We think to date, the government is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,000 people of all ages, and the United States has worked very hard to corral and focus international opinion to take steps toward a unified response to the atrocities that are occurring...

Congressional lawmakers are scrambling to prevent America's international media arm from going off-air in China, arguing that a plan to shift much of its reporting to the Internet won't do much good in a country notorious for its web censors.

The American image now faces several new and worrisome challenges: doubts about its superpower status, a decline in favorability among some of the closest allies, and giving more and more consideration to the People’s Republic of China as superpower.

The Department of State is pleased to announce “Ask Alan,” a new effort to engage with the Iranian people through our Persian language social media brand, USAdarFarsi. Every month on Facebook and Twitter, we will be asking our fans for questions on a topic that we set in advance. Our Persian language spokesman, Alan Eyre, will then provide answers to the most popular questions in Persian.

The Australian government is to post on YouTube images of so-called boatpeople being turned away and sent to Malaysia, in an effort to deter asylum seekers. The video will show arrivals at Australia's offshore detention centre on Christmas Island being expelled and boarding aircraft. Asylum seekers remain a politically sensitive issue in Australia.

Muslim Americans are now more optimistic about their lives than any other major American faith group... Authors of the study said they attributed the change in outlook to improved economic conditions and a sense of more political enfranchisement since the election of President Barack Obama, a Christian with Muslim family roots who has reached out to Muslim communities worldwide.

The Saudis awarded a more than $1 billion contract for a spire that will soar two-thirds of a mile high, to be named the Kingdom Tower. The plans make Saudi Arabia a front-runner in the race between the oil-rich Gulf nations for glitzy, architectural trophies that dot their desert territories...The projects are seen as status symbols to show off economic success.

Both in China and abroad, Li has the potential to transcend her sport. Her treatment after winning the French Open expedited her elevation to the status of a National figure in China. But more than Party endorsement, Li is an icon with a peculiar ability to touch to both eastern and western audiences. Finally China has a true soft-power icon.