Revelations that the Chinese government secretly controls a network of overseas radio stations are a further indicator that Beijing is actively taking its propaganda to a global audience[...] The report, which has sparked calls for a federal investigation, emerges as President Xi Jinping's administration expands its deployment of "soft power," a form of influence that goes well beyond the business of government, analysts said.

The forum will bring together over 90 politicians and experts from more than 20 countries, and they will discuss the themes of city construction and management, education, civilization, senior care and exchanges among young people.

See our interactive map of the 2015 World Expo in Milan!

Sun Mu trained as an artist in North Korea, where he painted propaganda posters that glorified the country's ruling dynasty. He fled in 1998 to escape famine and since then has used the same artistic style he learned in his homeland to lampoon those leaders. "I Am Sun Mu," by LA-based filmmaker Adam Sjoberg, is the story of his life and work, told around the lead-up to his first exhibition in China in summer 2014. 

India has been placed as the globe's seventh most valued 'nation brand' in 2015, moving up one notch from eighth position in 2014. With an increase of 32 per cent in its brand value to USD 2.137 billion (from USD 1.621 in 2014), , according to Brand Finance, which brought out its annual report on the world's most valuable nation brands in October 2015.