Asia

China probably overtook the U.S. as the largest personal-computer market last quarter, after three decades of American dominance in an industry pioneered by Apple and IBM. Personal-computer shipments in China rose 14 percent to 18.5 million units during the second quarter, the first time they surpassed the number in the U.S., where they fell 4.8 percent to 17.7 million, Bryan Ma, an analyst at research firm IDC, said in an interview today. On a full-year basis, China will likely pass the U.S. in 2012, he said.The estimates highlight the growing importance of China’s consumers to the global economy after the country passed the U.S. in 2009 as the largest auto market. Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest PC maker, indicated this month it may pull out of that business, while China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. posted quarterly profit that almost doubled.

Breaking news just in from world headquarters: The new US Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, was caught red handed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last Friday buying a Starbucks coffee. Not only did he purchase the coffee with his own bucks. He also wasn’t accompanied by an escort of 300lbs gorillas, was carrying his own luggage and he even used, get this, a discount coupon. News crossed the Pacific quickly and stunned the residence of Locke’s new country of residence.

The Commander of Iran's Basij Force says it is ready to deploy peacekeeping forces to London as the unrest in the British capital drags on despite tightened security measures.“The Ashura brigades of Basij forces are ready to be deployed to London as peacekeeping forces,” Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naqdi said on Thursday, Fars news agency reported.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has just announced Pyeongchang, South Korea, as the host for the 2018 Winter Games. South Korea has been fighting to host the Olympics for several years now but failed to gain enough votes to do so for the 2010 and 2014 competitions. This year, however, Pyeongchang, South Korea, beat out Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France, to host the prestigious athletic contest.