In 1994, Bashar al-Assad was appointed chairman of the Syrian Computer Society. It was the only official title he would hold before landing the country’s top job, president, in 2000, but the appointment seemed to speak volumes about the direction in which his country was headed. This was six months into President Bill Clinton’s first term, in the same year that Tony Blair was elected as the leader of Britain’s Labour Party. Modernization was all the rage.

The National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce this week participated in 'Doha GOALS,' a first-of-its-kind conference dedicated to advancing international relations through sports. The two-day event brought together more than 2,800 delegates from 62 countries, including sports luminaries from all over the world.

Canada and Israel took another step forward to strengthen bilateral relations by signing an agreement to jointly foster economic and social development in the developing world. The pact was signed last week in Ottawa by Margaret Biggs, the president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and Daniel Carmon, director of Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (Mashav).

The India-Israel friendship has been flying very well under the radar for years, arguably to the benefit of both sides. But Israel now wants a public acknowledgement of the bond. It would like India to invite President Shimon Peres for a visit to put a seal on the relationship and take it to a higher level.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called upon Palestinians on Saturday to boycott Israeli products, as a response to the Netanyahu government’s decision not to transfer to the PA the taxes and customs duties it is due to receive.

Rocker Andrew W.K. made headlines recently with the quest that ultimately wasn't—his initiative to bring positive partying to Bahrain on behalf of the US State Department. A case of rockers being held down by the man (isn't that what sparked the punk movement?).

Israel’s Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry has opened a Public Diplomacy Department in Arabic. A statement released by the Ministry states that the department “will be responsible for conducting public diplomacy activities for the media and public opinion on a global level in general and among Arab countries and the Middle East in particular.”

A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan - singing in a local language to build bridges in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism runs rampant. Shayla Cram, a public diplomacy officer assigned to Peshawar, has not only learnt Pushto but has penned her own Pushto-style song.