The premier also visited the Acropolis of Athens and the National Archaeological Museum on Friday, and had dinner at the Acropolis Museum on Thursday. Analysts said such arrangements are for paying tribute to another great civilization. It also shows that, after decades of rapid growth, Chinese leaders' overseas visits no longer focus solely on practical results, such as forging deals. They also make time for spiritual and cultural understanding.

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) called on Wednesday fordeepening cooperation with Portugal in cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

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.

It's not a good sign when the leader of a G7 nation feels the need to state his country still matters.  That is precisely what French President Francois Hollande did at a meeting of European Union leaders last month after his Socialist party's humiliating defeat by the hard right National Front in European Parliament elections.

Current news coverage duly notes Juan Carlos’ pivotal role in encouraging and preserving Spanish democracy in the years following the death of the geriatric dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. But the King is perceived in some quarters within and without Spain as tainted goods: a high-living hunter of Botswanan elephants in the midst of a national economic downturn, a less than uxorious royal spouse, saddled with a Marie Antoinette-esque daughter and larcenous son-in-law. 

President Obama urged the world Wednesday to help Ukraine as it faces economic challenges, Russian threats and separatist violence in the eastern and southern regions. "We're confident that Ukraine can, in fact, be a thriving, vital democracy that has strong relationships with Europe and has strong relationships with Russia," Obama said after his first face-to-face meeting with Ukraine President-elect Petro Poroshenko.

The president will land in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday morning where he will help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the solidarity movement. He then heads to Brussels for a G7 summit on Wednesday. He’ll dine privately with French President François Hollande in Paris on Thursday and commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy on Friday — all while Russian President Vladimir Putin is nearby.

A number of Turkish artworks have been presented during a cultural exhibition held in Tehran’s Saba Art and Cultural Institute.  Turkish Ambassador to Tehran, Umit Yardim, President of the Yunus Emre Cultural Institute, Hayati Develi, and the Director of the Iranian National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Ahmad Mohit-Tabatabaei, attended the opening ceremony of the festival.