Person of the Week

Person of the Week
CANCELLED He took Vivendi Universal on a corporate buying spree, trying to transform a staid, provincial French utilities firm into a multinational media giant. But Jean-Marie Messier overreached and Vivendi’s stock price collapsed, leading to his dismissal as company chairman last week

Noted
“When you are enjoying a real good meal, stop when the food is still good.”
Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian PM, explaining his decision to resign from his post next year

LATEST COVER STORY
Should You Be a Vegetarian?
July 8, 2002
Past Issues Understanding Anxiety Jul. 8, 2002 —————– Being Tom Cruise Jul. 1, 2002 —————– Asia’s World Cup Jun. 24, 2002 —————– China’s Labor Lost Jun. 17, 2002 —————– Asian Medicine Jun. 10, 2002

Afghanistan: Losing the Peace

Indonesia: The President’s Man

Pakistan: A Violation of Justice

China: War on the Web

Baseball: The Ichiro Paradox

Music: Tokyo’s Soul Sister

Books: Sounds of the River

Books: Longing

Get Lost in Indonesia’s Sea

Person of the week

Milestones

CNN.com: Top Headlines

Prime Number
$67,053 Is the record price paid at a Guangdong auction for a single lychee from a 400-year-old tree that once produced fruit for Chinese emperors

Omen
The fastest-growing religion in Australia over the past six years is witchcraft, which has doubled while Christian denominations lose members

Winners
STEVE FOSSETT
U.S. millionaire is first solo balloonist to circumnavigate the world. His immortal first words on landing: “Wait, what’s an airplane?”

ALEX FERGUSON
Man U manager wins big money on World Cup wagers. He bet Brazil would win, and that Ronaldo’s coiffure would resemble a peeled orange

TAKERU KOBAYASHI
Eating champ breaks record by downing 50 1/2 hot dogs without puking. The economy is bad, the PM is limping, but Japan is No. 1 in offal-eating

Losers
EDUARDO DUHALDE
Argentine President hastens elections. That’s one of the perks of his office: you can arrange a graceful exit before angry mobs toss you out

VLADIMIRO MONTESINOS
Peru’s former spy chief convicted of usurping office. Vladimiro said he wasn’t seizing absolute power, just borrowing it for a little while

VICTORIA BECKHAM
Posh sued by a London shop for slander. Seems she said their clothes were so bad, even Ginger Spice wouldn’t be caught dead in them