Turkey stands at the world’s crossroads, both geographically and culturally. The country straddles the continents of Europe and Asia and is a contentious candidate for European Union membership.
An Egyptian protester chants slogans and waves a national flag in front of a minaret at Cairo's Tahrir Square. The country experienced a flourishing of new media outlets after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
The dramatically swift democratic reform in Myanmar has been the geopolitical surprise of the past year. The new government -- headed by former military Thein Sein -- freed thousands of political prisoners and signed truces with rebel groups.
The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, had the media’s support when he was elected five years ago, promising a citizen’s revolution that would take advantage of the country’s natural resources to lift people out of poverty.
More than a year has passed since South Sudan voted to secede from Sudan and become an independent country. But after months of escalating tension, the two Sudans are once again on the brink of an all-out war.
When two high-speed trains collided on a bridge in southwestern China, the first report from the scene came from a victim, one minute later. Her Twitter-style post ended with a dramatic cry for help.
Nigeria appears to be on the verge of a civil war. The instigator of escalating sectarian conflict seems to be a militant Islamic sect known as the Boko Haram.
