China and Russia, two of the world's pre-eminent authoritarian states, just don't get soft power. That, at least, is what Joseph Nye claims in a new commentary in Foreign Policy... China also has successes. What other state, I ask, has turned Asian authoritarianism and state-run capitalism into political brands that appeal to non-democratic states and rulers the world over? You can argue it undermines democratic governance, but you can't say they have not been effective - and kind of soft.

According to Professor Rohan Gunaratna, government focus was massive infrastructure development to empower the people but not psychosocial development to engage the people to mainstream their thinking. Today, the LTTE proxy, the Tamil National Alliance, has started to radicalize and militarize the community again. Government should develop laws to deter TNA from instilling hatred and incitement and consider banning the LTTE funded TNA.

Projects funded by the Chinese include gyms and stadiums in Ghana, a hospital in Zambia and an opera house in Algeria. We also look at a Chinese footwear manufacturer's plans to create a global hub for the shoe industry in Ethiopia, and discuss reaction in China to the government's huge investments in Africa. Browse it all on our series page.

Thus far the proponents of military intervention have done a poor job of explaining how this course of action would secure these twin goals. For instance, the most popular option seems to be establishing a no-fly zone in northern Syria. However, the Assad regime still has formidable missile and ground forces and it’s unclear if grounding its aircraft would have a decisive military impact.

Sri Lanka’s eastern town of Pullumalai saw the opening of a new public market and a bus station recently, which has been built with the funding support of USAID. The US Embassy in Colombo said, the US$ 477,000 facility (Rs. 60 million) will help enhance transportation and livelihood opportunities for the people living in the Eastern province.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller today launched a tourism partnership strategy for Britain which calls for the travel industry and the government, together with key public and private sector bodies, to unite behind a long-term ambition for growth that would see Britain welcome 40 million overseas visitors by 2020, spending £31.5 billion and supporting an additional 200,000 jobs across the country.

China has committed $75bn (£48bn) on aid and development projects in Africa in the past decade, according to research which reveals the scale of what some have called Beijing's escalating soft power "charm offensive" to secure political and economic clout on the continent.

In the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the Yale Russian Chorus came to Moscow to break the ice between the Soviet Union and the United States. Fast forward 50 years and Americans and Russians are once again using music to defrost the chill between their two countries.