When an Internet research group recently released a study concluding that the most influential person in the Twitter universe was Rafinha Bastos, a Brazilian comedian ...the English-speaking world was predictably baffled.

Congressional lawmakers are scrambling to prevent America's international media arm from going off-air in China, arguing that a plan to shift much of its reporting to the Internet won't do much good in a country notorious for its web censors.

Over the summer, there were numerous instances of sports diplomacy in practice throughout the world.

What do American comedy shows, such as South Park, an animated cartoon sitcom, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a parody of news broadcasts, have to do with public diplomacy? Well, more than you think.

The steepest decline in American prestige took place during the Bush years, and President Obama doesn't look like he has the wherewithal to reverse the trend. Overleveraging of credit led to a housing bubble in the US and then to a full-blown financial crisis that enveloped the world in 2008.

While Ankara has political influence in Syria, soft power has little sway when Bashir al-Assad’s survival is at stake. Yet as long as Turkey remains committed to a noninterventionist approach, it can offer little more than diplomatic efforts and attempts at persuasion.

Penrith deputy mayor Jim Aitken said the exchange was a great opportunity for both sets of students to experience another culture. "In today's global society, it is important to recognise opportunities to learn from one another and it's a great way to put Penrith City on the global map," he said.

Around 1,8-hundred Korean military personnel have been dispatched to southern Lebanon... thanks to their hard work, the Korean contingent has received a warm welcome from local residents.
Now, in return, the unit invited 25 Lebanese delegates, including military officials, journalists, cultural icons and students to Korea...