A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan -- singing in a local language to build bridges in one of the world's most dangerous countries, where anti-Americanism runs rampant

Since 1999, the sister cities of Worthington and Sayama, Japan — a suburb of Tokyo — have participated in a cultural exchange involving visits from city officials, resident delegations, school groups and other representatives of each area. For the latest phase in the relationship, the long journey has been made not by contingents of people but by works of art.

A new publication has thrown further light on the impressive success of the UAE Pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. "Our results also indicate that with sensory stimulation and dramatic resonance, the UAE Pavilion was the most successful in presenting its national image at the Shanghai EXPO." This is a direct quotation from the closing remarks of a book published by the University of Southern California Centre on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

In 2002, Blackwell founded a company called Killerspin, based in Chicago. The idea came to him when he was asked to help host a table tennis exhibition in Chicago in the early 2000s, an event meant to celebrate the anniversary of the good-natured exchange of table tennis players between the U.S. and China later known, of course, as Ping Pong Diplomacy.

A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan - singing in a local language to build bridges in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism runs rampant. Shayla Cram, a public diplomacy officer assigned to Peshawar, has not only learnt Pushto but has penned her own Pushto-style song.

China is not squeamish about putting a price and index on its culture. In a quirky development last month, China launched its first cultural industry index at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange... The OCT Index, which as of now hasn’t generated much notice, does signal a shifting trend - China’s determination to change its growth model.

Even as Korean tech giant Samsung turns Sony into a has-been, Japan’s erstwhile colony is also beating it in the pop culture sphere: A decade after journalist Douglas McGray famously calculated “Japan’s Gross National Cool” and awoke the country to the potential of capitalizing on the global infatuation with its anime, games, J-pop, and manga, the concept of “Cool Japan” is under assault.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. A. J. Nicholson, says Jamaica will continue to stand in solidarity with Cuba, in its effort to promote regional integration in the Caribbean.