Freddy Balsera, founder of a Coral Gables public relations firm, has been nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. “I am proud to nominate such impressive individuals to these important roles, and I am grateful they have agreed to lend their considerable talents to this Administration."

The U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, in association with the Department of Culture, Madhya Pradesh, proudly presents “The Fastest Feet in Rhythm” in Bhopal, featuring the Kathak dancer and maestro Pandit Chitresh Das and Emmy award winning tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith. Part of a nation-wide tour sponsored by the U.S. Government, the visit of the artists is designed to promote mutual understanding and cultural exchanges.

Not long ago I attended an interesting conference in Washington DC organized by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy. A lot of very different viewpoints were expressed, very stimulating presentations were given by scholars from the DC area...Cultural diplomacy or public diplomacy cannot be effective when coupled with acts of war. This is a lesson which major powers keep learning and also keep forgetting.

Committee members heard from Vladimir Yushkin, Director of the Baltic Center for Russian Studies in Tallinn, communications consultant Raul Rebane and Security Police High Commissioner Martin Arpo. He said that the importance of media in this respect was declining and said that information could more effectively be delivered through cultural events, youth camps and other direct contact.

With the Swazi king planning another round of bogus "royal elections" this year, the Swaziland Democracy Campaign will launch a campaign for democratic elections this weekend. Meanwhile the South African government's soft diplomacy props up Swaziland's absolute monarchy.

P O’Malley interviews Kofi Annan
On Rwanda: ‘countries had become risk-averse after Somalia’
On Darfur: ‘the UN could not determine from their study, that it was genocide’
On Israel Palestine: ‘often the Americans tended to forget the problems on the Israeli side, and finger-pointed to the Palestinians and Arafat’

India and Pakistan are back to their familiar game of mutual hatred. The latest flash point has come over repeated violations of the cease-fire along the Line of Control. The two adversaries have accused each other of violating the cease-fire, which came into place in 2003. This has been the longest cease-fire in the history of India and Pakistan. Put in place during the tenure of Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf, this is among the few confidence-building measures to last so long despite repeated violations, minor or major.

Egypt is about to miss a golden opportunity to enhance its stature in global diplomacy, which has presented itself in the form of Iran's suggestion of Cairo as the venue for the next round of multilateral nuclear negotiations. Despite unconfirmed reports that Cairo has turned a cold shoulder to this idea, it is still not too late for the embattled government of Mohammed Morsi to embrace it, thus gaining diplomatic and political capital.