Viet Nam and Bulgaria will boost their burgeoning friendship with a cultural exchange programme in 2013, which will see each country host culture weeks devoted to the other. Viet Nam‘s culture minister Hoang Tuan Anh confirmed the plans following a meeting with Bulgaria's visiting Deputy Prime Minister, Simeon Djankov, on Thursday.

As the countdown to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) election intensifies, diplomacy takes a silly turn. Australia, Finland and Luxembourg – competitors in the race - continue to outdo each other in pursuit of the diplomatic prize: a temporary seat on the UNSC.

The use of Twitter as a diplomatic tool fits in nicely with the new sense of political empowerment that has accompanied the rise of social media. As Internet connectivity rates continue to grow (particularly through the rapidly expanding availability of smartphones), Twitter helps foster an unprecedented sense of community among members of global publics.

The use of Twitter as a diplomatic tool fits in nicely with the new sense of political empowerment that has accompanied the rise of social media. As Internet connectivity rates continue to grow (particularly through the rapidly expanding availability of smartphones), Twitter helps foster an unprecedented sense of community among members of global publics.

In the near future, no one will be able to become a leader without digital followers, and no diplomat will be well-positioned to represent his or her country if he or she does not personally engage on social networks. And it is not the size of the followership that matters, but the quality of the conversations.

The British Broadcasting Corp. says someone is deliberately disrupting its broadcasts in the Middle East and Europe -- interference that follows previous accusations that Iran has attempted to jam the broadcaster's transmissions.

Pakistan and China Wednesday signed two agreements for cooperation in the economic, technological and cultural sectors. The first agreement “Economic and Technological Cooperation between Pakistan and China for a grant of 70 million RMB” was signed by Acting Secretary Economic Affairs Division Iftikhar Ahmad Rao and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zeng Wei.

Dr Borg welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Maltese community in Luxembourg and referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to reach out to all Maltese communities around the world. He also spoke about the amendments made to the citizenship law of Malta, which allowed second and third generations to obtain Maltese citizenship.