In a statement, founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt said that they are "proud and pleased" by the takeover, noting that the two news agencies share similar goals. Al Jazeera plans to discontinue Current's programming -- including a primetime lineup of liberal hosts -- and replace it with its own broadcasts.

Chinese netizens gave a mixed reaction to an article carried by U.S.-based Washington Times that lauded the impact of Taiwan's soft power on China. The article , 'Only Taiwan' holds any reins on China, cited Steven S. F. Chen, former Taiwan representative to the United States and now an adviser to President Ma Ying-jeou, as saying that Taiwan is "the only force on Earth that may have an impact on the future political development of China."

Forecasting the major international stories for the year ahead is a time-honored pastime, but the world has a habit of springing surprises. In late 1988, no one was predicting Tiananmen Square or the fall of the Berlin Wall. On the eve of 2001, the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan were unimaginable. So with that substantial disclaimer, let's peer into the misty looking glass for 2013.

Forecasting the major international stories for the year ahead is a time-honored pastime, but the world has a habit of springing surprises. In late 1988, no one was predicting Tiananmen Square or the fall of the Berlin Wall. On the eve of 2001, the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan were unimaginable. So with that substantial disclaimer, let's peer into the misty looking glass for 2013.

China's ambassador to the UK defended the country's internet crackdowns on Friday during an interview with the BBC. Liu Xiao Ming told Newsnight's Gavin Essler that there was a "misperception" about the internet in China and the way the Communist Party dealt with it. He also denied that it was difficult for Chinese bloggers to publish their opinions because of crackdowns on free speech.

The aggressively waged cultural war campaign against Iranian media, or research projects and other intellectual-cultural activities, should be understood with such a clarity as that of a cultural war against Iranian efforts to reach to the western masses conducted by the west simply because the western states does not want to have a third-party breaking their monopoly to communicate [lies] liberally and unchallenged to their western masses.

The open Internet, available to people around the world without the permission of any government, was a great liberation. It was also too good to last. Authoritarian governments this month won the first battle to close off parts of the Internet.

Audiences in Burma will soon have a new way to watch Voice of America television programs following a breakthrough agreement between the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. government agency responsible for VOA, and Sky Net, a regional direct-to-home satellite provider.