In one sense Brazil’s mega-event diplomacy has already worked, for it has brought the country an unprecedented degree of global scrutiny. But it has not been delivering quite the message intended.

Russian Ambassador to Zambia, Konstantin Kozhanov, says for the past 25 years the Russian Centre in Zambia has been active and has added momentum to furthering cultural and educational cooperation between Russia and Zambia.

Current news coverage duly notes Juan Carlos’ pivotal role in encouraging and preserving Spanish democracy in the years following the death of the geriatric dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. But the King is perceived in some quarters within and without Spain as tainted goods: a high-living hunter of Botswanan elephants in the midst of a national economic downturn, a less than uxorious royal spouse, saddled with a Marie Antoinette-esque daughter and larcenous son-in-law. 

Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries (MTIC) at the head of a delegation composed of members of the Promotion Department of the Ministry and Maryse Noel, her Director General, participates this week at Caribbean Week taking place in New York from 2 to 8 June 2014 under the auspices of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

According to Martha Bayles, a professor of humanities at Boston College, public diplomacy has disappeared. Her new book is “Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America’s Image Abroad.”

Advertising agency Dentsu recently released the results of its annual Japan Brand Survey, in which it asks people from around the world for their opinion on the country. This year’s study involved 3,600 men and women living in 17 different countries, whose responses were used to compile a list of 10 things they feel Japan does better than anywhere else in the world.

China has made a significant contribution to international peace and security in the 25 years it has been taking part in United Nations peacekeeping operations. People's Liberation Army personnel have built and repaired more than 8,000km of roads, defused 8,700 landmines and other explosive devices and treated in excess of 60,000 patients. The missions are an important facet of the nation's soft power; praise has been won and goodwill generated.