“We have asked Mr. Blair and Mr. Hitchens to wrestle with the more immediate question facing developed and developing nations: Is religion a force for peace or conflict in the modern world?”

Experts have talked about winning the “hearts and minds" of populations around the globe for decades. Yet today after continued application of this theory, America and it allies have won neither the trust nor the support from many of the world’s most disaffected peoples. Indeed many feel great distrust.

German Ambassador to Tehran Bernd Erbel has denounced Western media propaganda against the Islamic Republic as “unreal”, saying Iran is a unique country in the Middle East. It is necessary to make constant efforts to amend the "incorrect" understanding by Western media of Iran, IRNA quoted Erbel as saying...

In a recent CBS Sunday Morning program on The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quite rationally asserts, "I think there are certainly times music conveys American values better than a speech."

The New York Times reported recently on a Pew Research Center poll in which religious people turned out to be remarkably uninformed about religion. Almost half of Catholics didn’t understand Communion. Most Protestants didn’t know that Martin Luther started the Reformation. Almost half of Jews didn’t realize Maimonides was Jewish. And atheists were among the best informed about religion.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the pope thanking him for opposing a Florida pastor's threat to burn the Quran and calling for cooperation against secularism, the Vatican and the Iranian presidency said Saturday.

For science and technology to contribute to development goals, countries must embrace a 'science culture' — a scientifically enlightened society where research findings can be better and more efficiently used to produce goods and services

After decades of peace and growing prosperity, the strategic environment in Asia is increasingly marked by tension and rivalry. China's rise as an economic and military power has forced its neighbors to reassess their relative standing.