The U.S. State Department has recently decided to cut all funds for the George J. Mitchell Scholarship program for fiscal year 2013. Born out of the peace process in Northern Ireland in which former Sen. George Mitchell played a pivotal role, the Mitchell program at its inception was intended to strengthen and modernize the relationship between the island of Ireland and the United States.

...ICCR president Karan Singh said people have begun to think and talk about the day when India would emerge as a superpower, but its fundamental mantras are embedded in the simultaneous growth and expansion of the country... In all the countries of East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia, strong presence and influence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Indian culture had been found, he said.

Ambitious students are spending the hottest part of the summer drafting, redrafting and perfecting their applications to higher educations’ most elite scholarships. The deadlines aren’t until September or early October, but the clock started ticking when application forms went live months ago.

Panda diplomacy has become a pillar of China's soft power strategy, but the death of a week-old baby panda in Japan -- the first born to Tokyo's Ueno zoo in 24 years -- stands to disappoint those who hoped that its birth would motivate "people-to-people sentiment" and help overcome the strained China-Japan relationship.

Kevin Wang, another student said: "I can't imagine that I can fly 26 hours through half earth to The Gambia, and interact with students. The whole Africa is a secret and strange place to us. I'm looking forward to experience local culture and different lifestyle. I hope we can show them Taiwanese culture during the two weeks, and be friends even after this activity is over."

Hoi An City will host the annual Hoi An-Japan Cultural Exchange on August 24-26, the local culture and sport centre said yesterday. The event will mark the 39th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Japan (1973-2012) and lead up to their Year of Friendship in 2013.

The large number of Colombian eyeballs glued to a new prime-time telenovela about the life and times of Pablo Escobar, highlighted by actor Andrés Parra's bravura performance, shows that the late drug narco still fascinates more than 18 years after he died on a Medellin rooftop in a shoot-out with police.

Lim You-nam, a third year student majoring in communications at Yonsei University, visits the U.S. Yongsan Army Garrison once every week to teach a diplomat's wife Korean.