Recent years have seen a growing academic interest in the migration of MFAs (foreign ministries) to social media. However, the majority of digital diplomacy studies tend to focus on the activities of Western and North American MFAs. This Euro- and American-centric approach fails to recognize the fact that digital diplomacy is now a global phenomenon. 

This has been a fantastic week for Irish cinema. The achievements of directors, scriptwriters, actors and producers in nabbing seven Oscar nominations is the equivalent of the Irish football team getting to the World Cup final.

In what can only be described as a back-handed compliment, the NYT declared in a recent style article that its neighbour to the north was no longer a "frozen cultural wasteland populated with hopelessly unstylish citizens". The reason for Canada's sudden cultural cachet? The Times mentions film and music idols, fashion designers and YouTubers, but the star of the show seems to be new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Although 2015 had its fair share of international tragedy, tourism worldwide continued on an upward trend. International tourism arrivals — or the number of people visiting countries other than their own — grew 4.4% to 1.18 billion last year, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The repeated terrorist attacks in Paris and the disputes within UNESCO between Japan and its neighbors highlight the danger that culture can become a source of international confrontation.

A video game based on the 2014 Taliban school massacre in which at least 132 children were killed in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar has been withdrawn after triggering social media uproar and backlash. The game, "Pakistan Army Retribution", was released by the Punjab IT board on Google Play, and invited the player to step into the shoes of a soldier shooting Taliban attackers in a school's hallways.

At the Corea Image Communications Institute’s annual award ceremony last week, which honored individuals who have popularized Korean culture worldwide, over 60 foreign ambassadors and diplomats engaged in an evening of cultural diplomacy. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the new "Start-Up India" scheme to promote and nurse entrepreneurship in the country ensuring minimum interference from the government with attractive tax incentives.