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Time magazine today named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its "Person of the Year 2015", saying her deft leadership has helped preserve and promote an open, borderless Europe in the face of economic turmoil, ongoing refugee and the Ukraine crises. She beat some of the world's best-known politicians and leaders including Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump for the annual honour. "At a moment when much of the world is once more engaged in a furious debate about the balance between safety and freedom, the Chancellor is asking a great deal of the German people, and by their example, the rest of us as well. To be welcoming. To be unafraid. To believe that great civilizations build bridges, not walls, and that wars are won both on and off the battlefield," Time said. Time said Merkel was chosen as the person of the year because she is the "de facto leader" of a continent. — PTI. Source: Article
Bollywood star Aamir Khan features on the cover of Time magazine following the huge success of his TV show Satyamev Jayate. "He's breaking the Bollywood mold by tackling India's social evils. Can one actor change a nation?" says the blurb on the cover, which features a close-up of the actor looking intensely into the camera. The TV show brought social issues to the fore. It started with the issue of female foeticide, traversed over various burning social issues informing, educating, sensitising and touching audiences' hearts and ended its 13-week journey with the spotlight on the right to equality. Time had earlier featured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Parveen Babi on its cover. MORE ON SATYAMEV JAYATE: Aamir Khan to be govt’s mascot against malnutrition: Khan, who had raised social issues through his 13 part successful television series Satyamev Jayate, had asked people to raise voice against atrocities against women and children in India and make government act. 
Reader's Digest, once the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States, has stopped the publication of its Chinese version after about four years and six months of operation. Subscribers are receiving e-mails and text messages since last month, informing them of the closure and about refunds. "We are sorry to inform you that the magazine suspended publication due to uncontrollable factors," the notice said. Visitors of the homepage of the Chinese magazine www.puzhi.com.cn are redirected to the Hong Kong website of Reader's Digest. The magazine's management declined interview requests yesterday. Though the magazine didn't specify the reasons for the sudden closure, industry insiders blamed the failure on the magazine's unclear readership targets, weak promotion and problems in the publishing industry. "The magazine entered the Chinese market too late," said Yan Feng, associate professor of the Fudan University's Department of Chinese Language and Literature. The magazine, which includes stories on people, culture, travel and health, was very popular in the 1980s when people had no web access, he said. Some readers complained that the magazine had too many translated articles while the localized content was not compelling. Reader's Digest began to publish the monthly magazine Puzhi on the Chinese mainland in 2008 with the cooperation of the Shanghai Press and Publishing Development Co. Puzhi, which means "universal knowledge" in Chinese, is the same size as Reader's Digest in the US and features similar content. Wang Peng, a brand-marketing expert, said in his blog that Puzhi lost ground in the market mainly due to its unclear orientation. "The magazine wanted to suit everyone's taste in a family," he wrote, "But in China, values of parents and children vary a lot. ... It lost all groups of readers in the end." The high cost of 12 yuan (US$1.89) for each copy suggests the magazine is targeted at white-collar workers while the content is more family-oriented, he said. Despite the setbacks, the magazine didn't seem to let up in its efforts to seek opportunities in the big Chinese market. In the notice issued to readers, the magazine called the action "suspension" instead of calling it "closure" and added, "We will contact you after the publication is resumed." Time Weekly reported that the magazine may keep publishing online digital copy in the Chinese market in the future. An employee who answered the customer hotline said the closure of the publication is related to the US headquarters' bankruptcy and restructuring in 2009. "The magazine will not be back on the streets very soon," she said. "It's not likely to happen within the year." 
