Newsweek International articles from July 2007

Newsweek International archives from July 2007

Mail Call: Think Gun Control.(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2007... Readers of our April 30 cover story on the Virginia Tech massacre debated gun control. One noted, "More Americans are killed by guns annually than died on 9/11." Another asked, "Who'd decide who can have guns and what guns?" A third protested,...

Reinventing Hong Kong; Ten years after the change-over, Hong Kong is positioning itself to become Asia's New York City.(City overview)
July 2, 2007... Byline: George Wehrfritz On the rare days when Hong Kong's Victoria Peak isn't shrouded in smog, one of the world's great maritime hubs is on display from its heights. Northward in Kowloon, modern container ports--their giant cranes...

Better Times Are Here; An architect of Hong Kong's recovery--and soon-to-be No. 2 in the government--talks about the city's aspirations.(Henry Tang)(Interview)
July 2, 2007... Byline: George Wehrfritz Hong Kong's economy is on a roll--and so, it seems, is one architect of the city's recovery, Financial Secretary Henry Tang. On July 1, local media reports say, Tang, 54, will be named chief cabinet secretary,...

A Reflection of Power; Beijing is interfering more and more deeply in Hong Kong affairs.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Frank Ching (Ching, a political commentator and university lecturer, is the author of "Hong Kong and China: For Better or for Worse.") With mainland China moving to embrace capitalism, "one country, two systems" should mean that...

War With the Media; Moscow's crackdown on independent news outlets harkens back to the dark days of the Soviet era.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova The call from the secret police came just hours after Daniil Alexandrov committed his thought crime. Alexandrov, editor of St. Petersburg's Daily Sports newspaper, had put a small ad on his Web site...

The Dynamic Duo; The EU today is in stronger economic shape than ever before. Just don't tell the Europeans.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Denis MacShane Want to know Europe's dirty little secret? You won't hear it from the locals grousing as the EU goes into talks on a new constitution. But the truth is that the Union is working. More jobs have been created in the...

The Palm Economy; They already share sun, long lunches and religion --now Italy and Spain are looking to do more business together, too.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Jacopo Barigazzi Ibiza is better known for dance music than diplomacy. But last February, the breezy and bohemian Mediterranean island was the site of an important meeting between Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez...

U.S. 'Digs Its Own Hole'; Iran's security chief talks tough on its disputes with the West, and issues a warning on U.N. sanctions.(Ali Larijani)(Interview)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Michael Hirsch Ali Larijani, chairman of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, directs his country's defense and security policy and also serves as Iran's top nuclear negotiator. He addressed the controversy over Iran's nuclear...

Long Memory; Kapuscinski's 'Travels With Herodotus' is a fitting testament.(Book review)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Andrew Nagorski Plenty of central European writers have been obsessed with the theme of human memory. The poems of the late Polish Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz, the prose of Czech emigre Milan Kundera and the writings of...

A Flood Of Flowers; How the tulip came to challenge Dutch morality.(Tulipmania)(Book review)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Jack Livings In the early 17th century, new trade routes to Africa and the Far East brought regular shipments of exotica to Dutch ports, and wealthy collectors amassed shells, gemstones, paintings, coins, marbled paper, even dogs....

'A Sense of Conspiracy'.(Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi foreign minister)(Interview)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Melinda Liu and Larry Kaplow Baghdad was already feeling the heat of an increase in suicide blasts and roadside bombs, mortar attacks on the Green Zone, and U.S. pressure to meet its "benchmarks" of progress by September. Amid all...

Governing Gaza: Hamas's Dilemma.(Gaza Strip)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Martin Indyk Now that Hamas has taken complete control of Gaza by force, what will result? Mogadishu on the Mediterranean? Or will the sole responsibility for governing 1.5 million Palestinians force Hamas to moderate its...

Luxury Goes Undercover; The best things in life aren't necessarily flashy objects but discreet, meaningful experiences.(Industry overview)(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Rana Foroohar There are bespoke suits. And then there are bespoke books. For the mogul who truly has everything, there's something new: a custom-made autobiography. For any where from a few grand to $100,000, Myspecialbook.com, a...

A Certain Sense of Calm; Far from the spotlight, a group of gifted architects is designing spaces of quiet elegance.(Zaha Hadid)(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Cathleen Mcguigan Earlier this month at the Venice Biennale, Karl Lagerfeld introduced an unusual accessory for Chanel: pale-colored, curvy and soft-looking, it was hard to tell from a picture whether it was some kind of jaunty...

Behind the Secret Door; New York's hippest bars are so low profile they're practically invisible. Persistence--or connections--are required.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Jennie Yabroff Velvet ropes, burly doormen and screaming paparazzi are so passe. In New York City, the hottest bars and restaurants keep a low profile--so low, in fact, you may have a hard time finding them without a GPS....

Suites for the Sweet; With accommodations like these on the market, nobody should be understated all the time.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop Just because architecture may be growing more humble doesn't mean there's no place for over-the-top lavishness. For those celebrating a honeymoon, anniversary, big birthday, successful deal or long-awaited...

Faceless Fashion; Top couture labels were once defined by their big-name designers. Now anyone can do the job.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas Quick: name the designer for Yves Saint Laurent. How about Gucci? Celine? Givenchy? Chloe? Seven or eight years ago, the answers were easy: Tom Ford, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney,...

Luxury Without Labels; Bottega Veneta doesn't need a logo to prove its high-class credentials. The status lies in the way its goods are made.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Barbie Nadeau For some, nothing feels as luxurious as a designer insignia. Whether it's a massive C on the bow of glossy sunglasses or the offset LV on a well-crafted piece of luggage, the symbol plays a big part in announcing...

Everything a Man Wants; Tom Ford is back from purgatory and making up his own rules, again.(Interview)(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas In his ten years as creative director of Gucci, American-born designer Tom Ford not only turned luxury fashion into a hedonistic fantasy, he helped take it global and mass-market. Three years ago, after failed contract...

Made by Foreign Hands; Rather than outsource production, many Italian luxury brands are employing illegal Chinese immigrants as their artisans.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Barbie Nadeau The town of Prato, just outside Florence, is not exactly typical of this part of Italy. Sure, it's got the requisite medieval wall, a handful of baroque churches and charming cobblestone streets. But instead of...

Beyond Paris And Milan; Shoppers are finding cutting-edge designers working in some unexpected places.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Ginanne Brownell (With Jessica Au) Tim Van Steenbergen's atelier lies hidden down a nondescript street in Antwerp traversed by trolley cars and old ladies with shopping carts. The design studio, housed in an old sewing factory, has...

Home Shopping Network; Elite clients are no longer heading to the ateliers of top designers for fittings. So the designers are going to them.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas In the old days, ladies traveled to Paris to attend the couture shows in the ornate salons of the designers' headquarters. Afterward, they met with their personal vendeuses --or saleswomen--to try on the creations they...

I'm an Easy Act to Follow; The grand man of haute couture on how dramatically luxury has changed.(Valentino Garavani)(Interview)(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas Nobody knows luxury like Valentino Garavani. Though a majority stake in the Valentino Fashion Group--which includes Hugo Boss--was sold last May, Valentino remains the last founding couturier still at the helm of his...

Far, Far Away From Home; Buying a villa in Tuscany is so cliche. These days, luxury consumers want their holiday refuges to be off the beaten path.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Michelle Jana Chan Buzz Dow, 58, who runs a family business in Cincinnati, Ohio, already had a second home in Vail, Colorado, and was looking for a third by the sea. So he started researching properties in the popular vacation-home...

For Whatever It's Worth; Luxury companies are always finding ways to get consumers to spend more.(Cover story)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Nick Foulkes Often when I wander down the world's great shopping streets, I silently curse the concept of shareholder value. It always seems to me to come with an expectation for constant growth, and for this, luxury companies need...

Global Investor: Don't Count America Out.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Mickey Levy A more balanced global growth picture means that the enormous U.S. trade deficit has reached a plateau and is set to recede, perhaps substantially. Ditto the U.S. current-account deficit. That will mean less dependence...

Travel: Jewish Rome.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Barbie Nadeau Rome may be the capital of Christianity, but it is also home to Europe's oldest and most dynamic Jewish community. That history has become more accessible than ever, thanks to a massive face-lift of the once walled...

