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We'd mobilize to block the United States, too.'" That binary worldview may partly explain why Xi thinks Biden is surrounding China with groups such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which includes Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Features JOE BIDEN HAS HAD MORE FACE TIME with Chinese leaders than any other U.S. president. For Biden's first year in office, Xi's aides saw little benefit in having their president talk with his U.S. counterpart in person - especially if there was a risk of Xi losing face in the eyes of his audience back home. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the blind Chinese human rights lawyer and political dissident Chen Guangcheng. Topics include Chen's escape from house arrest to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, the involvement of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in negotiations for his relocation to the U.S., and Chen's political activities in China.

The article discusses the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to the U.S. and China's intentions for it. Hu is profiled regarding his political ambitions and enigmatic nature. The history of the Hu clan is discussed. The author opines regarding the purpose of Hu's visit and whether substantive issues will be addressed or resolved.

The article discusses the emerging influence of China in various areas including security, international trade, and global financial markets. China played a pivotal role in creating the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and has helped establish a $120 billion regional reserve fund for Asian nations. China is pushing to make the yuan a rival to the U.S. dollar as a trading currency.

The article discusses China's infusion of capital into the economy to reduce the unrest and unease of its people. Using the example of Tang Yongming who murdered U.S. citizen Todd Bachman at Beijing's Drum Tower at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the article describes China's economic pressures, and how they produce anxiety within the country's population. The author details Tang's failures and the resultant depression that drove him to commit the murder.

This article examines the way in which Chinese citizens who have attended school in Occidental nations have not adopted a pro-Western attitude. The author argues that whereas the belief was that Chinese who studied in Europe or the U.S. would tend to be westernized, they are actually highly jingoistic. Reasons offered for this by the author include the ignorance of Westerners and feelings of home-sickness. Also discussed is the tendency of Chinese who have studied abroad to hold high political positions.

This article discusses the Chinese government response to an earthquake in Sichuan, China. It notes visits to the effected areas by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. It describes the relief efforts coordinated by the Chinese government, which made a point of sending aid to the Aba Prefecture, which has a significant ethnic Tibetan minority.

This article presents a series of photographs and a brief analysis of the impact that the 2008 Cyclone Nargis had on the country of Burma. The article discusses efforts by the Burmese government to continue with a referendum on a proposed constitution that would confirm military rule in the country. It also notes that natural disasters are frequently associated with regime changes.

The article discusses the Chinese government's reaction to internal protests and conflict in the months leading up to the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Human rights activists criticize China for refusing to help stop genocide in Darfur, Sudan. It is suggested that China's forceful suppression of demonstrations in Tibet, China is due to the Chinese government's desire to extinguish any problematic unrest before the Olympics. China's foreign relations are strained.

The article discusses the growing unrest between Tibet and the Chinese government, noting the March 2008 demonstrations for a free Tibet and the virulent reaction of Chinese officials. The Dalai Lama's emphasis on nonviolent protest is challenged by some younger Tibetans. Tibetan demonstrators and Buddhist monks use the Internet to communicate with one another. The results of economic development in Tibet include increased commodity prices.

An essay is presented on the changes that have taken place in China from the 1970s to 2008, with a particular focus on China and East Asia in the 1980s. The author recalls managing "Newsweek" magazine's bureau in Beijing, China, covering the 1980 trial of the Gang of Four and the situation under Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping, with a focus on his economic reforms. Also discussed is the author's account of the violence in Tiananmen Square and China's economic and cultural developments.

The article reports the U.S. military's success in forging ties with tribal sheiks around Ramadi, Iraq, and considers whether similar local alliances against insurgents could be formed in other parts of the country. The sheiks are allying with the Americans to try to quell the sectarian violence being fomented by al Qaeda and other insurgents, both Sunni and Shi'ite.

This article discusses the relationship between North Korea and the U.S before and after North Korea's nuclear test. The authors compare the assumed character and mindset of North Korean President Kim Jong Il with that of German Kaiser Wilhelm before World War I. The article mentions a shared Napoleon complex and suggests that derogatory comments made by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2002 might still be remembered.

This article discusses the popularity of the "World of Warcraft" role-playing video game. Over seven million people worldwide play "World of Warcraft," led by player "guilds" who work together to complete levels of the game. The popularity of online video games is also discussed, especially role-playing video games.

