The IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza will go down in the history of the Arab- Israeli conflict as one of the unexpected victories in the information wars. At the outset, Pillar of Defense appeared little different from such past military operations as 2008’s Operation Cast Lead

After 31 years of public service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the limelight behind. On Friday, President Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to take her place as secretary of state, leaving Clinton to help him move in and then bow out.

The past year was a turning point in Sino-Japanese relations: Japan suffered a total defeat. Beijing realized practically all its diplomatic objectives, whereas Tokyo could not achieve any of them. But this victory may prove self-defeating for China.

Taipei-based Hungarian diplomat Levente Szekely is using his rare talent to introduce Hungarian arts to Taiwan, hoping to promote closer music and art ties between the two countries. The 53-year-old representative of the Hungarian Trade Office in Taipei shot to fame in Taiwan's diplomatic circles after showcasing his professional violin skills at a Hungarian National Day party held by his office in October.

Early in the fall semester, the University of Pittsburgh's Panthers for Israel group kicked off the year with free giveaways, music and a creative twist. Three renowned graffiti artists from New York attracted hundreds of Pitt students as they painted an homage to Pittsburgh and Israel on campus walls.

Myanmar offers great opportunities for Indian business community to invest in infrastructure and power projects, visiting Myanmar President U. Thein Sein said here Friday. In a closed-door session, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) late Friday, President Sein invited Indian businesses to also explore options in agriculture.

John Cha Poong started giving children in Zambia disposable cameras three years ago to record their daily lives. The results they sent back were unexpected: their extreme poverty should have been depressing but the pictures that came back were so happy. The next year, the Korean Catholic priest did the same thing in Mongolia and Burundi. Then it was Laos in 2011 and Sri Lanka this year. It was the same story, the pictures were not the sort charities might use to raise money.

When the Taliban blasted the famous Bamiyan Buddhas with artillery and dynamite in March 2001, leaders of many faiths and countries denounced the destruction as an act of cultural terrorism. But today, with the encouragement of the American government, Chinese engineers are preparing a similar act of desecration in Afghanistan: the demolition of a vast complex of richly decorated ancient Buddhist monasteries.