Addressing a room of university students, Aya Kikuchi, a counselor, dished out tips for students bound for Canada. “One cultural thing to note is that there is a strong ‘ladies first’ orientation there,” she said at a meeting organized by Ryugaku Journal, an overseas study agency.

This week it emerged that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation has budgeted more than R1.5 billion to repair and build properties for foreign diplomatic missions over the next five years.

Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan visited a Moscow boarding school for orphans and children estranged from their parents on Saturday in a move analysts say delivers a "big push" to Beijing's soft power. "I represent thousands of mothers in China to be here visiting you," Peng said, after watching dance and acrobatics performances by students. Peng, a renowned folk singer and actress, passed on her wishes for the children to lead healthy, happy lives and contribute meaningfully to society.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in Jerusalem this week was without question the strongest ever made by a senior American politician on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was plainly designed to speak directly to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples over the heads of their political leaderships. It was an exercise in public diplomacy par excellence, intended to change the tone and atmosphere, and public perceptions of Obama himself

For all the drama of President Obama's stirring speech Thursday in Jerusalem, the most encouraging thing about it may have been the applause from the audience. "Remarks of President Obama to the People of Israel," the White House called the speech -- and, like President Reagan, Obama went soaring over the heads of officials, elites, and pundits, directly to Israel's citizenry. In that may lie the nub of a second-term approach to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking that could prove more fruitful than the frustrations of the first.

This past January, as part of an economic diplomacy initiative, our embassy organized a campaign designed to deepen U.S.-Lao business ties and promote the newly-established Lao chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). The economy of Laos has emerged as an attractive investment opportunity for American businesses.

Officials say before he left Israel, he helped facilitate a phone call between prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish leader Rayjep Erdogan. Turkey and Israel cut ties after Israeli forces launched a deadly raid on a Turkish ship trying to reach Gaza in 2010.

Jakarta was the final stop of the deputy defense secretary's weeklong trip to Asia, which included visits to defense and government officials in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Speaking as part of an international panel at the third Jakarta International Defense Dialogue, or JIDD, Carter said the United States is serious about its commitment to the region and detailed elements now in motion of a rebalance called for in the department's 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance.