Just days before parliamentary polls in Pakistan, leading prime ministerial contender and anti-terrorism crusader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead during an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. “She has been martyred,” said party official Rehman Malik. The Associated Press, citing Malik, reported that Bhutto was shot in the neck and the chest before the gunman blew himself up. At least 20 bystanders were killed in the blast. Bhutto was rushed to a hospital But, at 6:16 p.m. Pakistan time, she was declared dead. Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Market reform has allowed foreign companies to snap up China’s water utilities, sparking debates over price hikes, local government roles and public responsibility, and shedding light on the pros and cons of water service reform. Ren Bo (VS ‘04 ) writes in Beijing’s influential Caijing Magazine.

Read the full story HERE.
Photograph courtesy of Caijing Magazine

Wu Nan (’08) spent last summer in Japan, where she was a reporter for The Daily Yomiuri. She took these pictures in Hiroshima while reporting on the legacies of war.

In July we and several other media outlets reported on the closure of the China Development Brief, a non-profit newsletter based in Beijing that focused on NGOs, development and civil society. At the time the government’s move to shut down the publication–officially due to a violation of a law on conducting surveys–was seen as a result of official sensitivity to the power NGOs and their role in the “color revolutions” in Eastern Europe. China Development Brief founder Nick Young thought the closure might have been the work of mid-level government officials, and was hoping to appeal to higher powers to get the decision reversed. Austin Ramzy (’03) blogs for TIME’s The China Blog.

Read the full post HERE.

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf once referred to his general’s uniform as a “second skin.” On Nov. 28, yielding to pressure from his own people as well as from his strongest ally, the U.S., Musharraf finally shed that skin. In a ceremony at military headquarters in Rawalpindi, a tearful Musharraf handed the baton to a loyalist, saying “I have loved this army.” Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.

Read the full story HERE. 

Bakht Munir knows porn when he sees it. He scans a display of DVDs, and jabs a finger at one that depicts man and a woman, their faces perilously close. “That’s a porno,” the 43-year-old fruit vendor shouts. “It’s a man kissing a woman.” Aziz ul-Haq, the video shop owner, is incredulous. “This is a family drama, a romance, nothing more.” The crowd of men crammed into his darkened shop nod in agreement. “These movies are destroying the character of our children,” says Bakht, as he storms out. Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.

Read the full story HERE.
Photo by Aryn Baker for TIME

The China Daily reports on Visiting Scholar Jacky Jin introducing the high-end magazine Robb Report to China.

“The Robb Report collects information on Chinese elites and reaches out to them one by one. In the US, however, the magazine can be subscribed to through a wide database provided by banks, luxury hotels and high-end supermarkets. China has at least 100,000 people with 100 million yuan in capital and Robb Report’s target group is much bigger, Jin says. He is confident the magazine can attract 100,000 subscribers within three years. Jin has successfully introduced two male magazines for the Trendsmag Group - For Him Magazine (FHM) and Men’s Health. FHM, which entered China three years ago, has a circulation of 400,000 copies, similar to many female fashion magazines.
‘Materialism at the moment dominates peoples’ consumption behavior in China, including rich people,’ Jin says. For example, many of the elite use high-end goods to show off their wealth and social status.”

Read the full story HERE.

Burma’s supreme leader Than Shwe holds “fire” in one hand and “water” in the other. Don’t think the junta chief is playing martial arts, like in the Chinese movies he loves to watch.

Let’s call it the junta’s “fire and water” foreign policy.

Former Visiting Scholar Kyaw Zwa Moe comments on The Irrawaddy online.

Read the full commentary HERE.

All last three of my Thanksgiving celebrations have been spent with a Jewish family. The coincidence of thrice being amongst Jews is something that most Middle Easterners would likely interpret as cabal-esque. However, these gatherings make me believe in a more symbolic coincidence as well.

My Mom was not happy when I told her about my spending Thanksgiving with Jewish friends. She thinks just as soon as I blog about it, the Iranian government propaganda machine will say, “An alienated Iranian journalist has defected to International Zionism,” and so forth. Omid Memarian (’09) blogs for The Huffington Post.

Read more HERE.

What Indonesia is doing in terms of forest conservation, and what happens in the Amazon rain forest, is important for me to know in this sense. For that, the network of friendships that I form here will help me in exchanging ideas and stories. I am glad that at a people to people level, I am able to engage in global networks of friends, but I am also reminded that I am one of the few people who are able to do that. Many of my colleagues and the people of Burma also need this kind of engagement with the global community, otherwise our isolation will deepen. Visiting Scholar Myint Zaw blogs from Bali on Climate Media Partnership.

Read more HERE.