Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has asked consular officers at the Department of Foreign Affairs to “strive harder” in providing services to the public even as he noted improvements in the agency’s passport processing and authentication systems.

Benjamin Mako Hill writes, "Last year, I participated in a discussion on Wikipedia that led to the deletion of an article about the "Institute for Cultural Diplomacy." Because I edit Wikipedia using my real name, the ICD was able to track me down."

I read with interest your open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, in which you propose a new form of cultural diplomacy: to send arts administrators abroad to teach fundraising skills to their counterparts at cultural institutions, which in the current fiscal climate can no longer depend on government funding.

For at least the past five years, Canada has quietly waged a half-hearted war on organized crime and drug cartels. Even before Canada’s prolonged engagement in Afghanistan started winding down, politicians and strategists were refocusing on real and perceived threats south of the border in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Indonesia has for the first time revealed that it protested to China about the publication in its passports of its “nine-dash line” claim to almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing’s decision to print the new map last year prompted protests from the Philippines and Vietnam, which also claim large parts of the South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife has received increasing attention for not only her attire, but also her good-will activities during the presidential visit to four nations, a soft-toned diplomatic gesture to boost China's image. Upon arrival in Moscow last week, Peng Liyuan, in an elegant overcoat, descended the plane arm in arm with President Xi. A photo of her appearance has been widely circulated on the Internet and published in major newspapers.

Across Africa, the growing presence of Chinese investments in economy and infrastructure is evident. In the last ten years, various state-owned firms, even a number of private companies, have become major investors in Africa with China being the single largest bilateral source of annual foreign investment in Africa. Indeed Chinese investment permeates almost every sector of Africa’s economy. As of mid-2012, China’s Ministry of Commerce estimated that cumulated foreign direct investment in Africa had exceeded $14.7 billion.

The United States is deliberately sparring with Al-Qaeda supporters and militants online aiming to shoot down extremist messages and win over hearts and minds, a US official said yesterday. Seeking out the virtual spaces where "Al-Qaeda and its supporters lurk" is part of America's strategy to combat violent extremism, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine told students at the University of Maryland.