An spokesman for the African Union says final preparations are being made for the scheduled August 25 “pledge conference” in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Organized by the continental body, the meeting aims to raise funds to help relief efforts in hunger-stricken East Africa, which has created hundreds of thousands refugees and internally displaced.

Information, or rather truthful information, is often difficult to come by in any war zone. Disinformation is a powerful tool that can be used to mislead the enemy, hide tactics, instigate fear or win public support. There is also the fog of war, the confusion in communications and the chaos of the battlefield that can obscure any objective understanding.

Earth's least likely space-going nation reached further into the stars last week, when Nigeria shot its third and fourth satellites into orbit, including the first satellite built by Africans. From their exospheric perch, the two will map one of humanity's final frontiers: Lagos. The vast megalopolis, home to between nine and 17 million people, is a constantly-shifting phenomenon in urban non-planning.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has used her time in Scotland to visit the global headquarters of a charity which specialises in landmine removal. The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has provided "hundreds of thousands of pounds" worth of financial support to Halo, funding humanitarian mine clearance teams in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Chinese-U.S. co-productions are on the rise, and Christian Bale, Kevin Spacey, and Keanu Reeves are among the stars who have sought projects here. So eager are American studios to crack the Chinese market that MGM recently edited Chinese villains out of the remake of Red Dawn, replacing them with North Koreans.

Before Beck's arrival, most Israelis were unfamiliar with the former Fox News host. But his rally has triggered a debate over whether he should be embraced as a pro-Israel friend or condemned as a fanatic who has battled allegations of anti-Semitism. Beck is calling his Jerusalem rally "Restoring Courage". The purpose, he has said, is to demonstrate American solidarity with Israel

Professor Bernard Duhaime joins the USC Center on Public Diplomacy this Fall as the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy.

Yet again we are confronted with a dilemma: when is culture an instrument of soft power? We talk about cultural diplomacy, cultural exchanges and even cultural influence. What is less discussed is how cultural paraphernalia connect to, integrate with, and ultimately enhance a nation’s soft power capital.