There are no paparazzi visible on the hillside above Lee Teng-huis home in the Shihlin suburb of Taipei, but his aide points out where they stake out the house with their long lenses. While the former president is officially retired"two golf bags stand ready by the carport"he remains a political force to be reckoned with. Expelled from the Kuomintang party he once led, Mr. Lee is now the "spiritual leader" of a small party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, and he is still jockeying to expand its influence.

Less than 12 hours before Thailands smooth as silk military coup of Sept. 19 2006, REVIEW deputy editor Colum Murphy met with the kings closest advisor, General Prem Tinsulanonda, at the chambers of Thailands Privy Council.

Striding into the Chinese restaurant of Singapore’s historic Fullerton Hotel, Chee Soon Juan hardly looks like a dangerous revolutionary. Casually dressed in a blue shirt with a gold pen clipped to the pocket, he could pass as just another mild-mannered, apolitical Singaporean. Smiling, he courteously apologizes for being late—even though it is only two minutes after the appointed time.

As the Association of South East Asian Nations meets in Singapore, it is under pressure from outside governments and from some of its own citizens to put more pressure on Burma (also known as Myanmar), one of its newest member states, to stop the crackdown on the recent democracy protests. While the confabs atmosphere will be peaceful " protests are not tolerated in Singapore itself " the contentious question of how to push the junta toward political reform is sure to be raised behind closed doors. Will this involve ASEAN participation in sanctions against the Burmese junta?

In front of an assembly of cameramen, Mia Farrow gestures to a collection of tattered green scraps, the remains of a makeshift fibrous roof which once, for a brief time, kept some of the sun and some of the rain from seeping into refugee huts arrayed, haphazardly, in far eastern Chad. The refugee village is called Oure Cassoni; the refugees are Darfurians, persecuted and killed, in thousands, by Muslim Sudanese militia called the Janjaweed. Ms. Farrow has just arrived in New York City from Chad, and displays these evidential shreds for the cameras.

As the new format begins, I have the following suggestions: Include an analysis section of key monthly events around the region.