The United Kingdom has been given the world’s top rating by the international magazine Monocle for its use of Soft Power... The magazine singles out everything from Harry Potter to the new James Bond movie to give Britain its top ranking. By contrast it says the United States has slipped from number one because of an introspective year caused by internal politics and the US elections.

Earlier this month we took a look at what Hu Jintao’s political report to the 18th National Congress had to say about cultural policy in China — specifically, the focus on building China as a “socialist cultural power” (社会主义文化强国) to offset perceived Western cultural dominance. A report in today’s People’s Daily summarizes the discussion...

What is the American counter-move? The Obama administration devised a scheme for a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership that would exclude China. This magical sleight of hand is grounded in the imaginations of American policy-makers but not in reality.

Israel held a four-day conference aimed at giving young Russian-speaking Jewish communal leaders in Europe a training in social media that should enable them to promote the country’s image and to reverse anti-Israeli attitudes. The conference, held on November 21-25 in Maastricht, Holland, was organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Ministry for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs.

One Beijing international primary school hosted an event on Saturday in order to enhance the cultural understanding and exchange between Uzbek and Chinese youngsters. This friendly exchange meeting, as the school called it, was held in Fangcaodi International School's affiliate Shiji Primary School in Beijing, under the theme of "Paint a flower of friendship, sing a song of peace."

If you give us nature, we travelers will come. We will come to take pictures, to be close to wildlife, to learn about different cultures or, in growing numbers, to help. When I went to Namibia in the summer of 2009, I spent two weeks in a volunteer program that is helping to bring back the country's big cat population.

Ady Jean Gardy, the Minister of Communication gave few details on the issues addressed by the Head of State, with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. "[...] This meeting was of paramount importance for Haiti [...] today, the Episcopal Conference is currently managing the issue of Concordat laws, you know that we have a concordat between Haiti and the Vatican since 1860, Haiti has renounced its Concordat rights since 1982.

Last month was the 333rd consecutive month that global temperatures were above the 20th century average, and 2012 will almost certainly be the hottest ever recorded in the US. Hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires and droughts blistered farmlands and ruined crops from Kansas to Assam, and Britain has had its wettest summer and driest spring to date.