China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes. This has become particularly poignant at a time when, in stark contrast, the U.S. public diplomacy enterprise is facing shrinking budgets.

China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes.

In an event held as part of the first ever US-organised Press Freedom Day (PFD) conference, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said press freedom is vital for human development and security across the globe, adding that violations to fundamental human rights cannot go unanswered.

But as the turbulence in Syria and international outrage over the hundreds killed gain momentum, many Iranian diplomats, pundits and academics can evade the question no longer. In an interview on Iran's Arabic-language Alam TV on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast... vaguely and tactfully stated that Iran respected the sovereignty of other countries.

Day to day we each have our routines and along the way are bombarded by images, messages, and endless information. But what breaks through the information overload and influences us? What captures our attention, our imagination and ultimately lodges itself in our memory?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately on what influences us. Day to day we each have our routines and along the way are bombarded by images, messages, and endless information. But what breaks through the information overload and influences us? What captures our attention, our imagination and ultimately lodges itself in our memory? Maybe I’m paying closer attention to the details of everyday more acutely after reading Joe Nye’s latest book The Future of Power.

When Lord Patten went before the Commons culture, media and sport select committee last month to lay out his credentials as the new chairman of the BBC Trust, he deliberately alighted on a key issue for programme makers and viewers: whether the BBC has become too risk-averse in its commissioning.

The soft-launch ceremony of the first-ever mobile newspaper in sub-Saharan Africa, Xinhua Mobile Newspaper, is held on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya, which enables about 17 million Kenyan mobile subscribers to receive news from China’s Xinhua News Agency via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).