COVER
2004's Coolest Inventions (Cover Story)
From SpaceShipOne to supersneakers, bots and GoCars, TIME checks out this year's hottest new ideas
Tech Guide (Cover Story)
The hottest, newest products on the market
Web Shopping (Cover Story)
The best sites for your holiday buying
Videogame Guide (Cover Story)
Friends! Romans! Oddball cosmic princes! In our ranking of 2004's top 10 video games, you will meet them all
SPECIAL REPORT
A Tale of Two Indias (Cover Story)
Economic reforms have produced a new breed of billionaires amid millions of the world's poorest people. Is this an acceptable price of modernization?
The Respect They Deserve (Cover Story | Viewpoint)
India's rich are doing well, and good for thembut the growing middle class is the real story
Don't Forget India's Poor (Cover Story | Viewpoint)
Economic reforms have left them behind, but there's no shortage of policies that could help
ASIA
Buddhists Under Siege
Militants in Thailand's embattled south are sowing terror among a new target group: Buddhist civilians
He's Still There
Though rumors of Kim Jong Il's imminent demise are legion, none are yet confirmed
Documentary: Northern Exposure
Daniel Gordon's "A State of Mind" goes inside the lives of average North Koreans
Death on Flight 974
Who was responsible for the poisoning of one of Indonesia's bravest human-rights activists?
China's School Killings
Authorities and parents are searching for answers after a rash of child murders. Is the media to blame?
Dire Straits
Ships that pass through some of the busiest waterways in Asia are often the target of pirates. Is a terrorist attack next?
BUSINESS
Ownership Issues
Will a dispute between the Ambani brothers lead to the breakup of Reliance?
Fading Down The Stretch?
The Hong Kong Jockey Club was once a sure bet, but its horse-racing franchise is facing stiffer odds
GLOBAL ADVISER
Bohemian Rhapsody (TIME Global Adviser)
Can you do the fandango? At Prague's edgy Palac Akropolis you can probably do anything
Sex and The Stars (TIME Global Adviser)
Read all about it: Does the zodiac cast a spell over your erotic life?
Look Ma, No Hands (TIME Global Adviser)
After the horseless carriage comes the driverless one. And this new vehicle may be going places
Shrink That Suitcase! (TIME Global Adviser)
How to avoid packing a lot of back and shoulder damage into your baggage
Style Watch (TIME Global Adviser)
Potions Are In the Pink
Food Fashions (TIME Global Adviser)
Serious Cereal
BRIEFING
Burmese Plays (Notebook)
Burma jockeys for position in the runup to the ASEAN conference in Vientiane
Southern Hospitality (Notebook)
China's Hu Jintao takes a tour of Latin America
Organizing Wal-Mart (Notebook)
America's biggest retailer opens the door to China's labor union
Bhopal: 20 Years After (Notebook)
Survivors are still recovering from the disastrous gas leak
Milestones (Notebook)
Dan Rather retires
Verbatim (Notebook)
Quotes of the week
Letters (Notebook)
How Asians Got So Big