Russia has made its first appearance on the world's “soft power” rankings, coming in at 27th place, news website newsru.com reported Tuesday. The Soft Power 30 is an annual ranking compiled by London-based strategy firm Portland Communications. The company evaluates the influence each country exerts over others through means other than military power.

U.S. social media companies are taking steps to curb support for terrorist causes on their websites. [...] In response, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) released a new propaganda video which threatens Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. 

Egypt has launched a new English blog to “enhance its communication with the world” and to address “inaccurate” reports about the country in foreign media. Launched this week under the name Egypt MFA Blog: Egypt Connects, the blog aims to create an “informal platform” for those interested in the country’s foreign policy, according to Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.