The Abbott government's deep foreign aid cuts are undermining the national interest and harming Australia's relations abroad, aid organisations say in a major pitch to reverse the cuts in the coming budget.

Papers voice concern over Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung's plan to limit the number of mainland tourists. Mr Leung said on Tuesday that he would discuss proposals to tighten the Individual Visit Scheme for mainland tourists with Beijing authorities, the Xinhua News Agency reports.

The United States named its first international envoy for gay rights Monday, tasking a veteran diplomat with leading U.S. efforts to fight violence and discrimination against LGBT individuals overseas.

People now live in an information rich environment. Yet in the realm of foreign policy, people may be exposed to an entire array of different, and even contradicting, realities produced by different actors and their framing of events.

Many of the funds will be used for soft-power initiatives to cultivate “pro-Japan” foreigners, such as supporting Japan studies at universities and setting up “Japan House” centers to promote the “Japan Brand.”

Israelis recognize that the relationship between their country and the United States government has gone downhill under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but don’t believe the strained ties have seriously damaged their connection to U.S. Jewry, according to a newly released poll by the Ruderman Family Foundation.

A new election campaign brings about new stereotypes. It is now very common to hear that Israel does everything to maintain a policy of status quo with its neighbors, including the Palestinians. Looking at Israeli public opinion in the last twenty years, however, tells us that the opposite is true. If one takes election results as reliable indicators, it is possible to identify three characteristic phases in the mood of the Israeli public.