A report in this paper that the total water storage capacity of the country has gone down by 29 percent in part due to dwindling storage of large dams is quite chilling. The big dams including Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma have greatly lost their storage capacity due to silting. There are limitations in removing the silt. Thus, it is obvious that new reservoirs like Kalabagh must be built.

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer will travel to Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi, Kenya, and Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, departing Washington, DC on October 22nd. At each stop he will engage with journalists, students, civil society leaders, and government spokespeople on public diplomacy and communication efforts, support for democratic institutions and freedom of press, and economic statecraft, among other topics.

Tonight’s presidential debate will focus mostly on the Middle Eastern conflicts. But the candidates should take the time to discuss where the world is cooperating. One such place is the developing world where nation-states are joining to deliver electricity to those 1.3 billion people who are now going without any power.

Inaugurated in July 2012, the sprawling grounds of the Quaid-e-Azam Complex cover more than 26 acres of land that once belonged to the British Legation in Kabul. Today it may well be Pakistan’s busiest diplomatic mission. On any week day (from Sunday to Thursday) one is likely to find thousands of Afghans queuing up outside the Pakistan Embassy for a visa.

AS JULIA GILLARD has proved again, when it comes to the relationship between Australia and the subcontinent, there's no diplomatic tool more powerful than cricket. The Prime Minister was in India last week to talk trade and cultural ties but what hogged the headlines was her announcement that the Indian cricket great, Sachin Tendulkar, would be awarded membership of the Order of Australia.

Malala Yousufzai took a bullet to teach us an invaluable lesson: The biggest threat to organisations such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban is not drone warfare or military crackdowns. The biggest threat to the Taliban, as they well know, is the democratic empowerment of average and young people in the Middle East. Malala Yousufzai's pen is mightier than the drone. For too long, the average citizenry, and particularly youngsters, have been marginalised and neglected in political processes across the Middle East.

The 4th International Environmental Forum of Arab-African Youth in Luxor governorate which was held with the participation of 35 African and Arab countries ended on 21/10/2012. The forum tackled issues of the Nile Basin countries, water and public diplomacy to negotiate files of water in Nile Basin countries.

Hundreds of Chinese netizens posted comments marvelling that the Canadian envoy at the time – David Mulroney – was driving a relatively inexpensive car compared to the luxury vehicles favoured by their own officials. In just one click, Ottawa had managed to engage a wide audience in a debate about corruption and transparency, using one of China’s hugely popular social networks.