DUBAI --- From boil to simmer and back again. It never ends. Political passions in the Middle East do not cool.

I have been visiting Arab countries frequently during the past five years, which certainly does not make me an expert. But I have been here often enough to pick up on the change in mood during the past few months. The cautious hopefulness that flowered after the Arab uprisings of 2011 has withered, replaced by a fearful fatalism about what lies ahead.

The Israeli instrumentalis Avner Hodorov is expected in Luanda on October 31 to be part of “Ponte Cultural” project of the Angolan music house. This was said to Angop this Sunday by the promoter of the event Giyora Arbiser. According to him, the visit of Avner Hodorov will contribute to the cultural interchange between Angola and Israel.

Trunk or boot, hood or bonnet? The United States and United Kingdom have so much in common, but there are differences. And when it comes to ‘soft power,’ what young people around the world fear might be in your glove compartment may set us apart.

Just as how the US leads in technology, so too can China. Catching up with US GDP was no longer the only burning issue; China, it was said, needs to close the gap with the US on innovation. I agree, but some myths about innovation in China need to be dispelled.

For advocates of the national security/mass atrocities link, preventing, mitigating, and halting atrocities -- through preventive diplomacy, as in Kenya, or military intervention, as in Libya -- will enhance the United States' strategic posture in key crisis arenas and, over the long-term, strengthen U.S. soft power in conflict-affected regions.

Though China is trying to make its language and message be heard across the world to overcome its disadvantageous position in global communications, the exports of its cultural products are far from satisfactory... Market, content and communication channel are the three key factors impeding the exports of China's cultural products.

The looming federal budget crunch, coming as the United States reduces its military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, should not slow the State Department’s push to hire more Foreign Service officers, a new report from retired diplomats said.

The Seychelles agreement with Mauritius to share the ownership of the Mascareigne bank was cited by the Seychelles founding President, Sir James Mancham, as being a prime example of solving a “contention” through the policy of cultural diplomacy.