Vladimir Putin uses an invisible army of social media propagandists, in addition to conventional media, to support his narrative of an out-of-control Ukraine, to spread fabrications of atrocities by Ukrainian extremists, and to unleash destabilizing rumors on east Ukraine.

Tags: vladimir putin, russia, social media, ukraine, propaganda, conflict, media, journalism

Twitter finally has a toehold in Israel: The social networking company has retained the services of the public relations firm of Daphna Triwaks, whose Triwaks Public Relations will start representing the company locally this week.

Tags: twitter, social media, israel, public relations, @israel, internet, nation branding, triwaks public relations, middle east, public affairs

Ali Dawai is enormously popular on Facebook, with countless photos of the Iraqi provincial governor picking up rubbish or sipping tea with people while wearing his trademark blue boiler suit.Ali Dawai is enormously popular on Facebook, with countless photos of the Iraqi provincial governor picking up rubbish or sipping tea with people while wearing his trademark blue boiler suit.

Tags: social media, facebook, media, internet, ali dawai, iraq, middle east, nuri al-maliki

The unveiling of Peng and Cheng is notable, as Chinese leaders' wives have usually kept a low profile. They might not play the same roles and hold the same power as Clinton and her fellow ex-secretaries of state, but both the "first lady" and "second lady" have done their part in boosting China's soft power and raising its global profile.

Tags: soft power, public diplomacy, china, east asia, government pd, first-lady diplomacy, Cultural Diplomacy

Israel offered Nigeria help on Sunday in locating 200 schoolgirls abducted last month by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram in an attack that has drawn global condemnation and prompted some Western powers to provide assistance.  "Israel expresses deep shock at the crime against the girls," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office quoted him as telling Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan by phone. "We are ready to help in finding the girls and fighting the cruel terrorism inflicted on you."

Tags: aid diplomacy, public diplomacy, soft power, israel, nigeria, terrorism, middle east, africa

BP plans to invest $1.5 billion this year to increase its production of natural gas in Egypt, hit by an energy crisis following three years of political turmoil, the state news agency MENA said on Sunday.

Tags: egypt, non-state actors, non-state pd, bp, economy, investment, great britain, europe, middle east

Manager Roy Hodgson is due to announce his England World Cup squad later and thousands of British fans are expected to make the journey to Brazil for the tournament.

Tags: brazil, 2014 fifa world cup, soccer diplomacy, fifa, world cup, Cultural Diplomacy, soft power, public diplomacy, sports diplomacy, great britain, south america, europe

A cherry tree by the Potomac River measures 2 meters around its trunk. Looking at the young leaves, you would never guess this tree was more than 100 years old. A nearby sign states that this is the first cherry tree that Tokyo gifted to Washington, D.C., in 1912 as a symbol of their friendship.

Tags: japan, public diplomacy, soft power, united states, history, yasukuni war shrine, world war ii, diplomacy, cherry blossoms