Protect physicians from frivolous lawsuits, but allow patients legal recourse for legitimate grievances. A measure of justice was served in the Nonthaburi Provincial Court’s August 4 ruling in favour of a single mother who went blind almost six years ago after medicine prescribed for her by doctors at a government hospital resulted in severe allergic reactions.

OFF THE BENCH: Computer give-away not as good as it sounds

If Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has his way, Thai elementary-school students will dump their clunky leather school bags for a trendy laptop computer next year. The latest initiative from Thaksin is the One Laptop One Child project, to bridge the gap in the digital divide for children at an early age.

The ghosts of history in East Asia

This year marks the centenary of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and on Monday many countries will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific.

Fighting terrorism democratically

Bombings in London and Turkey have brought to the fore the old ideas that authoritarian regimes are better equipped than democracies to combat terrorism and that such attacks are the price we pay for liberty. For some, that is a price worth paying; for others, the costs seem too high.