Russia has been doing its best to suppress American influence here, but somehow it must have managed to overlook a woman in a bright red dress, with a commanding voice, operating on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the University of Iowa, celebrates the conclusion of this year’s International Writing Program with public events in Washington, D.C. and New York City. The International Writing Program is an 80-day, U.S. based-residency for creative writing professionals.

Programme fellows will meet once every two weeks to learn things such as “techniques of hasbara, standing before an audience...image of Israel in the world, Palestinian society and key topics in the world of diplomacy.” Fellows are promised “strategic tours to ‘burning’ sites on the public agenda” and encounters with “spokespersons and experts amongst the best in their fields.”

New Delhi: More than 50 protestors under the banner of the Indian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCABI) Sunday demanded boycott of a musical production by the Israeli ensemble Cameri Theatre here because the theatre group allegedly serves as a propaganda tool for the state of Israel.

Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance visited his Tunisian counterpart on Sunday. The Iranian minister said that Iran is ready to cooperate with Tunisia for translating precious Iranian works into Arabic.

On 2 November, Maltese pianist Caroline Calleja performed in Washington D.C. to an audience that included members of the diplomatic community and music lovers. The concert was part of this year’s edition of the Embassy Series and took place at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia.

The conference was opened with a welcome speech from the Advisor to HM the King and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Derasat, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar, in which he described a strategic triangle, Iran, the GCC and the USA that defines the current balance of regional security.

“If you tap this untapped resource, it would be incredibly valuable for the economy of Slovakia,” adds Sedgwick, the US Ambassador to Slovakia who, along with encouraging women’s entrepreneurship, has been preoccupied with explaining different aspects of the presidential elections in his homeland for the Slovak audience, which, he says displays considerable interest in the American presidential race.