In 2011 Achref Aouadi and his friends, who fought for “Bread, freedom and human dignity!” during the revolution, established I Watch, a youth watchdog fighting against corruption on all levels of society. “We declared Sunday 13 July as National Voter Registration Day, and it has been really viral across social media,” explains Aouadi.

The Sri Lankan government through diplomatic channels has protested the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding a project supposedly aimed at enlightening the Sri Lankan public on election systems and voting rights.

Egypt is tightening its control over social media by acquiring new software that would facilitate extensive monitoring of dissidents’ communications, putting even stay-at-home opposition supporters at risk.  Authorities say they need such tools to fight terrorism in Egypt. 

There is no question that the prize is a valuable initiative showcasing Taiwan’s soft power and desire to make the world a better place. In providing a platform where exceptional international minds can come together and participate in meaningful dialogue, the prize is addressing new challenges of the modern world by combining millennium-old wisdom of the East with the cutting-edge technology of the West.

During the last decade Turkey, as a young republic and budding democracy, has demonstrated its ability to contain political crises and domestic discontent. The country still has a long way to go, but there are at least signs of shifts in the government’s attitude and a political will to move forward, manifesting in gradual but permanent changes.

Santos’ push for peace was enough to tip the balance in his favor, but his opponent said in his concession speech that the voice of the 7 million Colombians who voted against him 'will have to be heard.'

In recent months, German, Swiss, Swedish, and Polish bids to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics have been withdrawn over concerns about cost. Munich and Davos-St. Moritz withdrew after voters rejected their Olympic bids. So did Krakow, where more than 70 percent voted against the idea in a referendum, despite the perceived success of the feel-good European soccer championships held in Poland and Ukraine in 2012.

High street giant Gap is to become the first American retailer to source garments made in Myanmar, the US embassy in Yangon said, over a decade after sanctions against the former junta slashed the country's textile industry.