This article comes out of an invitation from WOMEX 2011, the World Music Expo meeting last October in Copenhagen, to address the question: “What are the practicalities, challenges and ethics of world music as cultural diplomacy today? And is it becoming more or less relevant to the sector?”

"The use of this public diplomacy on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister aims to obtain a clearer commitment by the United States to attack if Iran continues its nuclear programme, or at least to give Israel the green light to do so," he told AFP.

Religious liberty may not be a recognized Olympic event but in the game of life it is neither a trivial pursuit. The recent release of the U.S. Department of State annual report on international religious freedom underscores the importance this issue.

The State Department is involved in a massive "educational" endeavor aimed at guiding Muslim imams to start teaching the compatibility of "women’s rights": As part of its effort to combat “gender-based violence,” the State Department has trained 450 Muslim leaders (imams), using a curriculum focusing on the “compatibility of women’s rights and Islam."

Two members of Congress have released an August 9 letter they sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling on the Obama Administration to strengthen public diplomacy and form a multilateral forum to resolve the Tibet crisis. They specifically call for starting a “contact group” with like-minded governments to have focused meetings on Tibet.

European rabbis as well as Israel's Minister of Public Diplomacy have criticized Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) for publishing and selling an Arabic-language app of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," probably the best-known anti-Semitic forgery.

“We want to stage the parade as a token of thanks for people who have supported us from across the country," Japan Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda said. "It will be great if this will help boost the momentum of Tokyo's 2020 Olympic bid," he told Japanese media.

Now in its 20th year, the Regina-Fujioka Student Exchange Program has offered local students in Grades 7 and 8 the chance to travel to Japan and stay with a host family for 10 days. The program runs in two-year cycles; Regina students host teens from Fujioka one year, experiencing Japan themselves the next.