Cape Town – Municipalities that splashed out on getting their cities ready for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) shouldn’t expect too much return on their investment, say economists.

With the Swazi king planning another round of bogus "royal elections" this year, the Swaziland Democracy Campaign will launch a campaign for democratic elections this weekend. Meanwhile the South African government's soft diplomacy props up Swaziland's absolute monarchy.

Steven Lee Adams will soon be receiving a large crate at his studio in Mapleton containing a painting he loaned to the U.S. ambassador to South Africa three years ago. His painting has been hanging in the embassy there as part of the Art in Embassies Program.

The government is going ahead with plans for a state-owned and controlled internet radio station which will be available around the world, and is looking for radio experts to set it up and run it – on government instruction.

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer will travel to Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi, Kenya, and Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, departing Washington, DC on October 22nd. At each stop he will engage with journalists, students, civil society leaders, and government spokespeople on public diplomacy and communication efforts, support for democratic institutions and freedom of press, and economic statecraft, among other topics.

Myanmar’s reconciliation process is often compared to South Africa’s but the entirely different conditions make it far more complex. After a triumphant tour of western Europe in June, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has just completed a coast-to-coast journey of the United States.

The 24th country I visited as part of my cultural diplomacy tour was South Africa, where I gave lectures for six days from July 30 at the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg. It was my first lecture on the African continent.