I feel like a spy. I'm at the first ever International Culture Summit in Edinburgh, where I've just blustered my way into a semi-private meeting of the world's arts and culture ministers. The seats are festooned with instant translation devices. It's cultural diplomacy in action.

“NATO is more than just a military Alliance”, the Secretary General said. “It is also a community of shared beliefs and principles. All members share the same fundamental values of liberty, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. And all our members are prepared to defend these values whenever necessary”, he added.

We should pursue a strategy of diplomatic engagement by inviting as many nations as possible to set shop in Kuwait...With that, we should work hard to establish satellite offices and coordination bureaus of international governmental and non-governmental organizations here in Kuwait bringing in a great number of diplomats as possible.

European rabbis as well as Israel's Minister of Public Diplomacy have criticized Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) for publishing and selling an Arabic-language app of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," probably the best-known anti-Semitic forgery.

Brands from Brazil are capturing global attention and allegiance, while their Asian counterparts among the 'BRIC' countries, China and India lag behind, writes Jerry Clode, who leads cultural insight in Asia-Pacific for brand-development consultancy Added Value.

Yingluck, elegantly dressed in a black suit and surrounded by her entourage of cabinet ministers...Yingluck’s charm, patience, tolerance, politeness and flexibility have helped restore political stability to the country since she took office in August 2011. “She represents the soft power of Thailand."

As the profile of the Games has exponentially increased over the years,the Games is no longer seen purely as a celebration of the best of sport, but also a celebration of the host country, a communication exercise intended to increase a country’s ‘soft power’ and relative standing within the international arena.

As proof that Chinese fans won’t lavish attention on a player simply because of his ethnic background Beyer pointed to Yi Jianlian. The Chinese-born power forward entered the NBA to much fanfare in 2007 only to fade quickly into anonymity after failing to impress on the court.