A Bad Week for ... , November 25, 2012

The Taiwanese president is coming under pressure in his second term as leader after being dismissed as an "ineffectual bumbler" by the British-based news magazine The Economist, which reported concern about the island's economic woes. Ma has denied reports that he ordered Taiwan's ambassador to Britain to rebut the piece.

The wife of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was forced to step back from her role in a charity that she founded to campaign against food waste after politicians attacked her for taking a high-profile advocacy position. The move disappointed other NGOs, who had hopes that her government connections would help encourage the redistribution of leftover food from hotels, restaurants and bakeries to the poor.