The promises are part of the effort to build trust between the United States and Pakistan so that the latter can believe that Washington is a long-term partner, committed to the country’s development, and is not pursuing short-term strategic goals.

The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, has said that the government should spend more rather than less on the World Service after it emerged that it is facing huge budget cuts. He told MPs today the corporation is engaged in "robust" discussions with the government about a reduction in the service's £272m Foreign Office grant.

Scientific cooperation between Islamic countries has a lacklustre record, marked by a shortage of resources and a lack of political will for investment. The few countries that have invested heavily in recent years — including Iran, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — have chosen to work instead with scientifically advanced countries in North–South collaborations that offer more obvious benefits than partnerships among themselves.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned Tuesday an American church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

Israel’s ambassador in India, Mark Sofer, visited the shrine of renowned Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer last Friday. Israel’s move to reach out to Muslims in India and Muslims in general is both shrewd and right.

Gastrodiplomacy is more than the promotion of a new taste or dish abroad. It stands for a concerted effort to use cuisine as part of cultural diplomacy. For example, the Thai government in 2002 launched an ambitious programme to put Thailand among the top five exporters of food.

Japan may be on a slow decline as far as being a global economic force, but the "soft power" of its modern entertainment genres, from manga to "anime," has global appeal, especially among young people. Why and how did this entertainment media thrive? How popular is it overseas?

More than anyone else, it is the Chinese who fear the dragon that is supposed to symbolise their gargantuan, swallow-you-whole economy, which has just overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest. China wants to be seen as the loong, which is a softer, entirely auspicious dragon-like being that is loathe to, in fact incapable of, breathing fire.