In Britain, there is now a cycle of Islamic scare stories so regular that it is almost comforting, like the changing of the seasons. Sadly, this rotation is not as natural, or as benign, although it is beginning to feel just as inevitable. We had the niqab winter last year, as the country lurched into the niqab debate for the second time in three years. Now we are in the spring of halal slaughter.

The best known – and, dare I say it, the most respected – example of public diplomacy broadcasting just ended. Did you notice? Don’t worry, you weren’t supposed to. You see, in April, after 75 years, the British government stopped directly funding the BBC World Service.

About a quarter of the world's population agrees that a number of negative statements about Jews are "probably true," according to a poll aimed at providing a statistical underpinning to the question of how widespread anti-Semitism is globally.  The League said its goal was to create a snapshot of anti-Semitic views in all parts of the world, to find ways to combat it, and to allow future surveys to measure whether, and where, the prejudice is rising or falling.

Vladimir Putin uses an invisible army of social media propagandists, in addition to conventional media, to support his narrative of an out-of-control Ukraine, to spread fabrications of atrocities by Ukrainian extremists, and to unleash destabilizing rumors on east Ukraine.

Ali Dawai is enormously popular on Facebook, with countless photos of the Iraqi provincial governor picking up rubbish or sipping tea with people while wearing his trademark blue boiler suit.Ali Dawai is enormously popular on Facebook, with countless photos of the Iraqi provincial governor picking up rubbish or sipping tea with people while wearing his trademark blue boiler suit.

With only two candidates, and a very likely winner, Egypt’s upcoming presidential election may not be the hottest of electoral races around.  But social media has found a way to spice things up by bringing a Hollywood star into the limelight.  Kevin Spacey has become the pick of many Twitter and Facebook users to become Egypt’s next president in a trending spoof campaign.

The crowd of roughly 10,000 fans cheered, and the lights glowed electric blue as a woman in a bright white gown introduced the next act in the giant auditorium here. “Please give it up now for Albania!” she shouted.

An upcoming game for Nintendo's handheld devices will let players enter a virtual world in which they make friends, flirt and can even get married and have kids.  But those romantic relationships can't be with characters of the same gender -- a fact a growing online movement hopes to change.