As Australia changes, perceptions in the region will catch up, particularly if we improve our public and cultural diplomacy and our international broadcasting. We have to show that we believe projecting Australia in Asian countries is not a waste of time and money.

The eagerly-anticipated new Jewish community center moved a step closer to completion with a ceremony marking the start of building what will be one of the largest Jewish community centers in Europe. The community centers host an array of events and activities that invigorate Jewish life and also cater to the local community and other faiths.

A strategic turn to the region fits logically into our overall global effort to secure and sustain America's global leadership..."forward-deployed" diplomacy...means continuing to dispatch the full range of our diplomatic assets -- including our highest-ranking officials, our development experts, our interagency teams, and our permanent assets -- to every country and corner of the Asia-Pacific region.

Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's failure to cultivate power on the global stage using trade and diplomacy is forcing it back into its costly Cold War addiction to missiles and guns.

Actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie was in Libya on Tuesday for a visit to help agencies bringing aid to Libyans in Tripoli and Misrata..."I will be meeting with officials from all sides but above all, listening to the local people in the street. I am here to express solidarity with them."

For years, Hawaii has been a popular destination for tourists, but now it’s making a name for itself as a TV and film production hub. A reboot of the 1960s police drama "Hawaii Five-O," which helped develop the state’s movie industry decades ago, is once again boosting its economy. Hawaii has also been getting good publicity from several recent movies which were made here.

...popular anger against entrenching power elites is spreading around the world...In the U.S. movement, Arab nations see echoes of this year's Arab Spring uprisings. Spaniards and Italians see parallels with Indignados (indignant) activists...

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and U.S. Soccer announced today that former U.S. Women’s National Team players Shannon MacMillan and Tracy Noonan will travel to Guatemala as Sports Envoys...where they will lead soccer clinics for young girls and boys...and reach out to underprivileged youth with the National Soccer Teams.