“So we are trying to find ways of moving forward in our economic, political and cultural relations,” said del Rosario, who visited Germany early this month. The country’s chief diplomat said Germany is an important trading partner and source of investments of the Philippines...

The Turks are selling pasta to the Italians, educating Papua-New Guineans in their universities, building airports in Egypt...Turkey has not felt and acted like the confident global player it is today since the heyday of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century.

Fresh economic initiatives, supplemented by cultural, educational and humanitarian exchanges, could encourage restraint by North Korea. Despite gunfire and nuclear construction, Pyongyang has continued to support North-South commercial cooperation through the free trade zone...

Pakistan and the United States have maintained a critical strategic partnership...Despite the tense political situations throughout the year, educational and cultural programs have continued in an attempt to bridge the differences through more personal interactions.

Concern about Iran and their Hezbollah proxies' strategic push into the Americas has finally caught the White House's attention...This includes... conducting a full-bore public diplomacy campaign for regional audiences on Iran's intentions and activities in the region and the dangers for their societies therein.

The man responsible for Ukraine's Euro 2012 football championship has said Uefa is doing more than the EU institutions to modernise the country..."I think the image of the Ukrainian police will change during this tournament ... I think Europe will discover Ukraine."

Ghazi Stadium in Kabul... Indeed, for a while it was nothing less than a theater of horrors. But now, thanks to funds that have come from the United States, it’s home to a state-of-the-art artificial pitch that can host all manner of sports.

The West’s Soft Power was presumed to have helped win the Cold War. But there have been few attempts to measure soft power and this is the age of measurement. Now we have a very thought-provoking attempt from the Institute of Government (a private NGO) and Monocle magazine. The full report gives a sound review of soft power theory and the Index used to rank countries.