The Olympic Games and the World Cup offer host cities and countries a unique opportunity to make their mark on the world stage. However, such global sporting events aren't always held just for fun. According to Loïc Ravenel, the Games are always viewed as a statement on the national and international stage.

There is a power shift taking place at the forefront of customer relations and hard power in the face of globalisation and information revolution proves to be experiencing less favour. Harvard Business School experts suggest that the relative role of soft power to hard power is likely to increase.

The PSBT needs clarity in the proposals that the films will project a nuanced and positive image of contemporary India’s soft power to international audiences: Business Entrepreneurs/ Innovators, Scientific India, Compassionate India and Changing Face of India.

“We entered the world of weibo with an open mind, and have often been surprised by what we have found,” said a note by the embassy’s public diplomacy head weeks after the first status updates hit the “Canadaweibo” account on Chinese Internet portal Sina.com.

The ongoing drought in the Midwest has affected approximately 80 percent of the U.S. corn crop and more than 11 percent of the soybean crop, triggering a rise in global food prices (RFE/RL) that CFR's Isobel Coleman says may fuel political instability in developing countries. The United States produces approximately 35 percent of the world's corn and soybean supply, commodities that are "crucial in the food chain, because they are used for feed stock for animals," Coleman says.

"What has been the whole outcome of these drone attacks is that you have directly or indirectly contributed to destabilizing or undermining the democratic government. Because people really make fun of the democratic government – when you pass a resolution against drone attacks in the parliament and nothing happens. The Americans don't listen to you, and they continue to violate your territory," he said.

South Korea faces off against the northern neighbor it is still technically at war with at Olympic table tennis on Saturday in what is sure to be one of the most politically charged contests at London 2012. Uncertainty about secretive North Korea and its new leader and rumored development of nuclear weapons have created a tense backdrop for the six players preparing to meet in the team event.