The United States seeks to support the people of the Middle East and North Africa as they work to realize their aspirations for greater dignity, justice, and opportunity. So said Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum.

A provision in the immigration bill now being considered by Congress could change things. Bill Gertz, CEO of the American Institute for Foreign Study, the organization that sponsored Davies, says the proposed legislation could kill these exchange programs.

Scores of hand-woven carpets were laid across the plaza—a sea of red surging over the steps to the library in Mary. A Turkmen drill team, in white uniforms fringed with green, paraded on the sidewalk in preparation for National Carpet Day. The plastic sheeting stretched across the steps forced us to pick our way up the granite siding to the entrance.

That venture was part of the two-year Global Dialogue on the Future of Iran that Ottawa is sponsoring through the Munk School in order to increase digital communications with and among dissident Iranians.

Answering the question of whether China exerts soft power in the world depends heavily on the point of view of the critic, according to Trefor Moss in The Diplomat: “China has little attractive power – in the West. But then not everyone is watching China through Western eyes,” he writes.

Digital Diplomacy is a topic that, for most people, conjures up images of embassies conversing with foreign governments and broadcasting information, messages and well -- propaganda -- to impact foreign policy goals.

The local media's failure to provide sufficient and high-quality international news could be a result of their lack of vision, as they focus only on trivial and sensational subjects to maintain high ratings, media insiders said.

There are more than a few complaints made by Chinese tourists who visit South Korea: There is nothing to buy but cosmetics, no diversity in cuisine at restaurants and no unique sightseeing spots away from the all-too-familiar historical and scenic sites. Nonetheless, Chinese tourists who recently return from South Korea never fail to gush about one common observation: "Oh, the country is so clean!"