The Best Photos of the Year (Cover Story)
They are the indelible images that captured the events and emotions of 2005: natural disasters, war, democracy's spread, sorrow and fleeting glimpses of beauty


Living on a Fault Line
A year after the tsunami, scientists fear that another monster earthquake might one day strike Sumatra, triggering a fresh inundation by the sea. How frightened should we be?

Krakatau
The Son Also Rises

Gridlock on the Road to Democracy (Essay)
Only compromise will satisfy the interests of both Beijing and Hong Kong


Gunfire in Guangdong
Police open fire on protesters in a southern Chinese village

Couture for the Globe
The fight for fair trade hits the runway

Down with The King?
Bhutan's monarch is pushing his subjects to adopt democracy

Appreciation
Liu Binyan, 1925-2005

Milestones

Verbatim

Letters
Hollywood's Asian Romance

Absolute Love
China's first movie musical in years is a gorgeous cinematic treat


Phone In, Strip Off, Chill Out (TIME Global Adviser)
The renovated hot baths at Esalen are groovy, man

Paris in the Winter (TIME Global Adviser)
The Eiffel tower's skating rink reopens, 57 meters above the city

Hamburg with Relish (TIME Global Adviser)
A onetime punk quarter has become Hamburg's tastiest shopping area

All the Tee In China (TIME Global Adviser)
A new golfing and leisure magazine launches in Shanghai, where play is business, too

Amuse Bouche (TIME Global Adviser)
Tasteless Fad