“There was a realization among the decision-makers that English needed a presence on Israel TV in prime time – for Israel’s image and for the sake of local English speakers, the foreign press and diplomats.”[...] I told numerous IBA heads that we could be the English equivalent of Al Jazeera and could fight the hasbara (public diplomacy) battle through solid Israel-perspective journalism."

Is "poverty porn" making a comeback? That's the term that some people used back in the 1980s to describe attention-grabbing fundraising ads […] Back then, the media were filled with images of starving African children in desperate need of food, seemingly all alone in the world. And folks in the West were invited to save them from their misery.

A recent proposal of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to this effect received a big thumbs-up from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now the ministry has started planning the dedicated corpus — funded by the government and the film industry — to finance full-fledged publicity campaigns for India’s entries in the run-up to the Academy Awards. 

Walk with Al Jazeera’s Basma Atassi in Mecca, as she takes you on a tour to see the major landmarks that millions of Muslims visit during the period of Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage.

Sydneysider Nicola Gray uses a new online photography project to introduce her Facebook audience to an Australian refugee—a “New Human of Australia”—every few days.

I [Giorgos Moutafis] have documented violence, despair and helplessness with my lens more times than I can possibly remember. But I have honestly never seen anything like that before: terrified and beleaguered people trying to cross the borders, children screaming and crying and families being separated between the two countries. 

If you have even a passing interest in country music, you'll have heard of Don Williams or Dolly Parton but get ready for some new names courtesy of Nairobi's blooming country music scene. Focus on Africa's Kim Chakanetsa is a closet country fan - and she's been in Kenya, learning about the country's love of country.