Focuses on the insurgency in Iraq, which includes a vast network of infiltrators, spies and recruiters. Fears of U.S. intelligence officials that Iraq's security services have hundreds of so-called ghost soldiers who are working for the insurgency; Discovery of Iraqi police officers with terrorist connections, according to Iraqi officials in Baghdad; Concerns over moles from Saddam Hussein's elite intelligence corps, the Mukhabarat; The Baghdad government's web of agents and informants; Implications of the proliferation of new insurgents; How counterinsurgency experts are alarmed by how fast the insurgents' tactics can evolve; Suggestion that Iraq is producing a new corps of master terrorists.

Reports on changes and growth in China. How the country manufactures two thirds of the world's copiers, microwave ovens, DVD players, and shoes; Amount of goods Wal-Mart imported from China to sell in their stores; China as the second-largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves; The unique culture of China; How China's growth rate is the fastest for a major economy in recorded history; Criticism China's economic growth is receiving; Involvement of the Chinese government.

The article suggest that the fall of the U.S. dollar is stoking fears of a global crisis. The dollar has been declining steadily against many foreign currencies, but for most Americans, the subject of the dollar--its value on foreign-exchange markets--is a yawner. A depreciating dollar makes foreign vacations more expensive, puts pressure on the prices of imported cars and shoes and (the good part) improves the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers. Normally, these matters aren't high on our "must know" list. But now is not normal. The significance of the dropping dollar is that it's actually a symptom of a larger and more troubling development. For 15 years the American economy has been the engine for the world economy through ever-increasing trade and current-account deficits. The trouble is that there are now more dollars than foreigners want to hold. If there's a glut of anything--apples, computer chips, Beanie Babies--prices go down. So when surplus dollars are sold for euros, yen or pounds, then the dollar drops in value against those currencies.

Reports on the loss of scared relics from under the sands of the Middle East. How the war in Iraq has destroyed many archaeological dig sites; Looting and destruction of the sites which figure in Judaism, Christianity and the Muslim faiths; Why money is being diverted from digs in Israel; How looters in Iraq are wiping out fields of knowledge and cultural history; How the coalition forces in Iraq make it more difficult to preserve the past.

Offers a look at the shortage of armored Humvees that led to war casualties of United States and allied soldiers during the Iraq War of 2003 and 2004. Claim by soldiers that the U.S. government has failed to protect them with the best technology; Lack of tanks and body armor; Filing of a Freedom of Information Act request by Russ Kick for the release of photographs showing coffins returning to the United States from Iraq; Statement that a breakdown of casualty figures suggests that many U.S. deaths and wounds did not need to occur; Recommendation by the head of the U.S. Army Forces Command, General Larry Ellis, that more of the Stryker combat vehicles be put into the field; Attacks by insurgents in Iraq on the vulnerable soldiers; Cost of the military operations in Iraq.

Reports on efforts by the U.S. military and coalition forces to control the violence in Iraq. Details of attempts by Iranian mediators to persuade radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end his uprising; Discussion of the continued violence in Fallujah; Claim that Iraq's reconstituted security forces appear to be disintegrating; Report that many Iraqis are angry about civilian deaths in the attack by U.S. Marines on Fallujah; Comment by Lt. Col. Gary Volesky on the challenges of controlling the uprising in Sadr City; Account of how many ordinary Iraqis appear to be turning on American troops.

Reports on fighting between U.S. occupying forces and Sunni and Shiite militants in Iraq, and the debate over how to deal with radical Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Comparison between the attacks on Americans and the Palestinian intifada; Observation that the reluctance among Coalition Provisional Authority officials to crack down on al-Sadr, who is inciting violent uprisings against coalition troops, arises from the conflict between the dual goals of maintaining order and winning hearts and minds; Background on al-Sadr and his role in inciting violence; Details of the investigation into al-Sadr's role in the killing of moderate Shiite cleric Abel Majid al-Khoei; Claim that the Iraqi grand ayatollahs oppose al-Sadr, and are angry about his recent trip to Iran; Speculation about why the CPA has so far failed to stop al-Sadr.

Examines the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq. Attitudes of the U.S. military and the President George W. Bush administration; Incident in Fallujah where U.S. security personnel were murdered and mutilated; View that Iraq has become a strategic battleground in the war on terror; Iraqi reactions to the U.S. military presence; Outlook for the plan to hand over security to Iraqis; Challenges of bringing the killers in Fallujah to justice; The increased attacks on U.S. troops and civilians; Overview of the violence; How the growing threat to civilians has stalled reconstruction; Impact of the insurgency on the U.S. military; Question of who the insurgents are.

