For the second time in six months England have been left crushed by the World Cup. After the humiliation of this summer's 4-1 defeat to Germany in South Africa came another resounding rejection for football's mother country.

“We want to give these aspiring children boys and girls—wealthy and poor—the opportunity to learn and develop their skills in baseball,” [US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry] Thomas said, citing the case of Filipino-American Tim Lincecum...

Many believe that America's greatest export is its culture; from blockbuster Hollywood films and TV series to jeans and iPods, there is little doubt that American cultural products have profound dissemination and market consumption around the globe. But few would have imagined that one day Turkish citizens would be cheering on pro-wrestlers in Istanbul.

In previous editions, the Asian Games have provided fertile ground for the two Koreas to engage in sports diplomacy as they seek to repair ties 60 years after war broke out between north and south.

In a country famed for its distance runners and sweltering sun, few would expect Kenya to be enthusiastic about winter sports. But at an ice rink in the capital, some young Kenyans are playing a new and exciting western game.

From Caracas to Seoul, America's beloved sport is a global obsession.

Sports are making the well-known ambassador, who often goes by her Korean name, Shim Eun-kyung, even more popular among Koreans. She regularly plays tennis, for example, with Korean friends at her residence behind downtown Seoul's Deoksu Palace.

After many rounds of peace talks gone bad, India and Pakistan are still very much at odds. But now, an unlikely duo of sports-loving 30-year-olds is aiming to see if a tennis match can solve what diplomacy has been unable to.