Four Hours in Seoul; South Korea's capital is a noisy modern city that somehow manages to showcase the country's ancient cultural heritage.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: B. J. Lee Visit the new National Museum, opened in 2005, which houses 11,000 relics, including elegant gold crowns and belts from the Shilla dynasty and calligraphy from the Chosun (museum.go.kr; closed Mondays). Eat red...

New York Palace Hotel Budapest.(Hotel review)
July 2, 2007... Byline: William Underhill A monument to Budapest's late-19th-century heyday, the building has been lavishly restored by the Italian Boscolo chain after decades of neglect under communist rule. Originally no more than a cafe, the...

Blocking the Sun.(sunscreen)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: David Bardeen The beauty obsessed may spend hundreds of dollars on expensive moisturizers and anti aging creams, but give little thought to the one product that can have the biggest impact on the health of their skin: sunscreen....

A Hamper Full of Goodies.(readymade picnic food )
July 2, 2007... Byline: Alison Moodie Everyone loves a picnic, but who wants to spend time frying the chicken and making the potato salad? There's an easier way: gourmet picnic hampers. The luxurious Oak Hamper from London's Villandry features a...

The Maximalist.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... In honor of Magnum Photos' 60th anniversary, Verso is publishing 75 copies of a commemorative edition, featuring 14 rare platinum prints by the agency's founding photographers--including Robert Capa's grainy picture of Allied troops storming...

Teaching the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony; 'American Idol' airs in every continent but Antarctica.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Lorraine Ali They're bungling ballads in Kazakhstan, mauling Bollywood favorites in India and shout-singing Beyonce numbers in Bolivia. Most every country--even those that lack running water and free elections--has its own version...

Perspectives.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Quotation sources from top to Bottom: Sun Herald, AFP, International Herald Tribune, Daily Mail There can be no dialogue with these murderers and putschists. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas , in a speech attacking rival...

Quiet in The East.(war on terrorism in Southeast Asia)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Joe Cochrane As terrorist attacks continue relentlessly in Iraq and Afghanistan, all is relatively quiet on the Eastern front in the global war on terror. "The battle in much of Southeast Asia has been going well," says Ken Conboy,...

The Jury Is Out.(English Premier League)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Malcolm Beith The English Premier League is the world's richest football league, attracting star foreign players as well as wealthy foreign owners. It's also one of the world's least corrupt. But the baggage brought in by some of...

By The Numbers.(refugees)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Refugees are on the rise again, according to a new UNHCR report. But other research shows that some refugee trends are not quite what one might expect. 9.9 The number, in millions, of global refugees in 2006, up from 8.7 million in 2005...

Periscope.(Disneyland's "Finding Nemo" Submarine Voyage )(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: DAVID J. JEFFERSON Disney's New Magic In recent years, Disney has put great emphasis on making its theme parks relevant in the digital age. More than a retooled ride, Disneyland's "Finding Nemo" Submarine Voyage is emblematic...

'Mannies' For Hire.(male nannies)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: Holly Peterson As frazzled parents hire more help, "mannies," or male nannies, are becoming America's logical choice. While the number of male nannies is still very small, there are growing signs of acceptance. At Cambridge,...

Biz Beat.(books investment managers reading)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... For a glimpse into what Wall Street is thinking, take a look at what it's reading. Each year, JPMorgan produces a "must read" book list for its clients. PERI's book report: Foreign corporate takeovers are all the rage. So investors who read...

Reality Check.(Emory University)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... The birth of a baby is more than just a life-changing event--it's mind-altering, according to researchers at Emory University. In a series of trials, mice with offspring showed much stronger brain responses to the distress calls of infant mice...

Beams of Money.
July 2, 2007... Byline: Akiko Kashiwagi Daisuke Tanaka's daily commute has gotten a lot simpler in recent weeks now that he can pay for all his train tickets with his mobile phone. To travel Tokyo's trains, subways and even some taxis, all he needs to do...

Level Up.(Seth Luisi, Sony Computer Entertainment America)(SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seal video games)(Interview)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Byline: N'gai Croal A new version of a videogame doesn't always amount to progress. Fans of the four SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seal games, for Sony's Play-Station platforms, have been vocal about their preference for SOCOM II. Last month in San...

