On July 29, at the launch of the TV docu-mentary series Walk into Israel-The Land of Milk and Honey, around 450 people enjoyed a virtual tour of Israel to experience the art, music, history and faith of its people. "The documentary series is a window which shows the miracle that is Israel to the Chinese," said Le Qiliang, a Chinese audience member.

...Asif Riza Mir, producer of the Pakistani TV series "Yariyan" (Friendships) and "Hal-i Dil" (State of the Heart) said Pakistani TV producers had decided to shoot their series in Istanbul as it was a well-known in Pakistan for its unique beauty. "I am happy that I influenced more than 50 million Pakistanis to love Istanbul," Mir said.

The introduction of television was a defining moment in Egypt and the Arab world. "We launched television in Libya, in Kuwait, in Aleppo and in Syria. We emerged as the cultural beacon of the Arab world," Abdel-Qader Hatem, Egypt's and the Arab world's first minister of information told Al-Ahram Weekly.

[But] Turkish television has given the soap a fresh twist by making the connivers, kidnappers and canoodlers Muslims. And it is Arab audiences, even more than Turks, who have been swept off their feet...Through the small screen, Turkey has begun to exercise a big influence at Arab dinner tables, in boardrooms and bedrooms from Morocco to Iraq. Politics and culture go hand in hand, here as elsewhere.

What do the following have in common? Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and North Korea’s sentencing of the two American female journalists to hard labor.

Answer: Each is relevant to Current TV, a U.S. satellite TV channel and Web site.