In a report released this week, the Enough Project ranks electronics companies based on their progress on eliminating 'conflict minerals' from their products. Consumers should take note.

As the southern city of Guangzhou hosts the Asian Games, which will come to a close on Nov. 27 in China, the prosperous city is putting its best face forward and has welcomed foreigners from all across Asia. However, the sweet welcome the visitors are receiving puts the treatment of a growing presence of African immigrants in the city into stark relief.

The Kremlin is getting more Internet-savvy every day. Not only has President Dmitry Medvedev joined Twitter, the Russia government now has an English language web portal to help funnel business and advertise their foray into the information age.

These significant strategic developments in all the major geographic theaters of the U.S. War on Terror further demonstrate the efficacy of Beijing's economy-first diplomacy and reflect China's growing influence in Central Asia as a whole.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul likes to walk, and where he goes, businessmen often follow. Gul likes the idea, probably more than his bodyguards, that the leader of a country whose foreign policy goal is to have no enemies and do business wherever it can is an unlikely target for anyone other than Kurdish militants back home.

A recent diplomatic spat between China and Costa Rica — which gained little notice outside the Spanish-language press — is the latest example of challenges Beijing faces in its effort to expand its influence overseas.

President Dmitry Medvedev was in California two weeks ago drumming up support for creating a version of Silicon Valley in Skolkovo, just outside Moscow. At the heart of the president’s push into the technology sector is the need to diversify Russia’s economy by developing new, innovation-based sectors.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will arrive in South Africa with a delegation of seven ministers on Thursday for a four-day visit, the department of international relations said. Lula da Silva and President Jacob Zuma hoped to sign a declaration launching a South Africa-Brazil strategic partnership, as well as a memorandum of understanding on inter-governmental co-operation, it said.