The notorious tweet reaffirming a statement that condemned "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims" has been deleted by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, but the incident raises a question that lingers: Is blasting out 140-character messages on Twitter a good way to conduct diplomacy, given the political, and even mortal, risks?

“The death of U.S. public diplomacy” was how one Twitter user last Tuesday described the now-infamous apology from the U.S. embassy in Cairo for the ill-conceived movie Innocence of Muslims. Strong words, but there is no doubt about it: The need for American public diplomacy in the Middle East needs to be rebooted and rethought. But how?

Did India act in haste in endorsing a relaxed visa policy with Pakistan? Should not it have audited the real outcome of the earlier Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in context of continued support to anti-India activities latest being the cyber war launched from across the border? Or, did India just do the right thing by putting history behind it, to seek a cordial future with its neighbour? The verdict on the vexed debate persists even as hope floats that somehow or the other the warring nations find love together.

South Korea will rev up a public relations drive on social networking sites worldwide for its easternmost islets of Dokdo to counter Japan's claims to the islets, a high-ranking government official said Monday. Diplomatic tension between South Korea and Japan remains high following the unprecedented Aug. 10 visit to Dokdo by President Lee Myung-bak, who cited Tokyo's unrepentant attitude over its brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as a key reason for the trip.

It has been reported that Sri Lanka is expected to lobby the support of friendly US congressmen to defeat a resolution tabled in the House of Representatives on September 07 by seven congressmen demanding an international inquiry into alleged violations of the international humanitarian law during the military battle against the separatist/terrorist Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

Diplomacy can be defined as the process by which a nation state relates or conducts its activities with other nation-states in the international arena, to achieve the set objectives of its foreign policy. The actions, reactions and behaviours of nation states in the international arena are viewed and analysed from how it conducts its diplomacy which is either the visible or invisible processes of communication between nations.

Western embassies across the Muslim world remained on high alert Sunday and the United States urged vigilance after days of anti-American violence provoked by a video mocking the Prophet Mohammad. With protests against the film continuing from London to Lahore, Western diplomatic missions were on edge. Germany followed the U.S. lead and withdrew some staff from its embassy in Sudan, which was stormed Friday.

We have all watched with horror the recent events in Libya, which took the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens, our envoy in Tripoli. Americans across our country have shaken their heads in disbelief that a man who devoted his life to helping Libyans achieve their freedom should have been viciously murdered in the very city he helped protect.