We must hold regular dialogue and seek common ground, even if there are issues that are onerous to resolve. We hope to see a return to this standard practice of diplomacy. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung Se, have held talks in New York, where they agreed on “the importance of continuing and deepening high-level communication” for Japan-South Korea ties. 

It is often said that "doing nothing is not an option". It always is, and it is sometimes the best option. As the forces of Isis continue their murderous, genocidal and misogynistic advance in Iraq, it is an option that should be seriously considered. In the end, however, only 43 MPs voted against the "something" that the Prime Minister proposed on Friday.

It's been several weeks since the coup that wasn't in Lesotho, yet there's been little progress in unravelling the tense political stand-off there. This comes despite the best efforts of President Zuma and his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who have both invested plenty of time and diplomatic capital in efforts to find a solution. SA's influence only stretches so far, apparently.

When Scotland voted against independence in Thursday’s referendum, people across the world reacted with a mixture of relief, disappointment and trepidation at what the result might mean for other separatist movements. Yet while Scotland’s silent majority for unity won out in the final ballot, the Yes campaigners succeeded in making their voices heard, not only by the Westminster political establishment but in global headlines. 

Israelis see advancing the peace process with the Palestinians as more important than confronting the Iranian nuclear threat, according to a poll published this week. Indeed, the survey shows, the public is more interested in the Israeli government promoting better ties with moderate Arab states and the European Union than in dealing with Tehran’s nuclear program. 

Eighty high school and university students from Korea and China took a pledge on Thursday: They promised to write only supportive comments on the Internet and encourage others to do the same.  The group pledge was part of a ceremony to launch the "Young Korea-China Adults Sunfull Cyber Public Diplomatic Corps,'' a joint project between the Chinese newspaper the People's Daily and the Seoul-based Sunfull Movement Headquarters.

A poll conducted after Israel's latest military operation in Gaza has shown that nearly half of the respondents expected Palestinian reconciliation to fail, despite 87.6% assessing the degree of unity among Palestinian factions to be "good" during the offensive.

There are almost half a million English people in Scotland - and most of them want to remain in the union. But polls suggest one in four will vote for Scottish independence. And some are actively campaigning for an end to the 307-year union. It's easy to understand why most people who were born in the rest of the UK but live in Scotland might be inclined to vote "No" in the Scottish referendum.