The Fate of Plants...(University Centre in Svalbard)(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... The fate of plants in a warming world has worried botanists, but now there's good news from University Centre in Svalbard. Biologists studied the DNA of plants on this Norwegian island. Over the past 10,000 years, they found, different species...

Mail Call: Think Gun Control.(Letter to the editor)
July 16, 2007... Readers of our April 30 cover story on the Virginia Tech massacre debated gun control. One noted, "More Americans are killed by guns annually than died on 9/11." Another asked, "Who'd decide who can have guns and what guns?" A third protested,...

Unsafe at Any Speed; The downside of China's manufacturing boom: deadly goods wreaking havoc at home and abroad.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Melinda Liu (With Jonathan Adams and Jonathan Ansfield in Beijing) Wang Hai's mobile phone keeps buzzing with calls from clients. He's China's most famous crusader against fraudulent, shoddy and dangerous goods. The business...

Unfinished Business; The status quo in Kosovo won't work. Nor will the plan being pushed by the U.N. and Washington.(United Nations; Washington D.C.)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Michael Levitin (Levitin is a freelance journalist based in Berlin.) Just when politicians in Europe and America thought they'd finally cleaned up the mess in the Balkans, the whole package is on the verge of unraveling. Serbia's...

A Rogue Reforms; Libya has finally come in from the cold. But new threats are growing at home, which even an autocrat like Kaddafi is finding hard to manage.(de facto leader of Libya, Col. Muammar Kaddafi)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Andrew Moravcsik (Moravcsik directs the European Union Program at Princeton University.) When Tony Blair made his valedictory rounds last month, one of his most remarkable stops barely got any notice. On a short stay in Libya,...

Higher and Mightier; State-run funds are now far richer and more powerful than hedge funds, with vast implications for global markets.
July 16, 2007... Byline: George Wehrfritz and Jonathan Adams (With Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop in Singapore) China is putting its surplus billions to work, in what is effectively the official state hedge fund. Beijing is set to inject some $200 billion into a...

Seeing Action; New studios and big money are heating up the film industry competition in Eastern Europe and Russia.
July 16, 2007... Byline: William Underhill (With Katka Krosnar in Prague and Anna Nemtsova in Moscow) The gently rolling hills of western Hungary, home to bucolic woodlands and vineyards, do not much resemble the mean streets of Manhattan. But on one...

Out Of the Darkness; A Hong Kong exhibit offers a rare glimpse of the 12th-century masterpiece known as 'China's Mona Lisa.'(Song dynasty ink-on-silk painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival")
July 16, 2007... Byline: Alexandra A. Seno Even among the stuffy bureaucrats in Beijing, the Song dynasty ink-on-silk painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" has an affectionate nickname: "China's Mona Lisa." Though it's a landscape, not a...

Who's the Smart Sibling? New studies weigh in on the age-old controversy over whether firstborns are more intelligent than seconds.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Mary Carmichael (With Jesse Ellison) Ten weeks ago, Bo Cleveland and his wife embarked on a highly unscientific experiment--they gave birth to their first child. For now, Cleveland is too exhausted to even consider having another...

A Smashing First Act; Gordon Brown makes a stunningly successful debut as leader.(British Prime Minister Gordon Brown)
July 16, 2007... Byline: D'Ancona is editor of The Spectator. It is ironic that, in his first week as prime minister, the most embarrassing mistake made by the famously numerate Gordon Brown was to miscalculate the number of days he had been in charge....

Developing Alternatives.(Virgin CEO Richard Branson)(Interview)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Emily Flynn Vencat As Britain's most famous entrepreneur, there are few businesses that Virgin CEO Richard Branson hasn't considered conquering. From industry-changing successes like Virgin air travel and telecoms to fizzlers like...

Fly Them Like Gods; 'Why can't Indians run airlines? It's not rocket science, it's a hospitality business.'.(Jet Airways)(Interview)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Vibhuti Patel India is rising. and as rising nations are wont to do, it is launching airlines on global routes in pursuit of money and international glamour. The Indian entrants in this brutal market are led by Jet Airways, which...

