Audiences for daytime shows have shrunk in the United States since the 1980s, as the number of channels increased and more women entered the workforce...By relegating soap operas to daytime television and female audiences and resisting changes to a formula that worked during the 1950s and 1960s, the United States could inadvertently relinquish a hefty, if unintentional, tool in its soft-power arsenal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Friday, found time for a bit of soccer diplomacy, wishing South Africa a “grand success” as it gears up to host the FIFA World Cup...At a joint press meet with South African President Jacob Zuma, Manmohan Singh said: "In a week from now, South Africa will host the football World Cup. On behalf of the people of India, I have conveyed our best wishes to President Zuma for its grand success."

Sake is gradually increasing its presence at banquets where Japanese government leaders play host to foreign dignitaries...sake has begun to be included among other beverages at dinners and receptions amid growing calls from within the ministry to actively push sake in the field of diplomacy.

A seminar on the promotion of post-war Vietnamese literature in the US and other countries was held in the northern province of Hoa Binh on June 2 with the participation of Vietnamese and US writers. The seminar...underlined the role of Vietnamese writers and poets in promoting Vietnam’s image to foreign countries.

But it was her second stop at Luoyang, Henan Province, that was the highlight of this visit. There she inaugurated the new $4 million Buddhist complex adjoining the historic White Horse Temple, built in the Indian style.

I'm honored to join you this evening, and to salute the leadership of the Asia Society and the College Board for convening this conversation on learning Chinese and thinking globally.

Pacific Palisades and Agrigento, Italy, have a couple of things in common. The Palisades has the Getty Villa, where Greco-Roman antiquities reign supreme, while Agrigento was a leading Sicilian city during the expansive reign of ancient Greece.

My interest has stemmed from a curiosity about how you can engage in discussions about international affairs that preach beyond the choir and involve non-traditional stakeholders in non-traditional diplomacy.