If the idea of Brand Bengaluru conjures up images of glittering high-rises, a shining IT sector and bad traffic, think again! Brand expert Harish Bijoor, who runs a brand consulting outfit from Bengaluru, has a very different notion of the word ‘branding’. The image of a city, he maintains, is more than its infrastructure, causes and shortcomings

Attracting young talent is now a mounting task for leaders around the world and Seoul is no exception. That was the topic at a meeting of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council (SIBAC), a group of 25 volunteer advisors that gives the mayor policy recommendations, Friday.

Global trends will bring to the fore cities and city governments as the new actors in international relations and diplomacy. Those trends are: the increasing urgency of urban development and the globalization of cities.

The choice between Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan is the centerpiece of the weeklong meetings in the Malaysian capital. The executive board and later the full IOC membership will also receive status updates on preparations for next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Outside of the Western world, a handful of cities are fast becoming important global business players. Some of their home countries are recognizing that power and seek to create a multi-polar world that isn't so reliant on the U.S. and Europe. These are the power cities outside of the core economies of the west.

For the next two weeks, organizers of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon are hoping the event will keep plenty of people in the port city, if not draw them from the capital. Incheon, about 25 kilometers west of Seoul and home to three million people, is ready to step out of the shadow of its giant neighbor and make a name for itself by hosting Asia’s biggest sporting event starting Friday.