After nearly three years of political tension, diplomatic maneuvering, and back-channel negotiations, Israel has formally apologized to Turkey for the killing of nine Turkish citizens onboard the ship Mavi Marmara in 2010. On behalf of the Turkish people, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted Israel’s apology.

Mark McDowell, counselor and head of the public diplomacy department at its embassy in Beijing will soon be Canada's first ever full time ambassador to Burma, Canada's foreign affairs ministry has said. Given the fact that Burma enjoys favorable relationship with Beijing, Canada has apparently chosen its Beijing officer to lead its embassy in Burma as he is not just familiar with the Chinese politics but is also said to be familiar with the ongoing contemporary issues in Burma.

Russia on Saturday called for "maxim responsibility and restraint," after North Korea declared it was in a "state of war" with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington against any provocation. "We expect all sides to show maximum responsibility and restraint and that no-one will cross the line after which there will be no return," Grigory Logvinov, a Russian foreign ministry pointman on North Korea, told the Interfax news agency.

The United States is deliberately sparring with Al-Qaeda supporters and militants online aiming to shoot down extremist messages and win over hearts and minds, a US official said yesterday. Seeking out the virtual spaces where "Al-Qaeda and its supporters lurk" is part of America's strategy to combat violent extremism, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine told students at the University of Maryland.

The Foreign Affairs department has confirmed Canada's choice for its first-ever resident ambassador to the burgeoning democracy of Burma. Mark McDowell, who currently works in the Canadian embassy in China, has officially been named to the post. His selection as the first Canadian ambassador to live in the country had previously been reported by media in Burma, a country also known as Myanmar.

I want to take you inside the space that public diplomacy is uniquely positioned to address – not only in the short term, but in the mid and long term. And today, I want to talk about the ways public diplomacy augments and complements our efforts to counter violent extremism, how we measure its effectiveness, and why that’s so important to our national interests.

In the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology Friday to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard the 2010 Gaza flotilla, the two countries have set the wheels in motion to pay compensation over the deaths, with Israel set to pay out as much as tens of millions of dollars, according to sources in Turkey.

APDS Blogger: Danni Li