Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who swept the country’s election results on Friday, has started to appear decidedly more prime ministerial by the day. Over the past few days, he has taken to Twitter to thank foreign leaders for their support, but the order in which he thanked them and one notable omission, later rectified, was more interesting than the content of the tweets themselves.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the cyber world should be regarded as an opportunity and not a threat.  The Iranian president said that new communications technologies, such as satellite channels, the internet, and mobile phones, should not be considered a threat to the Islamic beliefs of young people. Rouhani also stated that the era of delivering messages through “one-way tribunes” and “one-way speakers” has come to an end, noting that in the modern world, the more widely messages are circulated, the more effectual they are.

The BJP clean sweep at the national elections found an echo on Twitter. On counting day Narendra Modi began with 39.87 lakh followers and ended with 40.92 lakh, breaking a record of sorts in the number of followers on Twitter any individual has pulled in on a given day. The tally now stands well over 41.1 lakh.This may have much to do with the BJP's early debut on Twitter and the effective use of social media that went towards building the sort of marketing campaign rarely seen in Indian politics.

By providing an alternative to mainstream media, the internet can increase mutual understanding. Although today China-U.S. relations are not bad, the relationship remains very complicated. There are many factors affecting China-U.S. relations, some of which are very serious. This is why President Xi Jinping proposed the establishment of a “new model of major country relationship”

In a creative approach to upgrade advocacy efforts by civil stakeholders against violence in Lebanon – particularly domestic and gender based violence (GBV) – ABAAD called on Syrian refugee girls to reproduce on dummies their personal stories of violence and discrimination. A public exhibition displaying the puppets is organised today in Taanayel in Lebanon’s Bekaa region.

Police forces across Australia are acting as their own media organisations: producing video and photos, and engaging with the public via social media. However, with traditional outlets increasingly reliant on multimedia produced by the police, can the public be sure they're getting the full picture?

Internet, its online media sources and numerous digital services have become an essential part of international data exchange as well as a powerful instrument to influence public opinion worldwide. What countries are the most advanced users of the new digital tools? A research project conducted at Tel Aviv University's Department of Communications into the practice of "digital diplomacy" yielded rather unexpected results.
 

With only two candidates, and a very likely winner, Egypt’s upcoming presidential election may not be the hottest of electoral races around.  But social media has found a way to spice things up by bringing a Hollywood star into the limelight.  Kevin Spacey has become the pick of many Twitter and Facebook users to become Egypt’s next president in a trending spoof campaign.