ndia’s soft power in Central Asia, especially in Kazakhstan, the largest of the five stans, is enjoying a revival thanks to a new breed of Indian entrepreneurs. Forget Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Indira Gandhi. They now evoke smiles and a sigh. No matter a 15-year old Devushka (young girl) or a 60-something Zenshina (lady) are called Indira, Mira or Gita. Enter Balika Badhu and Shahrukh Khan in Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

The ministry remained dormant for years, but the young, recently appointed minister Mohammed Abdul Karim Al-hud makes appreciable efforts to activate the role of his ministry politically, economically, and socially and to reflect the bright nature of Sudan and the fact that it has a civilization that reaches far back in history.

AS Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia head to the polls this year and the next, it is interesting to note that discussion on foreign policy is almost absent in the local campaigns we are witnessing. This is symptomatic of the elections in Southeast Asia as a whole, and has been the case for decades, in fact. It may also signal the recognition that as relatively young states, the countries of the Asean region recognise that as single entities their foreign policies may not have an impact wider than the region they inhabit.

Civil rights leader Ambassador Andrew Young visited Zimbabwe recently at the request of the US Department of State to explore ways to improve our government relations. He came with a clear, sincere message: the US wants to see full normalisation of bilateral relations following credible, non-violent elections that reflect the will of the people.

Because media freedom can best be advanced by partnerships between government and civil society groups, this year Human Rights First is delighted to join with the State Department in hosting this event. Human Rights First has a long record of defending free expression. Since our founding, we have helped arrange pro bono legal counsel and other assistance for more than 150 media people who have found themselves in the United States and unable to return safely to their home countries.

Archaeology often has a lot to do with politics - the current argument between Germany and Turkey is a prime example. Hermann Parzinger, head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, last December accused Turkey of displaying "almost chauvinistic behavior." In reply, the Turkish culture minister Ömer Celik told German news magazine "Der Spiegel" that he demanded an apology, and he asked for five ancient objects to be returned that are currently shown in museums in Berlin.

For two weeks earlier this month, Robert A. Richter was traveling in Pakistan, scouting performing artists as part of a new cultural diplomacy initiative. Richter, the director of arts programming at Connecticut College, was asked to be part of a team that was assessing talent for Center Stage, a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Today, Google is arguably one of the most influential nonstate actors in international affairs, operating in security domains long the purview of nation-states: It tracks the global arms trade, spends millions creating crisis-alert tools to inform the public about looming natural disasters, monitors the spread of the flu, and acts as a global censor to protect American interests abroad.