Egypt's new first lady Naglaa Ali Mahmoud and her predecessor Suzanne Mubarak have at least one thing in common: Both have seen their husbands and sons detained in Egyptian prisons.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Thursday underscored importance of projecting the country’s soft image through public diplomacy by encouraging people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges and promotion of trade the world over.

She set a frequent-flier record for U.S. secretaries of state when she touched down in her 100th country and she commemorated the strong stand that one of her predecessors had taken against Soviet expansion.

Public diplomacy differs because but it has a broader reach, it goes beyond the influential few to the masses, to those indifferent, ignorant or not seeking to know. It seeks out a new audience and encourages communities to adopt a positive and open outlook towards Australia.

As the President said, Caribbean-Americans have taken many different paths to our shores — some forced to come against their will, others pursuing greater educational and economic opportunities.

Turkey, in the era of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is playing a regional and global rule that has filled its leaders with pride and ambition.

The initiative, a key diplomatic effort by the State Department, aims to engage young girls and women on how success in athletics can develop important life skills and improve academic achievement. It also is designed to increase cross-cultural understanding between international participants and Americans.

Not long after becoming secretary of state in 2009, Clinton took up the cookstove cause, one of what she describes as “smart power” issues — though skeptical veterans of American foreign policy tend to deride them as soft more than smart.