Most Americans probably don't think about it much, and some may even be unaware, but the United States has a government-funded international media outlet, Voice Of America. Now that Donald Trump is president, VOA, at least in a technical sense, is under his control. If you are thinking "This may not end well," you may be correct.

To mark a new season of India-focused programmes, BBC World News and BBC.com are hosting a special event with leading tech journalist and BBC Click presenter Spencer Kelly. Kelly is in Bengaluru, covering the latest in Indian technology for two special episodes of the BBC show Click, to be aired as part of the BBC’s international news channel’s India Direct season, broadcasting in March.

About a month ago, Politico reported that some officials at Voice of America were concerned that the former reality-show personality might try to turn VOA into “an unfettered propaganda arm.” Politico published a follow-up piece yesterday on the state of those fears as a pair of political operatives from Trump’s campaign showed up at the VOA offices.

Is public diplomacy still relevant? This is a question often asked nowadays. [...] In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy is considered to be a form of communication with foreign public that establishes a dialog designed to inform and influence. "Today's myriad of international journalism outlets makes it increasingly challenging for U.S. government public diplomacy programs to capture global attention,"

President Donald Trump on Monday dispatched two aides to scope out the studios of Voice of America, heightening concerns among some longtime staffers that Trump may quickly put his stamp on the broadcasting arm that has long pushed U.S. democratic ideals across the world. The arrival of the two aides [...] comes after Voice of America received blowback over the weekend for sending out a series of tweets about White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s claims about inauguration crowd size that looked to some like an endorsement of his false statements.

Loosely based on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", the Ekta Kapoor produced "Kumkum Bhagya" -- or Vermillion in My Destiny -- has somehow struck a chord with Ghanaian audiences, said Abena Yiadom, Adom TV Channel Manager, adding that it is watched by "20 per cent of national audience". "Most Ghanaians relate well to the storyline which is about arranged marriages," Yiadom told IANS of the serial that has been on air with Twi language voice-overs since November 2015.