Sri Lankan officials have impounded the new edition of The Economist magazine. They did so after it published an opinion piece critical of constitutional changes.

The European Union has called France a "disgrace" and is threatening to take legal action against the country after it expelled thousands of Roma migrants...If France is found to be in breach of European law it could be fined but it would also face "a serious loss of prestige" according to sources in the commission.

Joseph S. Nye Jr., an expert on the projection of U.S. soft power abroad, says these incidents will make it increasingly hard for the United States to succeed in the Afghan war effort, and complicate relations with the Muslim world.

The overseas expansion of Chinese companies not only is a commercial activity, but also bears the responsibility of expanding China's public diplomacy. In this regard, Chinese enterprises should not only look for short-term profits, but also bear more corporate social responsibility.

Thousands of politicians all over the world are now on Twitter, and not all are using the social networking tool wisely. Take Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, a businessman who owns the Daily Times newspaper and is said to have been close to Benazir Bhutto, the late prime minister.

In addition to leadership, brand name also transcends the fields of business and national security. “Notre Dame has a brand … America has a brand as well. It’s our value system,” [Tom] Ridge said. “We have to be consistent with [our value system]. The rest of the world is watching.”

"Having public diplomacy is like playing a football match. Playing a game is good even when you don't care about winning or losing. One gets the chance to present his side and allow others to feel his existence. But one will definitely lose if he doesn't play at all," said Fu Ying, the vice foreign minister.

For nations to understand the effects that climate change will have on their locality, it is essential to gather local data into an internationally coordinated database, the meeting, organised by the UK's Meteorological Office, agreed.