As part of their growing competition for influence in Asia, China and India are using the Buddha as weapon: sponsoring conferences, financing religious sites, and displaying relics in countries where the religion is widely adhered to.

Charles Rivkin will be remembered for his attention to neighborhoods traditionally ignored by high-level public officials...The 21st century has seen a shift, with stepped up outreach into minority — especially Muslim — communities. In France, where the policy is carried out by the cinematic Ambassador Rivkin, it has been very well-received in the immigrant suburbs.

I’ll be meeting 12 Burmese basketball players in their teens – six girls, six boys. They’re here because we invited them to visit Washington to see a Washington Wizards game. After that, they’ll go down to Charlotte where they’ll meet with Bobcats General Manager Richard Cho, who happens to be a Burmese American. He’ll invite them to his home and take them to a Bobcats game.

Although China's public diplomacy efforts have run into obstacles over the years, great progress has still been made, international students and Chinese experts said at a recent roundtable in Beijing. Nine University of Southern California (USC) students majoring in public diplomacy also participated in this meeting.

The passage of the Smith-Mundt Modernization act as part of the NDAA removes the restriction on the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) banning the broadcast or distribution of materials produced for overseas consumption inside the US.

Numerous pan-Arab rivals sprouted to grab a viewing share with a copycat mix of flashy graphics, daring reportage and sizzling debate. And global media firms such as Bloomberg, News Corporation and CNN have pushed into the Arab market.

It is important for everyone to realise that a country's brand is a proclamation of existing strengths and not a statement of desire, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said this had to be rooted in reality and connected to the people, encompassing products, governance, sustainable growth as well as social and human capital.

A private delegation including Google's Eric Schmidt is urging North Korea to allow more open Internet access and cellphones to benefit its citizens, the mission's leader said Wednesday in the country with some of the world's tightest controls on information.