Since last year, there have been speculations as to whether the fire of Arab Spring would spread to China, where fast economic growth has evidently given rise to the demand for greater political participation. In my view, the chance of this is quite low. The eruption of a revolution usually calls for three socio-political conditions. First and foremost, only when the masses have nothing to lose will they choose to revolt.

Honduras is under siege. Its judicial system is almost completely dysfunctional, and more than 10,000 complaints of human rights abuses by state security forces have been filed in the last three years, according to the Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras. At least 23 journalists have been killed since 2009. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have all raised grave concerns about the country's dire situation.

As reported by The Heritage Foundation’s Jim Roberts, the State Department three months ago changed the format of one of its better products, the country-by-country Background Notes to a format allegedly more in tune with the times. The Background Notes have been used for decades by diplomats, researchers, educators, and students. They provide in-depth information in easily digestible form, covering history, economics, demographics, culture, politics, and much besides.

Earlier this week, more than 20 Zimbabwean police officers raided the office of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), claiming they were looking for undisclosed “data.” This was the latest in a series of police crackdowns on the LGBT organization, which have included unwarranted arrests and beatings.

A parliamentary inquiry has criticised the waste of more than $1 million in taxpayers' money by the Gillard government in its botched tender for Australia's television service into Asia. The Australia Network saga last year saw public broadcaster the ABC pitted against rival station Sky News, part-owned by News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch, in a contest over a $223 million contract to run the service.

The spat between Japan and South Korea over two islets, known as Dokdo in Korean, Takeshima in Japanese, and Liancourt Rocks in some international registers, has been propelled into global headlines by an unusual convergence of events.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is going to restore relations with Russia through public diplomacy. He said this at a meeting with the Gordi villagers in Khoni district. According to him, many Russian tourists began to come to Georgia, who was surprised to observe that process of construction, which is conducted in the country.

The deteriorating political and security situation in Syria, viewed in the light of the failure by the Security Council to facilitate an inclusive political dialogue between President Bashar Al Assad and the rather fragmented opposition rebel forces, reinforces the impression that this most pre-eminent organ of the UN may have lost its most important ‘soft power’ resource: its moral authority.