This past week, even as net users across the country were discovering that China’s Great Firewall has been upgraded and that many VPNs no longer work, China’s state-run Xinhua wire service was busy using Twitter. It’s the kind of frustrating irony that Chinese web users are used to by now; the nation embracing popular foreign web platforms to try to get its own message out while simultaneously working tirelessly to ensure that its citizens cannot access those same platforms.

The National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce this week participated in 'Doha GOALS,' a first-of-its-kind conference dedicated to advancing international relations through sports. The two-day event brought together more than 2,800 delegates from 62 countries, including sports luminaries from all over the world.

When Vladimir Putin took office as President for the third time, he sent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a document outlining the philosophy that would guide his approach to international relations for the next five years. Only recently released, the document is very revealing, showing that Putin’s worldview, and his idea about Russia’s role in that world, has changed substantially since he first took office as president in 2000.

Dalian Wanda Group, the world's biggest owner of movie theatres, is in talks with leading Hollywood studios to co-produce films and is looking to buy and build hotels in major U.S. cities as the Chinese firm eyes a $10 billion (6 billion pounds) 'soft power' spending spree.

India's decision to accede to the 1976 Asean Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in July 2003 was considered a major milestone in its diplomatic annals due to its swiftness and timeliness. Immediately, it upgraded India's status as well as its role in Asean.

Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy of NATO, Ambassador Kolinda Grabar, gave a talk on NATO and Public Diplomacy activities to young Turkish diplomats who recently joined the Ministry and attending basic and preparative training program, on 13 December 2012.

These days we often hear international traders referring to the delta as China's "workshop to the world". This year, 20 years later, China's newly elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi Jinping, chose Guangdong and the delta as his first inspection tour destination. He seemed determined to emphasise continuity in China's opening up and reform policy, and its modernisation and innovation drive.

Canada and Israel took another step forward to strengthen bilateral relations by signing an agreement to jointly foster economic and social development in the developing world. The pact was signed last week in Ottawa by Margaret Biggs, the president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and Daniel Carmon, director of Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (Mashav).