Milestones

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ELECTED. MIYEEGOMBO ENKHBOLD, 41, chairman of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP); as Prime Minister of Mongolia; in Ulan Bator. The MPRP withdrew from the governing coalition last month to protest former Prime Minister Tsakhia Elbegdorj's economic policies, prompting Elbegdorj to resign and hundreds of supporters on both sides to rally outside parliament in freezing weather. Enkhbold, the former mayor of the capital, Ulan Bator, has promised to fight government corruption and attract investors to the mineral-rich country.

ELECTED. STEPHEN HARPER, 46, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; as the nation's 22nd Prime Minister, ending the 13-year rule of the Liberal Party; in Ottawa. Harper moderated his reputation as a humorless right-winger, joking on the campaign trail about his lack of charisma, and was aided by voter discontent over incumbent Paul Martin's scandal-ridden party. Harper's government is expected to improve relations with the U.S., but will need help from the political opposition to pass legislation because the Conservatives failed to win a House of Commons majority.

CLOSED. BINGDIAN, a weekly supplement to the state-run China Youth Daily newspaper; in Beijing. The popular four-page section, known for its aggressive reporting on official corruption and inequality, was apparently shut down after running an essay questioning interpretations of national history taught in Chinese schools. Bingdian editor Li Datong wrote a widely distributed letter criticizing the closure, claiming it "seriously violated and trampled upon the [Communist] Party's constitution and political standards," and pledged to file an appeal with the government.

DISCONTINUED. AIBO, pioneering robopet that has charmed more than 150,000 owners since its debut in 1999; in Tokyo. The termination of the $1,570 dog that plays ball and reacts to voices and faces is part of a shake-up at its Japanese manufacturer, Sony Electronics, which has scrambled to stem lagging profits. Sony has also cut 4,500 jobs, closed seven factories and terminated its cutting-edge Qrio humanoid robots and its luxury Qualia electronics line.

DIED. CHRIS PENN, 43, husky character actor, comedian and brother of Oscar winner Sean Penn; of unknown causes; in Santa Monica, California. Best known as Nice Guy Eddie, the gauche son of a crime boss in Reservoir Dogs, Penn played roles on both sides of the law—a cop in Starsky and Hutch and a convict in Rush Hour. His latest movie, The Darwin Awards, premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival.

DIED. JOHANNES RAU, 75, former German President and premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country's industrial heartland; in Berlin. Rau, a Social Democrat, failed in a bid to unseat Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1987 before embarking on his five-year presidential term in 1999. No stranger to controversy, Rau suggested in a farewell speech that negativity among German leaders had driven the country toward "collective depression."

DIED. DR. ZAKI BADAWI, 84, founder and principal of Britain's Muslim College and the country's most respected Islamic scholar; in London. Egyptian-born Badawi pioneered inter-faith dialogue in the U.K. and promoted a British form of Islam compatible with Western life. A critic of terrorism and defender of women's rights, Badawi would be remembered, in the words of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as "a wonderful mix of spirituality and practicality."

DIED. JOHN COWPERTHWAITE, 90, Hong Kong's hard-nosed financial secretary from 1961-1971; in St. Andrews, Scotland. A disciple of 18th century economist Adam Smith, Cowperthwaite reduced the government's role in the economic affairs of the then-British colony, eliminating tariffs, lowering income tax to a maximum of 15% and slashing bureaucratic red tape. Hong Kong flourished under this policy of what he called "positive non-intervention," leading economist Milton Friedman to hail him as the embodiment of laissez-faire economics. "I did very little," Cowperthwaite said of his part in Hong Kong's prosperity. "All I did was to try to prevent some of the things that might undo it."

Numbers
17% Annual increase in the number of children in France who are considered obese
2020 Year the percentage of France's population considered obese will match the current U.S. level—65%—if the French keep growing at this rate

9.9% China's estimated economic growth last year
4 Current rank of China among the world's largest economies, surpassing France and Britain, but still trailing the U.S., Japan and Germany

0.79 cm Length of Paedocypris progenetica, the world's smallest fish, whose discovery was announced last week
3 Recorded pH level of the fish's Indonesian swamp habitat, 100 times more acidic than rain

14.6 Global average surface temperature, in degrees Celsius, in 2005—the hottest on record
10,000 Years since the earth has been this hot, according to estimates from nasa scientists

Blogwatch
Google's "Don't be evil" ethos took a hit last week with the debut of its Chinese search engine, which sparked outrage over the filtering of politically sensitive terms from its results. Chinese bloggers expressed their disappointment over this attempt to placate Beijing, although ZHENGWEEKLY took some comfort in the fact that Google's "non-castrated" English site remained sporadically accessible. Still, Chinese Netizens shouldn't be counting on companies like Google to open up China's Internet, opined CATHAYAN, calling such matters something "only we can fight to get on our own."

Performance of the Week
Just four years ago, no Chinese women ranked among the world's top 100 tennis players. But following a women's doubles gold in the 2004 Olympics, they're headed for center court. Last week, in a tough match against Australian Samantha Stosur and American Lisa Raymond, China's YAN ZI and ZHENG JIE survived two match points to win the Australian Open women's doubles final—and claim China's first-ever Grand Slam title.