The timing probably couldn’t have been much worse. Almost a year to the day until the 2012 Olympics Games begin in London, the world was treated to images of rioters smashing storefronts and setting buildings ablaze in the capital and beyond.

iWhen the Olympic Games end on 12 August 2012, all eyes will be on London. But the organisers of Edinburgh's festivals hope that, when the spectacle of the closing ceremony has faded, the gaze will travel to Scotland's capital.

In the face of China’s growing dominance in international politics and its assertion of sovereignty over Taiwan, Taipei has resorted to what it calls “cultural diplomacy” to further the island’s interests abroad...

These initiatives are part of the Indian government's 'Look East' policy. ICCR president talked with Shobhan Saxena about India's growing soft power and need for more engagement with countries in our extended neighbourhood...

Tibet’s newly elected leader, Lobsang Sangay, assumed office on Monday. The baton of the Tibetan freedom movement has been passed on to the new generation born and raised outside Tibet, and China must recognise Sangay’s considerable efforts towards achieving democracy and justice.

Pakistan’s use of terror as an instrument of proxy war against India is, of course, well established. And although successive Indian governments have deployed the full force of “coercive diplomacy” ... they haven’t always enjoyed enormous success.

Rebuilding the financial reputation of the United States will be Gary Locke's top priority when he arrives in Beijing on Friday as the US ambassador to China, experts said... And he will certainly engage in public diplomacy, promoting human rights and Western values...

The U.S. government hashas funded thousands of programs that not only help people in the developing world, but work to maintain vital transnational relationships... The foreign affairs budget also funds scholarship and exchange programs that bring foreign students and community leaders to the United States to study, network, and engage in cultural exchange.