Cultural Diplomacy

A video of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev getting down to the 1990s Russian pop hit "American Boy" (sadly, not the Estelle/Kayne version with which most American viewers are familiar) has gone viral since being posted to YouTube Tuesday:

Tunisia and Ishinomaki, one of the hardest hit towns, have over the past two decades developed a strong bond, albeit an unusual one in being between a country and a small town. Ishinomaki has named three streets after Tunisia, and as one Japanese blogger put it, the relationship is like "true love between lovers hailing from different classes."

"Chinese film-makers are going to shoot a documentary about Baku, the soundtrack of which will be a Chinese song about Baku performed by [Azerbaijani singer] Rashid Behbudov," Valeriy Ruzin, president of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio and a member of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, told a press conference in Baku.

In their quest to accord further impetus to ties between Indian and Pakistan after cricket diplomacy somewhat thawed them, the hockey honchos of the two countries are mulling giving another push to the bilateral relations later this year.

The local government, though, is keen to promote Jeju’s other charms, from its lava caves to its beaches to its seafood, as it spearheads South Korea’s campaign to transform itself into a major tourist destination. “Visit Korea” is a two-year, government-sponsored promotion currently under way to push another side of the country...

He also said that Taiwan was willing to increase the number of scholarships for outstanding students from allied nations hoping to complete their university education in Taiwan in either Mandarin Chinese or English. Meanwhile, President Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday that soft power is the key to winning respect from other nations.

Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester and year home-stay programs, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families. The students are anxiously awaiting news of their new families.

It’s not a freedom fighter atop a tank but a young bohemian woman in Benghazi reviving a carnival banned by Gaddafi and singing songs of protest. Ann Marlowe reports on an extraordinary utopian moment in the free city.

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