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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.

This article discusses the meeting on climate change and greenhouse gases that will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in February 2010 and how it might not be as important as it has been advertised. Experts believe that there will be no agreement made in Copenhagen, but many see the efforts made at the state level as being much more successful. California's initiative with regard to greenhouse gases and deforestation is noted.

The article focuses on Communism in China and various opposing political ideologies. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, both populists, want to improve social conditions in China, implement environmentally friendly policies, and have equal economic development on China's east coast and western hinterlands. The elitists want an increase in coastal development and further emphasis on economic development and free trade.

This article reports that China has surpassed the U.S. in sales of automobiles, with expected sales of ten million vehicles in 2009, a ten percent increase over 2008. The Chinese government has invested 733 million dollars to promote automobile sales in rural areas, and 220 million dollars on clean technology. The most popular automobiles are produced by foreign companies, but local companies such as Chery Automobile Co., Geely Automobile Holdings, and BYD Auto Co. are increasing sales.

This article examines the Chinese economic policy that has allowed the country to maintain its progress in spite of the financial crisis that has affected the rest of the world. China's policy goes against the advice of most economists by allowing the government to manipulate the stock market, fix prices in key industries, and appoint communists to important bank positions. The article suggests that the United States and Europe might benefit by looking at China's successful use of command capitalism.

The article discusses the case of Tang Yongming who murdered U.S. citizen Todd Bachman at Beijing's Drum Tower during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. China's economic pressures, and how they produce anxiety within the country's population, are said to be relevant to the case. The author details Tang's failures and the resultant depression that drove him to commit the murder and subsequent suicide.

The article reports on the popularity of the U.S. presidential election in countries such as Japan where interest in the election exceeded that in the U.S. The article states that the Voice of America broadcast election news in 45 languages to 134 million persons. The author describes how U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is viewed as a politician for reform and moral authority that the U.S. must elect in order to restore its reputation.

The article discusses a movement among international leaders to create international legislation meant to reduce global climate change and improve the international economy. Some of the people advocating such a plan are Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations (U.N.), and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France.

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.

The article reports on the challenges and opportunities faced by China following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. According to the author, despite the steep losses from the quake, the government has shown greater willingness to accept outside help, relations with former enemies like Japan and Taiwan are warming, and citizens feel greater freedom in protesting local corruption. The article also mentions that philanthropy from nonprofit groups has been growing.

The article reports that the Sichuan Sheng earthquake that struck China in May, 2008 might change the way China views its leaders. After the Chinese government was criticized for the way it handled rioters in Tibet, China, the government was determined to handle the earthquake better. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao went immediately to the disaster zone and thousands of army troops were sent quickly to clean up.

The article reports on the effect Cyclone Nargis has had on the people and government of Myanmar, formerly Burma. When the storm hit on May 10, 2008, the military government was preparing a referendum that would legalize its military rule, resulting in a delayed response to the storm that will lead to the junta's eventual downfall. The article discusses the damage and loss of life caused by the cyclone, as well as the national reception to foreign aid, economic conditions, and the military regime.

The article discusses the impact on politics of widespread concern about environmental issues. An overview of governments around the world in terms of their environmental policies as of 2008 is provided. While the majority of such initiatives center on local pollution, some environmental activists hope that issues such as global warming will also be addressed.

The article discusses totalitarian states repressing citizens by using Internet technology. Citizens are made to think that spies are everywhere, that seeking out dangerous material results in reprisal, the article indicates. The use of Web 2.0 technologies such as social networks, Web mail, and compulsory blogging registration is detailed. Challenges of Web 2.0 surveillance technologies are presented. Countries using such techniques are discussed, including China, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, and Egypt.

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.

The article explores the ramifications of the one-child policy on family values in China. The younger generation of only children is proving more self-involved, ignoring familial duties and deciding against having children for financial reasons. This is problematic because China does not have a public safety net to protect its older citizens. In response, the government is establishing a system of home care and is rolling back the one-child policy. INSET: A New Home Away From Home.

