The venue was the United Nations, and the artwork—the winning submissions displayed by secondary school students of T&T, was entitled A Showcase of Cultural Diplomacy...Ambassador Eden Charles praised the initiative as “innovative” and “a reminder of the importance of culture in bridging gaps,” between nations.

Taiwan’s cultural power lies in its incorporation of features of Chinese tradition and modern Western society, ROC Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai said. Today’s Taiwan has moderated the authoritarian part of Chinese culture through maintenance of traditional gentleness and generosity, along with the assimilation of an open, law-abiding civil society.

Recent conflicts in North Africa have demonstrated Europe's capacity and willingness to project military power, and these build on a growing European tendency toward consolidation of hard power. The UK and France have put aside historical enmities to develop an ever-closer defense relationship, and over time this tendency will only increase.

Government has said that Chinese contractors are doing a lot in helping government to put quality infrastructure in all parts of the country. Education Minister John Phiri said that the Chinese have been sacrificing in helping the country to develop since independence.

Teachers in India will now get to learn Chinese under an agreement reached between the Indian education board and China's overseas language institute. The Confucius Institute Headquarters and India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have agreed to promote Chinese language training in India, reported Xinhua.

The U.S. presidential nomination conventions largely will focus on domestic issues, but a number of high-profile foreign policy issues -- including immigration, U.S.-Russia relations, and the role the United States plays as a major world power --could also be highlighted in convention speeches and the parties' platforms. Three experts from international policy institutions weigh in on possible foreign policy themes in the 2012 conventions.

There has never been a time in the history of the United Nations when its leader could be more useful in taking an active role in curing the world's ills. African terrorists, warlords, revolutions, authoritarianism and a million other plights threaten to destroy international peace and stability. In all of this, where is the secretary-general?

Cooler heads are finally prevailing in the heated diplomatic row between China and Japan over ownership of a few rocky islets in the East China Sea. But the activists who fanned patriotic zeal in both countries by forcing their way onto the contested islands will almost certainly strike again.