Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright managed the United States' relationship with a rapidly-changing China at the turn of the millennium. As the United States and China continue to negotiate for the safety of dissident Chen Guangcheng, Secretary Albright discusses the United States' current relationship with China, and her new book, "Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948."

Prominent Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left the U.S. embassy in Beijing a week after seeking shelter after escaping from house arrest. Jonathan Fenby is former editor of the South China Morning Post and his latest book on China is called “Tiger Head, Snake Tails: China Today."

Over the weekend, Friends of Syria, an organization of 60 nations created to support the Syrian opposition, gathered in Istanbul for yet another meeting on the seemingly unending revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting concluded with real results: Arab nations promised $100 million to pay the Syrian opposition fighters and the United States promised communications equipment and another $12 million in humanitarian aid. Is that enough to help the struggling opposition? Amr Al Azm, member of the Syrian opposition and professor of history and anthropology at Shawnee State University, explains. 

Over the weekend, China and Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have supported an Arab League peace plan for Syria, claiming the plan would have violated Syria’s sovereignty. On Sunday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the veto during a speech in Sofia, Bulgaria, stating, "Faced with a neutered Security Council we have to redouble our efforts outside of the United Nations with those allies and partners who support the Syrian people's right to have a better future."

In a possibly historic move, the Obama administration announced its dedication to promoting LGBT rights around the world. In a memorandum from the president, and a speech from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the administration equated LGBT rights with human right, vowing to spend $3 million to finance LGBT rights organizations. "In reality, gay people are born into — and belong to — every society in the world," Clinton said to an audience of representatives of 47 nations, who gave her a standing ovation. (Watch the speech after the jump.)

For years, relations between the U.S. and Myanmar have been frozen. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world, with systematic human rights violations, rampant child labor, and a health care system that has been ranked by the World Health Organization as the worst in the world. But a historic visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the isolated country this week may represent a late thaw. In a step that could transform American diplomacy in the region, the U.S. and Myanmar are considering exchanging ambassadors.

It was only a few years ago the Bush administration labeled Myanmar "an outpost of tyranny." But on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton became the first secretary of state to visit the repressive and isolated nation in 50 years. The Obama administration has been keen on engaging with the military-backed civilian government of Myanmar after the country made some significant democratic reforms. In the past year, elections were held for a nominally civilian government, and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after two decades. Yet even as changes take hold in Rangoon, persecution against the country's ethnic minorities continue.

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that a labyrinthine plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States had been conceived and funded by "high-up officials" in Iran. Attorney General Eric Holder vowed that "the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. was considering means by which to "send a strong message to Iran and further isolate it from the international community." Iran, in turn, claimed that the whole thing was cooked up by the U.S. to distract Americans from the state of the economy.

There were reports yesterday from Hama in Syria that government troops had fatally shot at least six protestors demonstrating against President Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded last week to the ongoing violence, saying that the country's transition to democracy was becoming more urgent. 

A new report by the State Department says 27 million people are victims of human trafficking worldwide. Though the report names Libya, Iran, Myanmar, and Sudan as the worst offenders when it comes to human trafficking, the United States is not immune to the problem. Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked in the U.S., and most of them are women and children. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has advocated for a solution to this problem, saying world leaders need to do more to combat it. But our guests say it's not just up to law enforcement and border control to prevent trafficking—hospitality and travel workers can be the first line of defense.

There’ll be a lot more "out of office" emails in Washington this week as key members of the Obama administration are on trips in South Asia, Asia and the Arabian peninsula. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in China today and will travel to South Korea and Japan later in the week. Vice President Joe Biden has just left Afghanistan and is in Pakistan today; and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Qatar, continuing her tour of Arab states after her surprise trip to Yemen yesterday. What do these three top officials hope to accomplish abroad, and what challenges do they face?

The 2008 race to the White House has been documented more thoroughly than any other. It kept bloggers, commentators, humorists busy on a daily basis for almost two years. So you might think you’ve heard it all. But two veteran political reporters say you haven’t.