A new global “soft power” ranking recently reported that the democratic states of North America and Western Europe were the most successful at achieving their diplomatic objectives “through attraction and persuasion”. Countries such as the US, the UK, Germany and Canada, the report claimed, are able to promote their influence through language, education, culture and the media...

Tafoya is a personal chef who has been in the business for almost fourteen years. Right now, he is in Kathmandu for two weeks upon the invitation of US Embassy for their culinary diplomacy program. “I’m here to promote American culture by sharing my knowledge about American food,” said Tafoya. 

The first direct commercial flight between the US and Cuba landed today in the city of Santa Clara, in the center of the island, after more than half a century of restrictions.  It marked a further step in the normalization process between the two countries, reported dpa news.

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a statement on the United States reaching President Obama's stated goal of increasing the number of Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admission Program.  Secretary Kerry noted, "A year ago, President Obama set the goal of welcoming at least 10,000 of the most vulnerable refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria to the United States. 

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday joined a global agreement to cut greenhouse gases, moving the world toward a significant reduction in climate-warming emissions faster time frame than previously imagined.

The Korean Wave, or the popularity of Korean culture, is the best tool for South Korea in reaching American people and bringing the two countries' closer together, said a United States diplomat recently posted in Seoul. "I think the best thing to use is a soft power approach. The best thing Koreans have going for them in foreign countries is the Korean Wave," Brian Peterson said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday.

Strisvara, an all-women musicand cultural exchange project, will take place in Bengaluru come September 10. Organized by Arun Sivag and NH Subhash Gowda — the 18-day residency and concert tour programme will see female musicians from the US, Sweden, Spain and Nepal engage in music with independent Indian artistes, along with those from native Soliga tribe of Biligirirangana Hills. 

In New Jersey, an eastern US state, the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) held its 9th regional conference that was attended by Nepalis from around the world. From a small community that was trying to establish its identity and get access to dual citizenship and the opportunities accompanying it, the NRNA has grown into a larger organisation with multiple issues to deal with.