A free and fair Senate
With the election of a new set of senators on the horizon, curiosity is growing to see if past blunders can be avoided so as not to stigmatise the Upper House.
More affordable climate finance
Emerging-market and developing economies (EMDEs) will need an estimated US$2.4 trillion (86 trillion baht) in climate investment annually to meet climate goals, according to the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, with $1 trillion coming from external sources. Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require even more financing: an increase of $3.5...
What 'Barbie' can really teach working-class men
Economists spend a lot of time talking about jobs. Work is not only how people support themselves financially, it can also be the way in which they contribute to society, create unique identities and find meaning in the world. When work disappears or shifts, people can feel as unmoored and confused as Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, who had one last moment in the spotlight at this week's Academy...
Hope on horizon for starving Palestinians?
Good news! The US logistical support ship General Frank S. Besson Junior has just sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, carrying the equipment needed to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza. That will enable the US to deliver food to the starving (yes, literally starving) Palestinian population of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip.
Service a must to drive THAI forward
A passenger on a flight TG652 had to ask crew members twice for a sandwich and wine after waking up from a short sleep which made him miss the inflight service. When one of the attendants handed him the snack, he asked her again for wine. The cabin staff looked annoyed and told him that he should have told her from the beginning that he wanted both so that she could have done it in one trip...
Held Uyghurs need asylum
Today, exactly 10 years ago, Thai police arrested 350 Uyghurs in a forest along the Thai-Malaysian border in Songkhla on suspicion of passing illegally through the country en route to Malaysia to seek asylum. After the arrests, which grabbed global headlines, the Uyghurs were separated to face different destinies. The Prayut government sent 109 back to China, as requested by Beijing.
Education woes aren't about funding
The education ministry has always received the largest share of the fiscal budget. The Thai government's investment in education is actually comparable to that of developed nations based on the percentage of national budgets.
The concept of degrowth leads to a dead end
The concept of degrowth has recently captured the imagination of academics, activists, and politicians -- particularly in rich countries -- who are concerned about environmental sustainability and socioeconomic justice.
Not all are celebrating this year
Last week, just days before International Women's Day, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, issued a report following her team's visit to Israel and the West Bank.
The push African women need to escape poverty
What do poverty, climate change, and conflict have in common? They are among the biggest challenges confronting Africa, and they all disproportionately affect women living in poverty or on the margins of society.