“I replied to them that in my personal opinion, the further Israeli films move away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the better they are, the more credible they are and the more artistic they are...Levy, who has apparently confused hasbara – so-called “public diplomacy” – with art, continued: “This is the reason there are so many films dealing with great relish with the Palestinian victim – uprooting of trees...discrimination and so on. But there are very few Israeli films dealing with the Israeli victim.

When John Kerry took to Twitter on his first day as US secretary of state, he joined an army of diplomats using social media to reach out and connect directly with people around the world. “Exhilarating to walk into @StateDept today and get to work with remarkable team. Dad on mind! -JK,” Kerry wrote in his first personal tweet.

For an artifact with such an awesome legacy, the Cyrus Cylinder is remarkably unprepossessing. It looks like a small loaf of rye bread from which someone has broken off a chunk. Yet this nine-inch long piece of baked clay inscribed with cuneiform script — which begins a five-city tour of the United States in Washington this week -- has inspired religious and political thinkers from ancient times through the drafters of the US Constitution and the founders of modern-day Israel.

China continues to pursue a peaceful rise and cooperative relations, but it has to defend its territorial integrity and core interests. In the next five to 10 years, China needs to address domestic concerns and clear any misunderstandings the outside world may have about its peaceful path of development.

The Academy Awards’ “Best Picture” tells the story of the rescue of six U.S. diplomats during the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-80. But, for all that it’s a movie about diplomats, it tells nothing of the men and women who represent the United States abroad, the challenges they face and how prepared – or ill prepared – they are to face those challenges, says Nicholas Kralev, an expert on international affairs and diplomacy and author of a new book, “America’s Other Army: The U.S. Foreign Service and 21st Century Diplomacy."

The recent death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from cancer comes as no great surprise. The former military leader had rarely been seen in the public eye since December last year when he travelled to Cuba for surgery, and premature rumours about his death have been circulating for months. But his shadow now looms large over South America, standing with the likes of famous Latin American leaders like Che Guevara, Juan Peron and Fidel Castro.

When John Kerry took to Twitter on his first day as US secretary of state, he joined an army of diplomats using social media to reach out and connect directly with people around the world. "Exhilarating to walk into @StateDept today and get to work with remarkable team. Dad on mind! -JK," Kerry wrote in his first personal tweet.

More than 300 people were at the Show Me Center on Thursday night to hear former skating champion Michelle Kwan deliver her thoughts about "Aspiring to Greatness: What it Takes to Win." "I'm curious about her message of what it takes to succeed," said Rui Li, a sophomore at Southeast Missouri State University from Beijing, China, before Kwan's appearance. "I think it will relate to her success as a skater and to what she does now."