Dignitaries visiting the new US embassy in Nine Elms, south London, which is due for completion in late 2016, will encounter a commanding, site-specific work that is America incarnate. Los Angeles-based artist Mark Bradford’s work, “The Constitution”, will span 32 canvases and cover the embassy atrium. This gargantuan, patriotic piece will incorporate the entire text of the US Constitution .

What makes a country the best? Is it leadership? Military might? Economic strength? A rich and deep vein of culture and history? Freedom, a stable government and transparency when it comes to business and the political process? In a word, yes. All of the above contribute to how people perceive what makes one country better than another – and ultimately which one ranks as the best overall.

Some migrants to Britain who cannot pass an English test within 2-1/2 years of arriving may not be allowed to stay, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday in a move aimed at fostering greater integration by Muslim women.

The final online discussion to inform the upcoming White Paper on culture is underway. ‘The Cultural Diplomacy Challenge’ invites the public to suggest measures to support cultural exchanges, partnerships and collaborations between the UK and other countries.

The Parliamentary and Government taxpayer-funded art collections hold a combined 22,000 artworks, which are intended to promote British art and cultural diplomacy. But only a few of the pieces can be viewed for a fee by tourists visiting the House of Parliament, Sarah Cascone reports for artnet News. 

He suggested that the case could even be made that to travel is to do service for one's country. Travel and tourism, Whittingdale said, are a form of "soft power. Security is boosted by "greater understanding between countries," he observed. "The more people take advantage of the opportunity to visit other countries, and the more that [citizens of other countries] have exposure to visitors, that is a huge contribution."

Queen Elizabeth II, who turns 90 in April, carried out 306 engagements in Britain last year, a tally in The Times newspaper showed Friday. The queen, who became Britain’s longest serving monarch in September after more than 63 years, also conducted 35 engagements abroad, having paid state visits to Germany and Malta.

Online learning is a powerful asset not only to universities’ individual funding and internationalisation strategies, but also countries’ soft power and the reputation of their higher education sector as a whole.