In March 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the Prime Minister of Turkey, replacing Abdullah Gul; the latter took the post of the Foreign Minister. Meanwhile, Ahmet Davutoglu was invited to become the Prime Minister’s chief foreign policy adviser. This triumvirate would shape Turkish foreign policy for the next decade. The “Armenian opening” was one of the most challenging tasks for these foreign policy makers of Ankara.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday denied any "flip-flop" in India's policy towards Pakistan and said talks with the neighbour can only be held in an atmosphere of "sadbhavna" or goodwill and without the involvement of a third party. Addressing a mega press conference here on the completion of the NDA government's one year in office, Sushma Swaraj said there were no talks planned with Pakistan as of now and also discounted media reports about cricket diplomacy being launched between the two countries. 

New York: The New York Cosmos will kick off a new era in sporting relations between the United States and Cuba on Tuesday when they become the first American sports team in 16 years to play in the Communist-ruled island. Brazilian legend Pele is to join the glamorous New York soccer team's traveling party for Tuesday's exhibition match against the Cuban national team at the Pedro Marrero Stadium in Havana. The fixture reflects the rapidly thawing ties between the United States and Cuba following moves to normalize relati

Toshiko Takeuchi’s fears of her Chinese table tennis opponents dissipated when she saw the unfamiliar players smiling and enjoying the moment. “Just like us, they are simply athletes who love pingpong,” Takeuchi, 67, said she thought during the World Table Tennis Championships here in 1971. She also had no idea that the tournament would help change the course of world history.

Alibaba is hoping to re-create March Madness in November. The Chinese online shopping giant is teaming up with top leagues in the National Collegiate Athletic Association to stream the first regular-season games played in the country online. 

Yep, the Azeris have oil... huge amounts of the stuff, so much so that the country is the ugly guy made good who’s suddenly never lonely. And Azerbaijan likes it, to the extent it wants to re-brand itself as a cultural, social and economic hot-spot rather than some backwater parked next to the Caspian Sea. And sport is a perfect branding opportunity.

The NBA is the first U.S. professional league to visit sports-crazy Cuba since the declaration of detente between the Cold War enemies late last year. Stars such as former MVP Steve Nash and Hall of Fame inductee Dikembe Mutumbo will open a four-day training camp Thursday to wage athletic diplomacy and boost the profile of Cuba's arguably fourth most-popular sport, after baseball, boxing and soccer.