The new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative was unveiled on September 7th at the penthouse of the State Department, and this gastrodiplomat was on hand for the lovely soiree.

The issue of striking a balance between security and accessibility is one that has been a constant struggle for United States’ diplomatic missions worldwide. How do diplomats meet the competing demands of interacting with foreign populations and keeping safe in a world filled with anti-American extremism?

Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai arrived in Washington, D.C. Saturday from New York where she will deliver two speeches to promote Taiwan's soft power. On Sunday, Lung will discuss cultural diplomacy and cross-Taiwan Strait cultural issues in two interviews organized by the Voice of America and the international news agency Reuters。

Daw Aung graciously told the audience that it was one of the greatest days of her life, and from the tears in the eyes of the Burmese human rights advocates, expatriates and international visitors who were with us, many of the women dressed in lavender, the signature color of "the Lady," it was quite clear that it was one of the greatest days in their lives, as well.

MINUTES after last week’s violent attacks on America’s missions in the Middle East, the country’s embassy in Cairo was already on Twitter. It tweeted an emergency number for American citizens. It criticised Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood for supporting the protests on their Arabic feed. And it thanked fellow tweeters for their condolences on the murder of the American ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

Across the world his standing remains markedly lower in predominantly Muslim nations. However, Leila Hilal, a Mideast expert at the New America Foundation, said Obama may have made more progress toward improving relations than critics say."Obama inherited a very damaged U.S. credibility in the region," she said, and so it would be unrealistic to think that his "new beginning" would take hold fast.

The International Criminal Court has launched a new civic education programme on its operations, targeting areas that were heavily affected by the 2007/08 post election violence. The court's field outreach coordinator in Kenya Maria Kamara said the new initiative is aimed at providing accurate information about the ICC to communities in areas hit by the violence.

This weekend, I talked to Rick Steves, the travel guru, about the unrest in the Middle East and he underscored the importance of travel as a means of bridging cultural divides. It might sound like a cliché, but it's true: Americans needs to travel because our diplomats can't do all the heavy lifting for us, security restrictions or not.