The Mahinda Rajapaksa government has been outstanding in fighting terrorism at home but has fared disastrously in diplomacy. This is in marked contrast to the Chandrika Kumaratunge government whose record in fighting terrorism at home was an absolute disaster but was outstanding in its efforts diplomatically getting the LTTE proscribed as a terrorist organisation by most of the important Western nations.

The launch of Africa Weekly by the China Daily in December is the latest move by a Chinese state media company to expand on the continent. In April 2011, the Xinhua news agency partnered with a Kenyan network operator to provide news for mobile phones. That was followed nine months later by CCTV Africa in Nairobi, the first broadcast hub to be established by China Central Television (CCTV) outside Beijing.

The recent slowdown in India's exports calls for a re-examination of policies essential to propel India's foreign trade. One such policy is the recognition of geographical indications (GIs). What is currently under debate is the 'unequal provision or treatment' meted out to developing countries. As a result they are unable to capitalise on the true potential of GIs.

ndia Brand Equity Foundation (http://www.ibef.org), whose immediate focus is the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos with its India Adda - akin to a cafe, is responsible for promoting the Made in India label both domestically and overseas. Working closely with the Ministry of Commerce, IBEF lends branding and marketing support for creating greater awareness of the number of success stories germinating and blooming in India.

The 30th session of Khartoum International Fair continues for one week until 21 January. SUNA interviewed the Jordan commercial attaché, Ahmad Arched Al-Arjan, in the Jordan section in the fair, located in a Burri suburb. Ahmad said that Jordan has participated in Khartoum Fair since its beginning in the late 70s. He asserted that their contributions were successful and opened new opportunities for Jordanian investors to enter in promised investment projects.

“Culture is an axis of diplomacy that was practiced by any number of autocratic regimes, Hitler as well as Stalin,” said Lorraine de Meaux...
Russian officials have even suggested that Mr. Depardieu’s flight toward Russia’s flat income tax rate of 13 percent may start a trend. “The distinctiveness of our tax system is poorly known about in the West,” a deputy prime minister, Dmitri O. Rogozin, wrote...

A new study commissioned by VisitBritain and its partners in the GREAT campaign suggests that global perceptions of ‘Welcome’, Britain’s ‘Overall Nation Brand’, and the UK’s sporting and cultural credentials, have significantly improved thanks to the hosting of the London 2012 Games.