Supermodel Bar Refaeli was recently hired by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to appear in a pro-Israel PR campaign to boost the country’s image around the world. Refaeli’s international modeling success, recent Superbowl commercial, and appointment as Maxim’s Sexiest Woman in the World make the gorgeous Israeli a smart choice as the face of her native Holy Land… except the Israeli Defense Forces argue that she’s not a true Israeli.

Obama will not carry with him a detailed proposal for how Israelis and Palestinians might resume talks, such as the one he offered in 2010. He instead plans a listening tour in Jerusalem and in Ramallah to solicit views on what the two sides want and to explore what may be possible.

Marc Coleman is under the illusion that Brazil could become Ireland's 'El Dorado' (Sunday Independent, March 10, 2013). He states that '47 per cent of Brazil's 100 million population is middle class'. The census of 2010 gives Brazil's population as 190.8 million, not 100 million. It is absurd to think that this growing middle-class 'are crying out for what we (Ireland) want to export'.

Bar Refaeli to headline new official public diplomacy campaign highlighting Israeli technological breakthroughs and inventions • But some see her avoidance of military service as rendering her unsuitable to serve as an official, national symbol.

Qatar has become an example of peaceful co-existence within a multi-cultural society that hosts a large number of nationalities, a senior security official has said. As a clear indicator of this, Qatar assumed a leading position – for the fourth consecutive year - in the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2012 for Middle East and North Africa (Mena) - Qatar got the first position at the Arab level and 12th internationally, he said.

With temperatures in the 70s, over 150 participants, including Ambassador Robert Patterson, toed the starting line of the U.S. Embassy Ashgabat Turkmenistan Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon First Wave run on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

It was a St Patrick's Day celebration danced to a samba beat rather than a slip jig in Brazil last night as the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro turned green for Ireland's national holiday. The now annual 'greening' of landmarks around the world has gained further momentum.

The United States looks forward to timely, free and fair elections in Pakistan that will mark the country's first civilian-to-civilian democratic transition, the State Department said. "As you know, the Pakistani parliament is planning to complete its term tomorrow (Saturday). We look forward to timely, free and fair elections that'll result in the first civilian, democratic transition in Pakistan's history," Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.