For years, the conventional wisdom in Washington was that America’s China policy was moving in one direction: tougher.But walk into a classroom at Georgetown, Rice or another US university where the next generation of diplomats and foreign-policy professionals is being trained, and the picture looks less settled.A generation that has grown up with China’s rise is increasingly sceptical of the idea that Beijing should be treated primarily as America’s great strategic rival.That matters because...

When Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah recently stripped his daughter-in-law of a royal title, the move drew attention for its unusually public glimpse into discipline inside one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies.But it also offered a small example of what analysts who study Southeast Asia’s royal families describe as a wider challenge for the region’s monarchies: how to preserve authority through tradition and adaptation as public expectations change.An official announcement...

Thirty lions and tigers that were kept alive – barely – for years in cramped concrete cages at a closed Argentine zoo began entering jumbo-size transport crates on Friday as they embarked on ambitious journeys to wildlife sanctuaries halfway across the world in South Africa and the United States.The cats are being rescued from the former Lujan Zoo, about 70km (43 miles) northwest of Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, after years of uncertainty over their fate. Four Paws, the international...

More than 86,000 football fans passed through Kai Tak Stadium over two nights recently as Manchester City faced Inter Milan and Chelsea took on Juventus. Supporters filled nearby malls and restaurants, with some merchants reporting foot traffic three to four times higher than usual.For those few hours, Kai Tak offered a glimpse of what Hong Kong’s day-to-night economy could become: international visitors and local residents arriving early and extending the occasion beyond the stadium.The...

周五，西班牙東北部的一場山火愈演愈烈，迫使人們緊急轉移安葬於阿拉貢地區的中世紀君主遺骨；與此同時，消防人員正爭分奪秒地搶救一座擁有千年歷史的修道院。

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, while the country’s defence chief Shinjiro Koizumi visited the site as Japan marks the 81st anniversary of the end of the second world war.Sources have said Takaichi, a conservative, is likely to refrain from visiting the war-linked shrine on the war anniversary. The shrine honours Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals. Visits by Japanese prime ministers and lawmakers...