The U.S. Department of State and the NBA announced yesterday that they will tip off their 2011 sports envoy program next week with a trip to India that will feature the Mystics' Katie Smith and NBA Hall of Famer Gervin.

After a pre-dawn raid on protesters in the capital of Manama killed four and injured hundreds, Bahrain's government has emerged as surpisingly less moderate than the Obama administration had estimated a few months ago.

Turkish officials have warned the new U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone against interfering in its domestic affairs after he commented on Turkey detaining reporters despite pledging support for press freedom.

China has warned the US not to use calls for internet freedom as an excuse to meddle in other countries' affairs. The foreign ministry comments came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an initiative to help dissidents around the world get past government internet controls.

A Pakistani court has delayed until 14 March a decision on whether a US official arrested for killing two men in Lahore has diplomatic immunity..The case has soured relations between the US and Pakistan, a crucial ally in the fight against militants.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the NBA announced a "sports envoy" program today, tipping off with with a Feb. 22-March 2 mission to India. Hall of Fame player George Gervin...and women's NBA star Katie Smith will visit Mumbai and New Delhi...

A delegation of young Israelis will embark next week on a singular public relations campaign on North American campuses. Entitled Faces of Israel, the delegation includes Arabs and Jews, representatives of the LGBT community and Ethiopian immigrants who are meant to show the “real face” of Israeli society.

A government project dubbed the “Faces of Israel” aims to introduce North American students to their Israeli counterparts. A delegation of young Israelis representing various sectors of society will travel to college campuses to answer questions about their country. Politicians and activists on the political Right were surprised to discover that while the delegation is ethnically diverse, it has no hareidi-religious or other religious Jewish representatives...