public opinion

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.

 Michelle Obama added her voice to worldwide calls for the safe return of over 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. The First Lady tweeted: 'Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls." The tweet was signed "-mo," indicating that she sent it herself.

On Thursday, China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency unveiled an ongoing feature entitled “New Silk Road, New Dreams.” The series promises to “dig up the historical and cultural meaning of the Silk Road, and spread awareness of China’s friendly policies towards neighboring countries.” The first article [Chinese] was titled  “How Can the World Be Win-Win? China Is Answering the Question.”

Think of the First World War and what are the words that come to mind?

The online ruckus over the planned Philippine Independence Day celebration on Orchard Road in Singapore is the latest ominous sign of rising xenophobia in the prosperous city state.

A House of Lords committee led by Lord Howell produced a major report on the UK’s ‘soft power’ last month

It is a matter of confidence, credibility and trust. Whatever be the political hue of the next government and whoever its leader, the challenge will be to reinvigorate investor confidence in the political stewardship of the economy, restore the credibility of the executive and rebuild trust in the sanctity of policy and contracts.

Even though Western music and movies are a major export to the Middle East, many people there support censoring these programs if they are deemed offensive. This is one of several findings in a new study on Middle Eastern media habits by Northwestern University in Qatar.

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