There Goes the Neighborhood; American clout with its neighbors has hit a new low, warns Mexico's ex-foreign minister.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Jorge Castaneda (Castaneda is Global Distinguished Professor of Politics and Latin American Studies at New York University.) The last week of June was probably the Bush administration's worst period ever in terms of Latin America...

The Spooky Echoes of '87; A famed Wall Street strategist says he's haunted by today's parallels to the bust 20 years ago, even knowing history is no guide.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Barton Biggs (Biggs, the famed Wall Street strategist, is now a hedge-fund manager at Traxis Partners.) I'm still bullish about stocks, but there is one spooky memory that perches in my mind like the canary in the coal mine. It...

The Suite Life.(Grove in Hertfordshire, England)(Hill Top Reserve spa suite at Evason Hideaway at Yao Noi in Thailand)(Punta Mita's Coral Suite in Mexico)(Hotel review)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Sana Butler Most people book hotel suites for the extra space and posh decor. But a number of top hotels are now offering suites with specialized features from pianos to pools. Music lovers should look no farther than the Grand...

Hot Spot: Bon Moscow.(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Owen Matthews Designer Philippe Starck describes his only Moscow restaurant as a "dark shrine" to the city's "excesses of sex, violence and food." Excess is right: the table lamps are made of gold-plated Kalashnikovs, and Gothic...

Four Hours in Vienna.(Vienna, Austria)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas With its mix of baroque and art nouveau architecture, the Austrian capital has become a hot spot for Europe's young and hip, particularly from the East. VISIT the Albertina , a former palace turned museum where you...

The Maximalist.(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Tired of your garden gnome? This life-size fiberglass and resin Camarasaurus dinosaur replica is certain to become the talk of your neighborhood. And the price will make your spare cash extinct: $56,475 (drinkstuff.com ).

Colors Are a Girl's Best Friend.(colored diamonds)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Anna Kuchment White diamonds have long been the stone of choice for engagement rings. Now colored diamonds are beginning to catch up. Last month the Gemological Institute of America, one of the largest independent diamond-grading...

Biking To Work.(new breed of bikes)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Tolme With gas prices showing no signs of backing down, this summer is the perfect time to hop on a commuter bike. They're getting sleeker and smoother than ever. Kona's Smoke features a stripped-down design with a comfortable...

Perspectives.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Quotation sources from top to bottom: Guardian, BBC, New York Yimes (2), Newsday I answered that I'd prefer his sister. Italian footballer Marco Materazzi, on his response to Zinedine Zidane's offer to give him his shirt in...

Periscope.
July 16, 2007... Byline: Ron Moreau and Zahid Hussain (Kevin Peraino Holly Peterson David J. Jefferson) Long-Awaited Wake-Up Call On Friday, shots were fired at the plane of President Pervez Musharraf--another assassination attempt at the end of a...

Mobile Money.(pilot program for Vodafone that turns cellphone into a device for transferring money)
July 16, 2007... Byline: SCOTT JOHNSON Cell phones have been booming in Africa for years, but Susie Lonie has bigger ambitions. Lonie ran a pilot program for Vodafone in Kenya that turns the cell phone into a device for transferring funds. With M-Pesa...

Level Up.(Electronic Arts recently hired Kathy Vrabeck to head a new division, EA Casual)(Interview)(Excerpt)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: N'Gai Croal Electronic Arts recently hired Kathy Vrabeck, former president of publishing for Activision, to head a new division, EA Casual. We spoke with her about the new job. Excerpts: How do you define casual games? ...

Ethanol.(dimethylfuran, a new biofuel made from fructose, has advantages over corn ethanol)(Brief article)
July 16, 2007... Byline: Katie Connolly Ethanol is hot, but can we do better? Dimethylfuran, a new biofuel made from fructose, has advantages over corn ethanol, report scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the journal Science. DMF carries...

Mail Call: Leisurely Vacations.(Letter to the editor)
July 23, 2007... Readers of our May 14/May 21 travel special praised the report. One thanked us for "interesting tips on finding a destination." Another said, "Your article hits the nerve of our time, when not getting nervous seems impossible." And, she...