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 on China's political hierarchy and how its leaders will be promoted. President Hu Jintao and prime minister Wen Jiabao will be in office until 2012, but there is speculation about who will replace them. The October 2007 Chinese Communist Party agenda will focus on upcoming politicians. Political pundits call these younger, more Western type leaders, the "Sixth Generation," for the number of generations which follow the rule of Mao Tse-tung.

The author reports on the transformation which Beijing, China, is going through in order to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The new infrastructures which are being built include new stadiums, an expanded public transportation system and a new financial center. The ways in which this construction is changing China is discussed. Concerns regarding the preservation of community and historical continuity are mentioned.

This article looks at manufacturing in China and says it is not the well-oiled machine it was once thought to be. Product recalls have rocked the country and frightened the world. Problems with poisonous pet food to toxic toothpaste have many questioning if China is truly a major export power. The author maintains that China grew too fast and resembles the U.S. a century ago when robber barons and gangsters ruled commerce.

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.

The article lists several cities around the world that have instituted environmentally sound practices to combat the effects of global warming. Freiberg, Germany encourages residents to be energy-independent by subsidizing the use of solar panels, Aito, Japan collects used cooking oil from residents to produce bio-diesel fuel and Curitiba, Brazil encourages its population of poor to swap bags of trash for groceries.

An article discussing poverty in rural China is presented. According to the author, the gap between rich and poor citizens in China is expanding. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao are attempting to address the problem. A 15 percent increase in rural expenditures to give farmers a minimum living allowance and an 87 percent increase for the health care budget.

The article discusses efforts by countries including the United States, Russia, Japan, and China to get astronauts to the surface of the moon. Since humans have already collected data from the surface, it seems like the main motivator to return for many of the countries is pride and a desire to explore.

The article discusses the powerful role played by Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. Sadr's Mahdi Army is a killing presence in Baghdad, and Sadr himself is compared to a popular Mafia Don who can wage political or actual war any time he chooses. He embodies what the author says the Americans have long misread: religious sentiment, economic resentment, and sectarian passions.

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 focuses on the ousting of Shanghai, China Communist Party chief Chen Liangyu by Chinese President Hu Jintao for his suspected involvement in a pension-fund scandal. President Hu is said to be consolidating his power and laying the groundwork for his political heirs, including Wang Qishan, Li Yuanchao and Li Keqiang. China's top level politics are discussed.

The article focuses on the summit between Hu Jintao and George W. Bush in Washington D.C. in April, 2006. One last-minute development was a visit to Beijing last week by Washington's assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Thomas A. Shannon Jr. Issues concerning the relationship between the two countries are discussed, including trade, monetary policy and human rights.

The article focuses on an effort by the Chinese government to promote traditional Confusion values in order to encourage cooperation. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has been focusing on health care and education for China's rural poor, who have increasingly been left behind China's urban success. Partly to assuage such concerns, over the past two years China's Foreign and Education ministries have been quietly establishing a worldwide series of Chinese cultural centers aimed at promoting Chinese-language instruction and Beijing's image abroad.

The article presents a special report on the increasing worldwide concern regarding the H5N1 virus or avian flu. The lethal virus was recently found in birds in Europe. So far, avian flu has spread between humans in only a few suspected cases, but with no cure in sight, global health officials are nervously watching their borders and beginning to prepare for the worst. The likely ground zero for a pandemic is still the vast rural expanses and teeming urban markets of China and Southeast Asia.

This article reports on a recent Communist Party Central Committee meeting in Beijing, China where President Hu Jintao approved an economic plan that listed the building of a so-called harmonious society as its chief goal. Chinese authorities acknowledge that social unrest in the country has reached alarming levels. Recently, Zhou Yongkang, the mainland's top cop, said that 74,000 major protest took place in China in 2004. The protests were over issues such as the corruption of government officials, environmental degradation and home evictions.

