You’ve got to feel sorry for Australia’s public international television service, Australia Network. Launched by the Keating government in 1994 under the name Australia Television, its short life has been blighted with funding cuts, death threats, name changes and a failed outsourcing effort. Its most recent adventure was the messy tender tempest to determine who should be awarded the new contract to manage the network.

Last week in Jordan, 50 women from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia, Yemen and the United States came together to map out ways in which they could use the TechWomen network to encourage more women and girls to pursue professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM).

Sixteen Moldovan journalists and civil society activists, keen on using media as a tool to make government more transparent, have just completed a Broadcasting Board of Governors-sponsored workshop that focused on using mobile phones and new media tools to promote the free flow of information.

Alhurra’s ground-breaking program Rayheen ala Feen? (Arabic for “Where Are We Going?”) is being broadcast in primetime on the entertainment/news channel Al Hayat-1 (red channel), one of the most popular channels in Egypt.

To enhance cultural exchanges between India and the United States of America, the Union Ministry of Culture and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (MMA) today signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) here. The agreement was signed by Dr. Venu Vasudevan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India and Thomas P. Campbell, Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

An exhibition of Peranakan art and artifacts such as porcelain and beadwork has gone on display at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, as part of cross-cultural exchange between Singapore and Korea. 'The Peranakan World: Cross-Cultural Art from Singapore and the Straits' was developed by the Asian Civilisations Museum here, and will be on show at the Korean national museum till May 19.

As US President Barack Obama's visit to Israel and the West Bank draws near, political instability in the region is believed to be a major talk during his three-day stay, besides his wish to introduce his new team and to garner more popularity among the Israelis after re-election. Obama's trip is "a combination of diplomacy and public diplomacy," Prof. Eytan Gilboa of the Bar-Ilan University said of the landmark visit, Obama's first to Israel as president.