Oxfam, one of the UK’s biggest charities, plans to harness the power of the smartphone to bring donors closer to its work. The global poverty reduction charity is launching an app, My Oxfam, that it says will make donating easy and rewarding. The app will also bring supporters closer to the charity’s projects, offer a new level of transparency around its work, and aims to help regain donors’ trust.

Real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi and his wife donated $10 million to Yale University on Wednesday, drawing harsh criticism from some commentators and netizens. Many have said: Why not donate to schools in China? (...) Pan's decision is a reflection of China's rising soft power thanks to the more than three decades of fast-paced economic growth.