"A fragile Israeli coalition government leans toward the views of its members from the nationalist and religious right, creating a challenge for diplomats seeking to build support for U.S. policies," the inspector-general said.

“We have been doing several cultural exchange programmes with Zimbabwe. This country has strong historical and cultural background. We are very happy to bring a wide range of American artists here to share and learn from Zimbabwe,” he said.

Voice of Russia, Russia’s state-funded radio station, is taking a new approach to informing Americans: using American and Russian voices to broadcast international news from American soil. For the first time since its beginnings in 1929, Voice of Russia will broadcast to Americans...

The mainstream western media has willfully ignored the continued abuses in Bahrain, and al Jazeera...has also been conspicuously silent...Fortunately, courageous activists on the ground have linked up with concerned citizens from around the world to create awareness for ordinary people removed by thousands of miles and blinded by the smokescreen of media obfuscation.

Social media allowed an ''unprecedented'' two-way exchange of information between the public and those given the task of preparing for and responding to major events such as earthquakes, floods and infection pandemics, said researchers. The technology allowed officials to ''push'' information to the public while at the same time ''pulling'' in valuable data from bystanders.

APDS Blogger: Kimberly DeGroff Madsen

Shimkus, who also served as commanding officer of the U.S. medical ship Comfort, said the United States must not only focus on its military might, but also on its humanitarian power, by providing health care, infrastructure and other aid to people who need it.