Gay marriage gone wrong
Traditional beliefs about the importance of maintaining bloodlines make it difficult for gay Chinese men to come out to their families. Around 70% marry straight women, but some are now taking a different route. One website helps gay men meet lesbians for matrimonial purposes

Olympic losers
As the Olympics arrive in London, our correspondents consider who stands to benefit. Sponsors and some companies should gain, but the big loser will be the British taxpayer, saddled with expensive infrastructure projects, overcrowded transport networks and a rather large bill

Forward-thinking, writing backwards
In John Irving’s latest novel, “In One Person”, the bisexual narrator recalls coming of age in 1950s New England. Mr Irving talks to us about discovering his own sexual identity as a teenager, Ronald Reagan and the AIDS epidemic, and why he always champions the outsider

United States: Taxes and the rich
The rich reap many benefits from government spending. It does not follow that they should pay more tax

Asia: Belles of the ball
China and America make Cambodia feel like a wallflower at its very own ASEAN summit

Europe: Giving to the church
The Czech Republic moves closer to compensating churches for property seized during four decades of Communist rule

Europe: Big Brother is listening
The growth of a surveillance culture in Poland worries campaigners

Africa: Jailed for doing his job
An Ethiopian journalist is sentenced to 18 years in prison

Business: Working overtime
Social enterprises want to do good and make money. The reality is somewhat different

Business education: Question time
Some advice on writing MBA application essays: don’t quote Robert Frost and don’t use Comic Sans

Technology: It’s the humidity
As air-conditioning celebrates its 110th anniversary, refrigerants of old are coming back into favour

Technology: Gas-guzzling paint
Cleaning up after a chemical-weapon attack

Language: Voicing concerns
Advances in language technology are helping the deaf, those with Parkinson’s disease and speakers of rare languages

International: Back on the agenda
The head of the International Planned Parenthood Federation explains why contraception is so important for empowering women and maintaining health