South Korea's president on Friday made a surprise, election-year visit to islets also claimed by Japan, which quickly reasserted its sovereignty there, recalled its ambassador from Seoul and warned that the trip would worsen the countries' strained relations. President Lee Myung-bak's trip to the tiny, rocky outcroppings between the countries was the first by a South Korean president, officials in his office said.

Relations between Indonesia and Namibia have matured to a point of good friendship since they were inaugurated 21 years ago. It was their historical background that initially helped lay the foundation for close ties between the two countries. Back then, Indonesia, being a promoter of decolonization of all Asian and African nations, was working together with SWAPO in the UN forum during the struggle for Namibia’s liberation. After independence, the two countries witnessed huge changes and progress.

China's government already encourages participant sports as an enduring piece of its diplomacy that calls on citizens to understand the world as is and then conquer a piece of it. Children eagerly attach to soccer as taught in school or to basketball as seen on television. Their elders play ping pong or badminton in public parks, with grimaces revealing a passion to win, not just have fun. The government grooms its top athletes at specialized universities to play in international events.

After Japan, now the Dutch fashion industry collaborates with Indian designers for a collection that will debut on the opening day of WIFW Spring Summer 2013, starting Oct 6.
Co-initiated by the FDCI foundation, HTNK Fashion recruitment and consultancy foundation and House of Denim, the programme is titled "Dutch Fashion Here & Now India" (DFH&NI). It will see Indian names Suneet Varma, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna teaming up with Dutch fashion house.

The governor’s office released the following statement on the Enterprise Florida trade mission headed by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to Trinidad and Tobago: This week Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll embarked on a trade mission to Trinidad, West Indies. She was accompanied by 27 Florida businesses representing 23 industries. Hoping to expand trade, Florida businesses were able to have one-on-one “matchmaker” meetings with local Trinidad businesses. The participants stated that the trade mission exceeded all of their expectations and were very pleased to have the Lt.

In early August, Nizhny Novgorod hosted an international conference on the future of the Eurasian Union, "Public Diplomacy and Eurasian Rapprochement: Supporters and Skeptics". Experts from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Moldova discussed the current problems of integration in the former Soviet Union. The organizer of the event was the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.

The practice of public diplomacy has evolved over past decades towards countries such as Egypt. From cultural exchanges and international development efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Jimmy Carter peace initiatives with the U.S. and other allies, the relations between the U.S. and Egypt have been defined by numerous public diplomacy initiatives. Likewise, the challenges the U.S. faces in engaging and “winning” audiences in the Middle East have also drastically changed, over the last ten years.

While the athletes have been competing for medals at the London Olympics, their countries have been duking it out in a different type of games. Think of it as the Branding Olympics, with the competitors being more than 40 national hospitality houses set up across London to host VIPs and medalists, welcome visitors and showcase what the countries have to offer.