As the beautiful face of a nation, supermodel Bar Refaeli has few rivals. So Israel’s foreign ministry thought it was on to a winner this month when it picked the blond, blue-green-eyed, willowy, tall and curvy Refaeli to lead a public relations campaign highlighting Israel’s world-beating technologies. Instead, it sparked a bitter controversy about just who is a 'real' Israeli. The Israeli army attacked the proposal, saying that the 27-year-old Sports Illustrated cover girl was a draft dodger and a bad example to Israel’s youth.

Addressing a room of university students, Aya Kikuchi, a counselor, dished out tips for students bound for Canada. “One cultural thing to note is that there is a strong ‘ladies first’ orientation there,” she said at a meeting organized by Ryugaku Journal, an overseas study agency.

Georgia Department of Education officials are set to establish a cultural exchange program with South Korean leaders. Department of Education Spokesman Matt Cardoza says State Schools Superintendent John Barge will sign a memorandum of understanding Monday with South Korean Vice Minister of Education Ha Tae-Yun to establish the exchange program.

Obama was accompanied on a leisurely tour through Petra's steep red-rock formations by a University of Jordan tourism professor, with all other visitors kept well away -- except for a few stray cats. Soon after his stroll through arid the landscape, renowned for its colorful interplay of light and shadow, the president is due to return to Washington, DC.

This past January, as part of an economic diplomacy initiative, our embassy organized a campaign designed to deepen U.S.-Lao business ties and promote the newly-established Lao chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). The economy of Laos has emerged as an attractive investment opportunity for American businesses.

JSC Global Contact Consulting will initiate satellite broadcasting this month, starting with four Free-to-Air channels and progressively expanding to include both Georgian and international channels.

Turkey and Poland on Thursday signed a "Declaration of Will" for activities to mark the 600th year of diplomatic relations in 2014. A ceremony took place in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Thursday for the declaration. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu signed the declaration on behalf of Turkey and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski signed it on behalf of Poland..."This is an honoring moment for me. Our two countries have good relations in all fields," Davutoglu said.

The positive side of Pakistan is often overlooked in favour of negative news, the Pakistani Consul-General says as expatriates from that country celebrate their National Day today.The Embassy of Pakistan, the consulate and community organisations prepared a variety of programmes to mark National Day.