Career diplomat Patrick Suckling has been appointed high commissioner to India, a country the Gillard government considers critical to Australia's interests. Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Mr Suckling will replace Peter Varghese, who is returning to Australia to head the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

From Dec 2 to 4, Wudang Mountain Tourism Area held a Wudang photography and calligraphy exhibition in Erfurt, Germany. The exhibition served as a prelude to the Sino-German culture exchange in Hubei province. This year is the 40th anniversary of China-German diplomatic ties. Hubei province organized a delegation to go to Germany and preside over the Hubei Culture Exhibition Week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now tweeting in Arabic on a new Twitter account opened in mid-December. The development caught the attention of the Saudi Internet news service, Al Arabiya, which reported this week that Netanyahu’s Twitter account has drawn new followers from Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, currently numbering 671 followers.

Israel’s ambassadors and consuls general serving throughout the world will discuss wide-ranging diplomatic and strategic issues at a conference to be held next week in Jerusalem.

The IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza will go down in the history of the Arab- Israeli conflict as one of the unexpected victories in the information wars. At the outset, Pillar of Defense appeared little different from such past military operations as 2008’s Operation Cast Lead

After 31 years of public service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the limelight behind. On Friday, President Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to take her place as secretary of state, leaving Clinton to help him move in and then bow out.

The past year was a turning point in Sino-Japanese relations: Japan suffered a total defeat. Beijing realized practically all its diplomatic objectives, whereas Tokyo could not achieve any of them. But this victory may prove self-defeating for China.

Myanmar offers great opportunities for Indian business community to invest in infrastructure and power projects, visiting Myanmar President U. Thein Sein said here Friday. In a closed-door session, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) late Friday, President Sein invited Indian businesses to also explore options in agriculture.