The World Today

China’s Green shoots need nurturing, writes Isabel Hilton

Germany learnt a €2 trillion lesson after reunification which it is not going to easily forget

Western NGOs promoting democracy feel the pressure as autocrats quake

Putin’s support for the Assad regime will have long-term cost implications for Russia

Dr Swee Chai Ang, who witnessed the 1982 massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, says that life has not improved for Palestinians in Lebanon

Gold goes to the sponsors: Mihir Bose describes how the Corinthian spirit of the Olympic Games has given way to a McDonalds-style franchise

The US presidential election in November promises to be closely fought – and exceptionally raucous. Unprecedented amounts of money will be spent during the campaign, much of it on ‘attack ads’. Here are five statistics to help sort out the issues from the noise.

Perils of European optimism: The inability to imagine failure is reminiscent of 1914, writes Paul Mason

So far Bollywood has more admirers than the Terracotta Army - but for how long?

China has turned to its history to cement its new place in the world

The newspaper publisher takes tea with a remarkable African leader and adds an online campaigning website to his print titles

Anthony Shadid, the prize-winning American journalist who died this year while covering the Syrian uprising, has left an evocative portrait of a disappearing Lebanese Christian community

After nine years of stability, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is off on an economic roller-coaster ride

The Turkish writer’s novel, ‘The Museum of Innocence’, has been brought to life in a house in Istanbul

June 17, 1972: A break-in at the Watergate building spells the beginning of the end for President Nixon. Can such a coup happen in the digital age?

Michela Wrong, author of ‘In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz’ chooses seven books about the crisis in Africa’s Great Lakes region

Thought you were doing all the right things to help the planet? Read on