On 1 July 2010 Xinhua, the news agency of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), will launch a global 24-hour English-language television channel called China Network Corp (CNC). Trial broadcasts began on May 1.

Japan's prime minister visited Okinawa and delivered an unpopular message Tuesday: it will be challenging to move a U.S. base off the island. Okinawans say the U.S. military has been responsible for a number of blights in the city, from serious crimes like rape and drunken driving, to environmental and noise pollution.

Even as more and more Russians are concerned about reports that Russians are converting to Islam and that radical Islamists are recruiting Russians into their networks, the Russian Federation’s oldest organization for ethnic Russian Muslims is struggling with the question: who is a Russian?

Joseph Lee, a lecturer at the University of Nottingham Business School, is quite optimistic about the public perception of China. “I think to a certain extent that the British are happy about the economic rise of China. They don’t view that as a threat.”

There are 10 other countries in particular that hold the key to America's central role in all of Asia. Engaging with them is a must for US prosperity and national security.

Currently only about 30 per cent of Americans have passports, meaning few get to see what foreign policy decisions mean for everyday people worldwide. But, these street-level foreign relations ultimately mean just as much to easing tensions as boardroom dealings between politicians.

Australian resources are helping to power Asia - and the federal government should use this clout to gain more political power in the region, experts say. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is urging "resources diplomacy" in its latest paper.

Barack Obama's foreign policy has been defined so far by his attempts to "engage" with adversaries or rivals of the United States, such as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia. The results have been mixed.