government pd
Last Saturday night, in a gala featuring 62 bands and singers, the Mandarin pop extravaganza "Chinese Music Chart Awards," often dubbed China's Grammys, took place - in slightly toned down form? in Taiwan's packed 15,000-seat Taipei Arena...The awards, announced unilaterally by China, were opposed by Taiwan's anti-unification opposition. They appear to be the latest in an unflagging string of stratagems by Beijing to waft soft-power blandishments across the 160-km Taiwan Strait.
Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Tuesday that present Government of Pakistan People’s Party is determined to take every possible step to promote and project the culture of Pakistan not only at home but also abroad because we understand that culture is a tool which can be used for creating a soft image of the nation.
In an effort to give a fresh push to its African diplomacy, India is set to welcome Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag later this week where the discussions with leaders will include enhanced trade and investment and counter-terror cooperation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year's broadcast on state media.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was supposed to be back at work in Washington this week, after coming down with a stomach virus early last month, then falling and suffering a concussion. Instead, she was hospitalized Sunday with what doctors say is a blood clot related to her concussion.
In a New Year coming on the heels of waning economic growth and all-round policy paralysis, India will be hard-pressed to meet the expectations of its own people and those of the comity of nations. The facts that we have a democratic polity, a relatively peaceful multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, and a promising emerging economy are all subject to constant testing rather than being set in stone. Status in world affairs is earned, not given, on a continuous basis.
Australia will boost diplomatic engagement with India in early 2013 with a new Australian High Commissioner to take office next month, and direct Ministerial talks on economic, regional and security issues in New Delhi and Mumbai from January 20-23. Foreign Minister Bob Carr today announced Mr Patrick Suckling as High Commissioner to India from January 2013, replacing Mr Peter Varghese.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has appointed its first secretary-general from Vietnam, a one-party communist state and one of four ASEAN members in conflict with China over territory in the South China Sea. ASEAN has struggled over the past year to form a consensus on the issue and having a leader from Vietnam will keep the spotlight on the dispute.