members and representatives from the United Nations’ specialised agencies, as
The victory of incumbent French president Emmanuel Macron offers both him and his country a second chance to do the right things. Macron has already admitted that his next five years will be different from the last five and indicated that he wants to use the time to set a new course for himself and
The 31 candidates vying for the Bangkok governor’s post now have less than 50 days to impress the voters. But after examining their policies and campaigns, political observers believe they can separate the top contenders from the flops. According to the analysts, all the candidates share similar policies to address Bangkok’s long-standing problems of flooding,
Thailand’s banking industry has waded through many economic crises in the last few decades, the latest being the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their preparedness, new risks and challenges continue to test the banks’ resilience. Banks and other types of financial institutions that survived the 1997 Asian financial crisis have become stronger. The industry, as well as Thailand’s economy, was
This month brings a make-or-break meeting for the Thai Navy’s deal to buy a Chinese-made submarine, with delivery threatened by the fading chance of China getting German top-end engines as stipulated in the contract. Next year’s delivery deadline for Thailand’s first submarine since World War II is now out of the question. The German government refuses to supply
