Most Chinese people would firmly agree that China should maintain its rise to power. But a country's rise comes at a price. Just look at events in 2010. How many frictions did China encounter with Western countries? How many neighboring countries were also involved in such troubles?

All of these qualities have transformed Turkey into an attractive place for business, media, artists, diplomats, students and non-governmental organisations from around the world. Turkey's ever-increasing soft power is becoming one of its most significant traits, which we will continue to use to enhance regional and global peace.

America’s influence has dwindled everywhere with the financial crisis and the rise of emerging powers. But it seems to be withering faster in the Middle East than anywhere else. Two decades ago, when America marshalled a daunting force to toss Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, it stood unchallenged in the region.

For two years, President Obama has labored to improve America's standing in the eyes of the Muslim world. He hasn't gotten anywhere with the governments of Iran, Syria, the Palestinian Authority or perhaps any other Muslim country. But with their publics, Mr. Obama is much better liked than his predecessor, which has yielded more favorable ratings for the U.S. in general.

A survey released on Saturday shows that nearly two-thirds of Japanese believe the country should seek for deeper interdependence with China, despite rows and spats in the past year - a trend experts say reflects the realistic mindset of the Japanese people as well as the evolving geopolitical changes in East Asia.

What has changed, however — and this has made governments vulnerable to citizens’ legitimate criticism as never before (which is a good thing) — is that the sheer extent of potentially embarrassing and even “endangering” information that can be divulged by anyone motivated to do so...

When Fifa announced earlier this month to a stunned world that tiny Qatar will host the 2022 football World Cup, it signalled the arrival of the Gulf era. Clearly the events in our region have climaxed and caused this titanic shift, changing stereotypes about the insignificance of our region.

There is the official Indian response to WikiLeaks at last. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has defended the confidentiality principle of diplomatic communication between ambassadors and the home government, while launching the new website of the publicity and public diplomacy wing for the ministry of external affairs on Saturday.