Focuses on the efforts of U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration to gain support for the progress of the Iraq War as of July 4, 2005. Responsibility of military commanders to inform the President and the public of the accurate progress of military operations; View that the assessment of stability in Iraq by Bush and his officials differs greatly from that of top generals; Claim that public support for the Iraq War has declined; Impact of increasing civilian and military casualties on the decline in public support; Characterization of communications between Bush and key generals in Iraq; Strategies used by the Bush administration to increase public support for the war; Analysis of U.S. policy in the Iraq War.

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.

This article focuses on efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to remain relevant in a fast-changing society. Under the school's former vice president Zheng Bijian, the China Executive Leadership Academy's curriculum was broadened beyond theoretical studies to include teachings on contemporary science, technology, law and military affairs. Even as party teachings begin to meld into technocratic M.B.A.-speak, President Hu Jintao's government has cracked down on so-called public intellectuals, detained journalists who dabbled in taboo topics (such as rural unrest) and beefed up China's Net police.

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.

Focuses on recent anti-Japanese protests in China. Reports that Chinese President Hu Jintao worried the demonstrations would get out of hand; Speculation that the public outcry was caused by advanced reviews of Japanese textbook that allegedly overlooks Japan's wartime atrocities in Asia; Suggestion that the demonstrations are representative of the general increase in tension between China and Japan as they compete for the role of dominant player in both Pacific and international affairs.

The article suggests that the fall of the U.S. dollar is stoking fears of a global financial 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 improves the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers. The significance of the dropping dollar is that it is 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 is a glut of anything, prices go down. So when surplus dollars are sold for euros, yen or pounds, then the dollar drops in value against those currencies.

Focuses on China and its future as a superpower. Question of how Beijing will exercise its growing strength, and how the West should respond; China's economic rise; U.S. perception of China as a potentially aggressive empire; Why Taiwan is critical; Issue of selling arms to China; Europe's focus on China's commerce; China's advantages over the West in commercial diplomacy; Issue of clarifying China's intentions; Role of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Focuses on the political implications of providing disaster relief to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an army of Sri Lankan insurgents considered terrorists by the United States. Hopes of both the LTTE and Sri Lankan government that the tsunami disaster will provide a doorway towards peace; Comment from the leader of LTTE, Sippiah Paramu Tamilselvan, on the national emergency; Discipline of the LTTE, which enabled the army to stage an efficient search and rescue campaign.

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.

Looks at how the China's communist leaders are beginning to embrace the avant-garde literature and art they once considered taboo. Avant-garde photographer Rong Rong whose photographs were once shunned but are now receiving much better reception; Government censorship that severely curtailed creative freedom in China; Capitalist reforms that have transformed the arts in China; Rise of a new generation of top leaders in China that has led to a creative explosion compared with the Soviet Union's glasnost era; Boom in the market for experimental artwork.

Reports on Hong Kong democracy activists, taking their cause to the streets. Protests against Beijing's efforts to keep the island's political aspirations in check; Increasing political awareness of young people; Rally on the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty; Request by the citizens of Hong Kong, led by a savvy new generation of activists, for universal elections; Escalation of political tensions; Recent overtures from the communist government in China to enhance dialogue with Hong Kong's democrats.

This article discusses the effects of the relationship between the United States and Taipei. The Taiwan Strait has long been at the center of a war of words. Beijing and Taipei frequently exchange statements full of vitriol--each accusing the other of bringing them closer to the brink of war. But last week it was Washington that dropped the rhetorical bombshell. Buried deep inside a 54-page Pentagon report on China's military readiness, U.S. defense planners speculated that, in the event of a war across the strait, Taiwan might seek to hit "high-value targets" like the prestigious Three Gorges Dam as a way of deterring a Chinese invasion. Tensions between Beijing, Washington and Taipei are heating up--and the rhetoric is testier than it's been in years.

Discusses the pleas by many concerned people, such as human-rights activists and politicians, for the creation of a commission to investigate the prisoner abuse of Iraqis. Details of a meeting between Condoleezza Rice and human-rights activists on the prisoner abuse; Criticism of current probes into the abuse; Disciplinary actions already taken against soldiers; Progress of the current investigations.