The Tyrant's Turn; Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to be a pro-American reformer. So what went wrong?(George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin's political relationship)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Owen Matthews (With Anna Nemtsova in Moscow) George Bush stood with his hand on Vladimir Putin's shoulder. It was November 2001, and the two leaders had just enjoyed Texas steaks personally barbecued by Bush at his family ranch,...

Divide and Conquer; Washington and Moscow are once again vying for power.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Studwell Last week the American guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook steamed into the Black Sea port of Odessa flying the stars and stripes. Ukraine's top military brass welcomed her in, along with officers from Armenia,...

STYLE: OUT OF AFRICA; Designers offer an authentic take on tribal trends while supporting the Fair Trade movement.
July 23, 2007... Byline: ALEXANDRA POLIER Anna Trzebinski's workshop lies on the edge of a leafy giraffe sanctuary in the exclusive Nairobi neighborhood of Karen. The lofty white space with high, beamed ceilings used to house the studio of her late...

The Fall.(Denis Darzacq's photographs)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Denis Darzacq In between heaven and earth is where photographer Denis Darzacq finds his subjects. Darzacq, who got his start shooting France's rock scene, spent two years photographing Paris's banlieues --hardscrabble suburbs...

Ties That Bind; Crony capitalism is stunting southeast Asia, says the author of a new book on the region's godfathers.(Joe Studwell's Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and South-East Asia)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Studwell (Studwell is the author of "Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and South-East Asia.") A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to have dinner with Bob Zoellick, the wise American who now heads the World...

Filling the Moguls' Shoes; Asia's family dynasties are handing the reins to a new generation--but can the kids ever live up to dad?(children of Asia's richest persons)
July 23, 2007... Byline: George Wehrfritz (With Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur, Jonathan Adams and Jackie Lin in Taipei, B. J. Lee in Seoul and Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop in Singapore) They are the chieftains of Asia's economic boom, a cohort of...

An Iranian Superhero; The film version of 'Persepolis' hits screens.(Movie review)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Amber Haq Making films based on cartoon characters is nothing new. Countless caped superheroes have seamlessly made the leap from the page to the screen. But none are quite like the heroine of the new animated film "Persepolis": a...

Developing Alternatives.(interview with Richard Branson)(Interview)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Emily Flynn Vencat There are few businesses that britain's most famous entrepreneur, Virgin CEO Richard Branson, hasn't considered conquering. From industry-changing successes like air travel and telecoms to fizzlers like cola and...

Don't Count Him Out Yet.(George W. Bush's term as president)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Richard N. Haass (Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course." He served as the State Department's director of policy planning from January 2001 to...

Global Investor: Ruchir Sharma; While a 4 percent growth rate might be acceptable for Taiwan's economy in ordinary times, it's not during the current bull run.
July 23, 2007... Byline: Ruchir Sharma (Sharma is head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.) The Fading Star of East Asia It is a sign of the boom times in Asia these days that Taiwan--which has a steady 4 percent economic-growth...

More Than a Dip.(resorts and casinos)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Lauren Mack Hotel pools are not just for swimming anymore. While swim-up bars have been popular for years, the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Mexico takes in-pool refreshment a step further with its Sun Fun Hut Sushi Bar....

Hot Spot: The Luxe Manor Hong Kong.(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop Salvador Dali would feel right at home in this new boutique hotel, cocooned in the heart of Kowloon. Tagging itself as a place "where the surreal slumbers," the hotel is a modern reinterpretation of a...

Four Hours in Lisbon.(Lisbon, Portugal)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Amber Haq The sun-soaked Portuguese capital offers art, food, groovy nightlife and easy living. Don't miss out. RIDE a vintage tram along Route 28, as it winds from the city center through the old neighborhoods, up to the...

Designer Bumps.(maternity jeans)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Andrea Botham Yummy mummies-to-be no longer have to hide behind frumpy overalls and baggy jeans. With designer denim available in a wide range of cuts incorporating belly panels, expectant moms can easily shelve their everyday...

At Home With the Range.(AGA ranges)(Brief article)
July 23, 2007... Byline: Andrea Botham High-end oven ranges that bring restaurant-quality cooking to the home kitchen can make amateur foodies feel like Michelin-starred chefs. But only if they can figure out how to work the darned things. Now top range...