Discusses the current state of Iraq a year after the war started. Comments by a friend of the author who lives in Iraq on how the country is now compared to then; Experience of the author in Iraq when the war started; Progress of the rebuilding of Iraq, including the cost of infra structure projects; Feelings of other Iraqis on the condition of their country a year after the war started.

Reports the brutality of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Information from tapes, documents, and other Baath Party papers offering evidence of the ways Saddam ruled by torture and terror; Purpose of Iraqi agencies, including the Iraqi Intelligence Service and the Special Security Organization; Description of life in the police state, where people spied on each other or were detained and interrogated in prisons; Details of the grandeur of the Hussein palaces, including what was found in the villa of his son Uday.

Describes the looting in Saddam City, a Baghdad slum in Iraq. Need for armed personnel to defend Saddam General Hospital from mobs and vandals; Indiation that most of the inhabitants are Shiites who have been oppressed by the Sunni-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein; Presence of Hizbullah strangers prowling the streets; Idea that many young Shiites care more about revenge than politics; Efforts to restore order and prevent street crime; Outlook for a secular democracy or a strict Islamic state in Iraq.

Discusses the Iraqi civilian mind-set in the midst of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Report that Shiite civilians experienced Coalition bombings that left many injured or killed in the first weeks of the war; How the Iraqi psyche is tied to tribal loyalties, a sense of national pride, and distrust of United States' promises; Use of the media by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; Kurdish support for Coalition forces; Stray bombs that have caused civilian injuries.

Focuses on the invasion of Iraq by the United States and Allied forces, from the perspective of a 'Newsweek' journalist living in Baghdad. Description of Baghdad before the bombing and after the war began; Why the journalist remained in Iraq; Details of the journalist's life in Baghdad; Her opinion that it is safer for her to be in Baghdad than to try to leave the country; How she has prepared her hotel room to protect herself during the bombings.

Profiles Kim Jong II, the dictator of North Korea. Views of the North Korean Secretariat about how the film 'Die Another Day' slanders the Korean nation; Consideration of the weapons of mass destruction which Kim Jong concealed from the United States; How he met with U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright in 2000; Plight of Jong to support a hatred of foreigners in North Korea; Suggestion that his prominent pastime is the pursuit of pleasure.

Discusses Chinese politician Hu Jintao. How he will assume the presidency in March 2003; Discussion of his ability to stay out of the limelight; Discussion of the gradual handoff of power typical of China; Statement that Hu is a good speaker and an intelligent person; How his background could help save China from economic catastrophe.

Discusses the integrity of traditional Chinese medicine. Findings of researchers who studied the efficacy, safety and biological mechanisms of Chinese medicine; Integration between modern and traditional medicine; How a traditional Chinese practitioner might diagnose a disease; Therapeutic effects of such treatments as acupuncture and Chinese herbology; Risks and benefits of Chinese medicine.

Focuses on the Great Wall of China, and the threats that nature and economics pose to its existence. Issue of cultural preservation as the 2008 Beijing, China Olympics approach; Details on reconstruction efforts, including on the Old Dragon's Head, the wall's eastern terminus; Threats of tourism and indifference to the wall; Details on the western tip of the wall, in Inner Mongolia, which has been sucked into the ground by the Gobi desert; Efforts of British preservationist William Lindesay to save the wall.

Focuses on the future of Afghanistan, as the Taliban regime is forced from power. Response of Afghans to their increased freedom; Comment that the Afghans are not really free, because the country's political future remains uncertain; Role of other countries, including the United States, in assembling a coalition government to lead Afghanistan; Refusal of the Northern Alliance to share power; Analysis of the U.S.-led bombing campaign and the Taliban's unexpectedly rapid retreat from key cities.

Discusses warlords in Afghanistan. Control of politics and government by the warlords; Capture and execution of Abdul Haq by the Taliban; Outlook for the United States-led war against the Taliban; Comments of former U.S. national-security adviser Robert C. McFarlane concerning the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency; Outlook for government in Afghanistan.

Focuses on the mid-air crash of a United States spy plane with a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of China. Details of diplomatic relations between the two countries with 24 U.S. airmen in Chinese custody and a Chinese pilot missing at sea; How George W. Bush views China as a competitive rival; China's concern about public reaction and anti-American outbursts; Demand that the U.S. apologize and take responsibility for the incident; Outlook for the standoff.

Discusses allegations that Taiwanese-born Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee passed classified nuclear weapons information to the Chinese. Politicization of the story; Possibility that Lee, and espionage, were not involved; Chinese, and other foreign nationals', study of science in the United States; Impact of the story on relations between the US and China; Investigation of the allegations. INSET: Mystery in the Desert.

