More than previous Middle East military campaigns, and the round-the-clock public relations efforts, this battle was accentuated by technology. Palestinians with cellphone cameras documented bomb blasts and surrender flags; Israel Defense Forces soldiers were ordered to film firefights as evidence to later rebut any war crimes charges.

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The Korean government yesterday set in motion an ambitious project to raise the international profile of the country, whose image abroad lags painfully behind its achievement in economics, democracy and diplomatic clout. "Korea's national brand is seriously weak and the country's image does not compare with its national power. This is one of the tasks that the nation should address most urgently, as it strives to leap into the ranks of the world's most advanced countries," said Euh Yoon-dae, chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, which was formally launched yesterday.

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The British Council will expand its operations in China and scholarships for Chinese students to go to the UK will not be cut down despite the tough time in 2009 due to the economic downturn, said Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the organization on Jan. 20 during his visit to China. While in most other countries the British Council tends to choose to promote only a part of their programs, when it comes to China the institution aims at implementing a full range of their projects. "To the UK, very few countries have the same importance that China has," Mr. Davidson said.

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The Lee Myung-bak administration launched a presidential council Thursday to upgrade Korea's international status and improve its image overseas. Former Korea University President Euh Yoon-dae became the first chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, which includes eight ministers and several PR experts from the country's leading enterprises. "We will start various projects to promote Korea's global image and make it a more respected country," Euh said in a speech to mark the opening of the council's office in Seoul.

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Clinton's mandate from Obama is to step up diplomatic efforts and restore the nation's tattered image overseas. She has vowed to make use of "smart power" to deal with international challenges. "At the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people," she told the assembled throng. "And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new administration."

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The head of Miami-based Radio and TV Martí will stay on in his post -- at least temporarily -- despite an administration change in Washington that was expected to result in a resignation for the political appointee. Pedro Roig, director of the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, was asked to stay on by the federal agency that controls Radio and TV Martí, and is traveling to Washington, D.C., on Monday to meet with the officials who oversee his operation.

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Evidence suggests that Israel's public diplomacy efforts during Operation Cast Lead were planned as professionally and precisely as the IDF's military operation. Clearly, both in terms of media relations and information security, lessons have been learned from past experience. Israel put in place what seems to be a well-oiled, focused, disciplined and well-navigated public diplomacy bureaucracy that disseminates messages and supporting materials in a timely and organized way.

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In a region where people overwhelmingly disapprove of American policy toward the Arab world, Oprah has quietly emerged as a better cultural ambassador than any public diplomacy effort in recent memory. As the months passed, I heard more from fans of Oprah. They are women representing a spectrum of class and religious orientation — conservative women, veiled women, liberal women and even women who don’t speak much English but read the Arabic subtitles.

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