Discusses the implications of the raid on the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress by Iraqi police. Search for evidence of kidnapping, embezzlement, torture and theft; Chalabi's relationship with U.S. Pentagon officials and the President George W. Bush administration; Investigation of Chalabi by the U.S. for leaking secrets to Iran's government; How Chalabi once had access to the top levels of the U.S. government; Background on Chalabi, including his dubious intelligence information; Chalabi's active interest in planning for postwar Iraq; How Chalabi tried to stop the corruption investigation against him; Outlook for Chalabi.

Examines how U.S. military interrogation changed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when the President George W. Bush administration wrote new rules to fight a new kind of war. Reactions of legislators to images of American soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, Iraq; Question of who taught the torture methods to the guards; How some images portray techniques officially approved by the government for use against terrorist suspects; Roles of Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft in signing off on a secret system of detention and interrogation; Issue of the Geneva Conventions, which protect rights of detainees and prisoners of war; How the Bush administration created a legal framework to justify this system of interrogation; Background on the administration's emerging approach in the war on terrorism; Outlook for more charges. INSET: WHAT THE RULES SAY.

Discusses who is responsible for abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. military police at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Comments by Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib, on the role of Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the commandant at the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba detention camp, in advising soldiers manning Abu Ghraib on methods for obtaining information from detainees, and establishing Abu Ghraib as an interrogation center; Assertions by military police involved in the abuse that they were acting on orders; Reactions of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers to revelations of abuse; Report that Miller has been assigned the task of rectifying the problems at Abu Ghraib; Speculation about whether the Pentagon is trying to cover up a widespread policy of abusive interrogation practices that clearly violate the Geneva Conventions; Attempts by members of Congress to establish who was really in charge at Abu Ghraib; Details of the report on interrogations at Abu Ghraib by Gen. Antonio Taguba.

Offers a look at the abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war by United States soldiers following the Iraq War of 2003. Comments made by Brigadier General Janis Karpinski on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners; Report by Amnesty International that as early as July 2003, former detainees in Iraq said they suffered beatings, sleep deprivation or other abuses; Deaths of prisoners in U.S. custody that were declared homicides; Statement that one of the goals of the detention centers is to break the prisoners' will by exposure to fear, shame, disorientation, exhaustion and physical pressure; Report that six U.S. soldiers face criminal charges for abusing prisoners; Claim by a lawyer for one of the defendants that the military is scapegoating the six soldiers; Possibility that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was involved in the alleged brutality.

This year China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest oil importer--trailing only the United States--and it's looking everywhere for the energy resources it needs to feed its feverish economic pace. the country's blistering growth--topping 9.1 percent in 2003--is making China's energy needs only more acute. China is now following the tried-and-true path of most Western countries: cozying up to the Gulf states. Beijing is even hoping for a piece of the postoccupation oil action in Iraq. Last summer rolling blackouts shut down factories in 21 provinces. More and more Chinese are purchasing their first automobiles: in 2003 mainland Chinese bought nearly 2 million cars, and experts expect 100 million gas guzzlers on China's roads by 2014. After seeing a number of deals slip through its fingers, Beijing has quickly learned that the international hunt for oil and gas is a competitive, unpredictable and sometimes cutthroat business. Last May President Hu Jintao traveled to Moscow to put his seal of approval on a 25-year, $150 billion agreement between the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Yukos, Russia's largest oil company, for the construction of a 2,400-kilometer pipeline. Tokyo, which must import nearly all its oil, raised the ante by offering to put up $5 billion for the pipeline's construction and several billion more for oilfield development and exploration. The Japanese proposal envisioned a pipeline carrying Russian oil to the Pacific port of Nakhodka--and notably bypassed Chinese oilfields. If that didn't kill the Chinese deal, then the arrest of the deal's chief Russian sponsor, Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, on charges of tax evasion probably did.

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.