As the Obama administration rethinks its strategy for South Asian engagement, and Senator John Kerry assumes his duties as Secretary of State, a more "naturalized" approach to diplomacy should be considered. Despite their many differences, South Asia's acrimonious nations are tied together by ecological factors which can provide fertile ground for regional cooperation, thereby building trust in other areas and reducing chances of greater conflict.

Pianist Herbie Hancock will celebrate the special connection between Turkey and jazz music forged decades ago when the Turkish ambassador opened his residence to white and black musicians at a time when segregation held sway in the U.S. capital.

The year-long celebrations of Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary is set to be a key element in India's cultural diplomacy this year and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will use Bengal as its most important resource base while organizing events across the world.

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke for nearly 30 minutes Sunday about the civil war in Syria and North Korea's recent nuclear test, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. The two agreed to look for a date in the next several weeks for their first meeting since Kerry took over as the top U.S. diplomat, Nuland added.

The itinerary and agenda for President Obama's trip to Israel next month is still being hammered out by teams on both sides. But the visit already has an official name, and by the end of the week, it will have a logo too. Past presidential or dignitary visits to Israel have been named, but mostly by the police, who code-named their operation to secure President George W. Bush's visit "Clear Skies" and Pope Benedict XVI's tour as "White Robe."

“IT is not going too far to say that American foreign policy has become completely subservient to tactical domestic political considerations.” This stern verdict comes from Vali Nasr, who spent two years working for the Obama administration before becoming dean of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Waiting for David in the concrete bowels of the Parc des Princes is a sweaty affair. More than 400 journalists have packed into a press room which can comfortably take 200 and usually attracts 20. The boy David – at 37, there is something still irresistibly boyish about Beckham – has been undergoing a medical at the hospital where Diana, Princess of Wales, died in August 1997.

After the latest nuclear experiment conducted by North Korea that consisted of detonating a nuclear device underground close to the Chinese border, more and more Chinese people are having second thoughts in regards to the once tight relationship between the two countries. China is considered to be the biggest supporter of the North Korean state and one of the only friends they have left in world politics.