Some commentators have posited that the test was a signal aimed at China, designed to demonstrate North Korea's independence from its great-power patron. Others think that Kim Jong-un was sending a message to the newly elected president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. Still other North Korea experts have suggested that the test was actually meant for domestic consumption, to lift the sagging morale of a deprived public or for the regime to curry favor with the military.

Contemporary cities, in particular, can offer a unique vantage point capable of producing critical knowledge not only about the urbanized condition of humanity but also about major social, economic, and cultural revolutions in our society. The politics of governance and accountability in these closed regimes are not free from this pervasiveness.

Suddenly Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is speaking about renewing negotiations with the Palestinians. Yair Lapid said that he will not join a coalition that does not renew negotiations, Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz as well gave the push and Netanyahu has succumbed to the “will of the people.” Outgoing Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor of Likud says 80 percent of the people want the government to advance peace with the Palestinians.

Diversity is our strength, and everyone, including persons with disabilities, has important contributions to make. That was one of the overarching messages at the 10th Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in South Korea this month, where athletes Tae Hemsath and Henry Meece -- born in South Korea with developmental disabilities -- returned to their birth country as Special Olympics athletes. Tae competed as a snowshoe racer, Henry as a snowboarder.

I can't remember how many times I've seen the first Die Hard. Likewise the first Rocky movie, the first Rambo, First Blood, also the first... These franchises inevitably went downhill - perhaps not as steeply as Rocky, but still a disappointment. (OK, Aliens, the second in the series, was the exception). Perhaps this is a stand-in metaphor for America's power and promise, always delivered first with an impressive bang, until reality sinks in.

The biggest hit in Chinese cinema is a marketable contemporary comedy of the ilk of The Hangover. Would it succeed in the US? Something unspoken lay behind expectant articles in the film press for its US opening: the idea that this could be the point when cinema's trade winds stopped blowing from west to east, and the reverse became possible.

The round table discussion with US Under Secretary of State Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine got underway at 10.30 a.m on February 7th at the American Centre. The theme of the discussion was the role of youth in India's growth taking into account the demographic dividend with special emphasis on role of women. Naturally, the panel consisted of student leaders, youth bloggers, LSR journalism students and representatives of college student unions.

The parliamentary consultative committee of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday held its first meeting this year at Rajgir, near Nalanda University, on the topic of cultural diplomacy. “The meeting was held in Rajgir to provide a first-hand experience of modern Nalanda and a better appreciation of its contribution to reviving the country’s links with the East and South Asian countries and an innovative combination of parliamentary and public diplomacy interface,” said an MEA communiqué.