China Reform Monitor: No. 832
Vietnam and Japan get military hotlines with China;
More political reshuffling ahead of the 2012 Party Congress  
Vietnam and Japan get military hotlines with China;
More political reshuffling ahead of the 2012 Party Congress  
Beijing Maglev plans criticized in Chinese press;
China and Russia fret over heroin exports from Afghanistan
At the mouth of the sprawling plaza that houses Casablanca's magnificent Hassan II mosque overlooking the Atlantic Ocean lie two squat, ornate buildings. In these structures, flanked by neatly manicured gardens and largely unnoticed by the outside world, the Kingdom of Morocco is forging what could become one of the world's most potent weapons against Islamic extremism.
The buildings are the future site of a new Quranic school, which--once formally inaugurated in the coming year--will serve as a magnet educational institution for the country's religious students, as well as those from the rest of the region. Its objective, my guide told me, will be singular and unequivocal: "To promote Moroccan Islam. Tolerant Islam."
Number of female smokers, cancer patients skyrockets;
Taiwan universities to accept mainland students for first time
Whatever happened to the Green Movement? A year after the fraudulent reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad galvanized a groundswell of popular outrage, protesters in the Islamic Republic are growing silent. This has led some observers to conclude that the country's counterrevolution has run its course. But a closer reading of events shows a movement that is still viable, if beleaguered.