Who would have thought that it is the hard power driven Vladimir Putin who would demonstrate to the world the use of the whole spectrum of power tools in the 21st century. He learned from his past mistakes, picked up our debate on soft/smart power, and, by the time he decided to invade Ukraine, he knew exactly how to wield the whole set of his tools.

From Naomi Campbell to Nancy Ajram and Kate Moss, Florence-based fashion designers have dressed the world’s stars and they don’t look set to stop any time soon. Whether it be Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo, Guccio Gucci or Emilio Pucci, they are all being celebrated during the 60th anniversary of the Center of Florence for Italian Fashion. These Italian powerhouses have been at the cutting edge of fashion design for years and their influence on the Middle East, as well as their inspiration from the region, is clear.

Relations with our Indonesian neighbours have been a touch awkward of late, ever since the Australian government got busted committing the international espionage equivalent of eavesdropping over the back fence.

Jim Riddle was surprised when he got an email from Iran. The Minnesota farmer, and former chairman of the US National Organic Standards Board, says he was invited to speak at the Second International Organic Agriculture conference in Tehran. Since Riddle had never been to Iran before, he says he wasn't sure if his trip would conflict with US sanctions against Iran. So he checked with the USDA and State Department and he says they told him about some cultural, sports and academic exchanges that are going on. "[It's] kind of like soft diplomacy," he says.

The American Association of University Professors is calling on universities to uphold principles of academic freedom by either terminating or renegotiating the agreements that have brought nearly 100 Chinese government-backed cultural and language programs called Confucius Institutes to campuses across the United States and Canada.

Relativity Media is leaping into the business of distributing Chinese films in the U.S. and is taking on new investment from Chinese partners that will allow it to expand its annual release slate to over 15 movies by 2015-2016, the company announced Monday at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Under a new agreement, Israel and Germany will cooperate on museum research to establish the owners of Jewish-owned art stolen by the Nazis, AFP reports. Culture and Sports Ministry director general Orly Froman and German Culture Minister Monika Gruetters signed the agreement on Sunday, officials said. Under the accord, German and Israeli experts will go through training, and will set up join databases.