Court decision provides necessary breathing space to weigh up the cons and pros of govt’s rush to privatise. The Supreme Administrative Court’s injunction yesterday against the planned listing of Egat Plc pending a hearing into a petition from 11 civic groups delivered a rare blow to the Thaksin administration’s credibility on both the domestic and international fronts.

STOPPAGE TIME: A few good men still serve as our checks and balances

They talked about how the “market” would respond, or how a furious Thaksin Shinawatra would react, or what kind of a future Thailand’s energy sector was now heading towards. While these are all relevant aspects of the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision to halt the initial public offering (IPO) of Egat Plc shares, the biggest significance of the verdict concerns not the ones affected by it, but rather those who handed down this historic ruling themselves.

Why the flames in France won’t die down

The urban disturbances in France have been called the most severe since the riots by students and workers in 1968. The analogy is misleading. While the 1968 protests challenged the French Republican model to live up to its finest aspirations, today’s crisis challenges the French Revolution’s model of citizenship and integration itself.