Former minister Shashi Tharoor’s breezy visit to London last week was symbolic in the extreme: as he told British academics of India’s need to project soft power, a desert storm for democracy swirled in the Middle East.

Rugby is a potential way for New Zealand to exercise "soft power" in the world of international diplomacy, a joint New Zealand-US study has found.

Japan is rolling out a red carpet ahead of the arrival of much-awaited special guests from China: a pair of giant pandas. The two 5-year-old pandas are due to arrive at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Monday. They'll be the zoo's first since the 2008 death of its beloved giant panda Ling Ling.

China should strive to gain more cultural soft power by discussing its current culture rather than lingering over its traditional culture, said one of the country's top think tanks on Friday.

Peace cannot be taken for granted. The ongoing border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia are challenging the very essence of ASEAN's existence - a no-war policy between its member states.

After two years of trying, human rights activist Abdelaziz Dahhassi realized his dream late last year of setting up a think tank to find new ways to fight ethnic and religious discrimination in France.

India needs to do more to leverage its formidable strengths in 'soft power' abroad and exploit its capacity to provide global leadership in the area art of culture, according to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.