China’s quest for “soft power” in recent years is a direct consequence of its dramatic economic transformation over the last several decades. It is now an all-too-familiar story of how China is vigorously pursuing image-building efforts, from the global expansion of its media properties to the rapid growth of the Confucius Institutes.

Britons have a "lot to look forward to" next year following the successful "dry run" of the royal wedding in London, David Cameron said. The Prime Minister said both the London Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 would be a "fantastic opportunity" to "show all faces of Britain, both modern and traditional".

Daniel Barenboim, the Israeli conductor, led an orchestra of two dozen elite musicians — volunteers from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Staatskapelle, the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris — into Gaza on Tuesday.

Good cultural diplomacy is always drawn from the unique.  American country music is one area that projects a wholly American image of the rugged hero sitting high in the saddle or a scorned yet powerful woman singing about lost love. Country songs are about what the French would call la condition humaine, universal stories strummed on a guitar. As such, country music has a vast global appeal.

How country music shapes America's brand status. 

Last year more than 57 million Chinese traveled outside the country, making the Chinese now the world's fourth biggest spenders on tourism. My uneasiness stems from the fact that Chinese tourists of tomorrow are quickly becoming the successors to the "ugly Americans" of the last century.

The Israel Film Festival is produced by IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization created in 1982. The 25th Anniversary festival is presented in association with the Government of Israel, Consulate General of Israel in New York, Israel Film Fund, Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs...

Prince William to Catherine Middleton’s spectacular Royal event delivered hundreds of millions of pounds in extra revenue for memorabilia manufacturers, and a major tourism boost for the British capital. Across the world, millions still come to understand Britain through the monarchy.