The event was attended by the Director of the Vientiane Department of Education and Sports, Somphou Keopannho, and Cultural Counsellor from the Vietnamese embassy in Laos, Pham Van Khanh, as well as teachers, parents, and children. Counsellor Khanh presented gifts to the children and said he believes that the Nguyen Du School will become one of the best schools in Vientiane.

The mayors met at San Francisco City Hall on the 16th anniversary of the sister city pact, vowing to continue working together on economic, technological and cultural initiatives. According to SF Appeal, Lee presented Delanoë with photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge taken to commemorate the landmark's 75th anniversary this year. "I love the Golden Gate Bridge," replied Delanoë in English.

American music bridged difference with the Vietnamese, Golub said. American musicians were surprised to see that their music had an immediate impact on the Vietnamese with whom the US fought a war for many years.

China and Japan should give public diplomacy a chance rather than rely only on the official channels to help resolve their conflict over the ownership of Diaoyu Islands, Chinese scholars say.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with USA Hockey, announces that a group of American youth ice hockey players will travel as Youth Sports Envoys to Moscow, Russia, October 5 – 14, 2012.

Hundreds of residents in Kampala, Uganda's capital, gathered at the Railway Ground in the city's downtown and hailed performances by a visiting Chinese acrobatic troupe on the evening of Sept 27.

The Iran Job is a documentary, and the job in question is for Kevin Sheppard, a basketball player from the U.S. Virgin Islands, to play point guard for an Iranian basketball team. And as the film follows Kevin through his 2008-2009 season playing for A.S. Shiraz, his experiences reveal a people and culture very different from what politicians and the media would have you believe.

The response to that Toyota in Tianjin and the Apple iPhone5 could not be more different. What links them, however, are the notion of "soft power" and the risks and rewards of being identified as one of a given nation's leading companies...