CineAsia is upon us already, the last major cinema conference of the year and a time to take stock. This show has taken on new significance in recent years as it highlights the growth of Asia as a film market and the increasing importance of the region to global cinema. The Asia-Pacific region will account for 40.4% of global box office in 2016.

Beginning Saturday, the BBC World Service is trying something new. Or, at least, newer. A new weekly radio and digital program, "World Hacks," will look at the problems facing the world along with the people who are trying to fix them. [...] Instead, "World Hacks" focuses on those problems and their solutions.

Finland became the first country in the world to unveil a collection of national emojis in December, 2015. Finland is set to become the first country in the world to have its own country-themed emojis added to the Unicode Standard. [...] are likely to be introduced to the emoji keyboards of smart devices around the world next June.

Empower2Play will be hosting a ten-day sports diplomacy event in Cite Soleil, Haiti, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. This event will be hosted with the US Embassy and will be focusing on using American Football to gets kids active and expand knowledge of the game in an area that could use a distraction from the daily situation.

For the 85,000 refugees who will resettle in the US this year, mobile phones have become as essential to their daily lives as a safe, clean place to live and a steady job. [...] Mobile and internet services are now on the list of necessities. They not only keep new immigrants in touch with their families back home, but they also provide an important gateway for managing finances and sending cash home to relatives.

The British Council India has come up with initiatives to launch new digital platforms under their campaign 'UK-India Year of Culture' with the aim to connect with the digital generation youngsters of India and UK culturally. [...] "We want to connect with the 4G generation who would like to travel with us digitally. Smart phones help connect with the younger generation and is one way to strengthen the cultural exchange between India and UK."

Mobile apps for social good used to be trendy, but international aid organizations need to think harder about how they can use the data they collect, says one senior program manager at the U.S. Agency for International Development. [...] Mobile technology is most useful when the data it produces lets aid groups send resources to the exact place they're needed

Digital platforms are enabling an era of digital diplomacy – but, says British High Commissioner to Ghana Jon Benjamin, there are certain rules of the game that need to be taken into account. [...] But here’s something different that touches on both aspects, but is itself a discipline in its own right – diplomacy in the digital age.