Focuses on the arrangements made during the week of November 14, 1997 with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein that permit United Nations arms inspectors to return to the country. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov; Primakov's persuasion of Saddam; Consideration of Russia's role in the arrangements with Iraq. INSET: Saddam's Universe..

Reports that the Chinese who fled from Mao Zedong's Communist regime in China in 1949 stand poised to govern Hong Kong on behalf of China. Competition for the post of Hong Kong's first Chinese chief executive; C.H. Tung's flight from China; His chances of becoming the top Chinese official in Hong Kong; Other stories of Chinese refugees who fled from the Communists.

Profiles United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Details of her childhood, marriage, divorce, and career; What others think of her; The evolution of her political views; Names and backgrounds of some of her confidants; Challenges she faces in her position; Her relationship with her family; Recollections of her daughter, Anne. INSETS: The world of Madeleine Albright.;Your mom's on the floor with the senator, kids, by Anne....

Takes a look at the state of Saudi Arabia's politics and government in light of the June 1996 bombing in Dhahran which killed 19 Americans. How the American military presence in Saudi Arabia may become a problem for the royal House of Saud; Details of Saudi economic problems ; Public opinion of King Fahd and his family; Similarity of June bombing to November 1995 bombing; Who some of the suspects are; Concerns over Saudi handling of investigation.

Points to the tensions resulting from the testing of missiles by China near the island of Taiwan in early 1996. Question of whether the United States, China and Taiwan can avoid an international crisis; Details of the `routine tests'; The 50 years of bullying the Taiwanese by the Chinese; Other violations by China being investigated. INSETS: Rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait;Time to speak clearly, and carry a big stick, by James R. Lilley.

Reports that in September 1995, NATO launched its most massive military operation ever against the Bosnian Serbs in an effort to bring the Serbs to the bargaining table. Why the operation was disappointing; The agreement by the Serbs to negotiate in Geneva; The strategy to wage war in order to make peace; The diplomatic side of the negotiation plan; The challenge of the United States to convince the Europeans. INSETS: Operation deliberate force;The air arsenal.

Chronicles how Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents followed the trail left by the Oklahoma City bombers. Tim McVeigh, arrested on minor charges and held two days before being connected to the bombing; FBI `fly-away teams' and equipment; Discovery of a vehicle-identification number on a blown-up truck axle; How it was traced to a rented truck; The FBI's Rapid Start System; James and Terry Nichols; Michigan Militia. INSET: Piecing together the clues.

Reveals that Chinese gangs are smuggling illegal immigrants by the thousands into the United States--often forcing them into a life of servitude. Grounding of the freighter Golden Venture on Long Island, N.Y. in June 1993, causing death of six of the 281 Chinese would-be immigrants; Recount of the ship's trip from China; The clandestine immigration to the US orchestrated by Chinese criminal syndicates; Immigration laws; More.

Focuses on the June 1998 summit meetings of United States President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing, China. The unscheduled debate about human rights issues that took place on national television; Achievements that were announced; Symbolic incidents of conflict, including refusal of visas to journalists from Radio Free Asia; Question of the value of the agreement on a strategic partnership.

Reflects on changes in China, as of June 1998, since the 1989 massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The author's discovery that her recollections of the events there were more vivid than those of Chinese with whom she spoke; Signs of change; Description of the changes as democratization by stealth; Political impact of unemployment; Expectations of President Bill Clinton's visit; Comments from Chinese.

Focuses on the riots in the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia in May 1998. Security forces firing on student demonstrators; Mobs looting and burning the city; Protest of Indonesian President Suharto's nepotism; Background on the student protests, which had been peaceful; The number of dead looters; Suharto hinting that he might retire.

Focuses on the diplomatic mission of Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations. The preparations for his negotiations with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein; The influence of Americans in shaping the accord that averted a war over Baghdad; Saddam agreeing to give UNSCOM, the U.N. weapons-inspection team, unlimited access to palaces and other sites; The expectation that Saddam will eventually renege on the pact.

Looks at the crisis in United States and United Nations (UN) relations with Iraq as of February 24,1998. Possibility that UN Secretary General Khofi Annan's agreement with Saddam Hussein will avert a war; What the deal would have to include; Possibility that the crisis might recur even with a deal; First test of President Clinton's foreign policy team of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William Cohen and policy adviser Sandy Berger.