The tiny café was set for an event: Chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, and on each table were plates of pie and cheesecake. [...] The guest of honor, Elias Zananiri, had made the trip from Ramallah on behalf of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of recent initiative by Palestinian officials to hold parlor meetings with Israelis.

Members of the Senior Public Diplomacy Group headed by Choi Ha-kyung welcomed guests and speakers to the Annual Korean Culture & Heritage Dinner Party at Ibis Myeongdong Ambassador Hotel in Seoul on Thursday night.

Ali Güreli, the founder and chairman of the Contemporary Istanbul art fair, emphasizes the importance of contemporary art and speaks about new projects and how to better circulate Turkish contemporary art internationally.

“This is part of one of the most important things that we do, which is cultural diplomacy, and we have a programme already in the embassies which brings together a very robust and dynamic partnership between US embassies and missions around the world and artists and galleries and cultural institutions,” she [Leaf] said.

A highly-anticipated appearance in Beijing by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favorite girl band was abruptly cancelled Saturday, hours before the group was set to perform and with no official explanation given. [...] the group — which was accompanied by an army orchestra, the State Merited Chorus – arrived in Beijing on Thursday and was expected to stay until next Tuesday on what the North Korean official news agency KCNA described as a “friendship visit” to China.

With an eye on giving impetus to neighborhood first policy amid thaw in ties with Pakistan, India will host South Asian Games (SAG) in Guwahati and Shillong from Feb 6-16 2016. Delhi hopes that the Games will enhance people-to-people and youth links among eight South Asian countries in the spirit of Modi government's importance to neighboring states.