Rendered razor sharp against a blurred background, the small flowers of late summer burst with reality. These are discrete examples of meadow flowers that our eyes usually gather in flattened focus massively and whole.

Germany and China have been cultivating a brisk exchange, and since last year, have held joint government consultations. The current meeting takes place in the midst of major personnel changes in Beijing.

Strategic mutual trust and national feelings between China and Japan have been strained, and think tanks from both nations on Wednesday called for a crisis management mechanism to cool down the heated bilateral spats.

Marketing Sri Lanka's image abroad using the basics of public affairs, public diplomacy and strategic communication, as Sri Lankan watchers have observed, seems to be a dueling task for Sri Lankan authorities.

Entitled A Snapshot of Public Diplomacy, the mailing gives reports on public diplomacy (PD) activities underway around the world. The most recent issue I’ve received, covering the last two weeks of July, reports on support by the Bureau of African Affairs of an NGO called the Idea Builders Initiative.

“NATO is more than just a military Alliance”, the Secretary General said. “It is also a community of shared beliefs and principles. All members share the same fundamental values of liberty, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. And all our members are prepared to defend these values whenever necessary”, he added.

What triggered this tsunami of political upheaval? And is it localized to the Arab world, or could it spread? It is no secret that authorities in Beijing and Moscow are playing close attention, attempting to ferret out any indications that a prerevolutionary situation may be building up in their own societies...