Trying to survive in our changing world over the past twenty years, many large and small countries have made certain attempts to adopt some foreign policy tools that were invented in the United States. The international community is most actively discussing the factor of "soft" or "smart" power, which has become an important element in maintaining, supporting and strengthening America's global leadership. 

Doing nothing when war crimes are committed is immoral. It is also bad policy. But a response to war crimes such as those perpetrated by the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad must be more than a display of righteousness; it must become an element of a broader foreign policy initiative. This is the challenge facing the Trump administration after the missile strike launched by the United States 

Australia has been warned it's losing its global influence on the world stage due to lacklustre contributions to foreign aid and humanitarian efforts. "We kind of miss you. We miss Australia. Australia should be big influential, taking your space, helping with humanitarian (disasters)," former prime minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt told ABC's Q&A. Ms Thorning-Schmidt compared Australia's foreign aid contributions to those of the UK.

An Abu Dhabi-based Arabic TV channel launched a series of new Chinese entertainment and cultural programs for the first time in the Arabic language. The line-up, entitled USILK, broadcast different programs and series not only on China’s culture and entertainment, but also on China’s politics and new strategies under the Xi Jinping leadership. The move indicates China’s willingness to expand its media footholds and to better communicate China’s messages to the region.

Glamorous, popular and passionate about fighting AIDS, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan is Beijing’s diplomatic not-so-secret weapon spreading Chinese soft power around the world. A former singing star in the People’s Liberation Army, “Mother Peng”, as she is affectionately known in China, will be at President Xi Jinping’s side as he meets US President Donald Trump in Florida next week.

The Prince of Wales has arrived at Pisa airport in Italy for the second part of his Brexit charm offensive in the EU. He'll spend the next five days here where he will visit the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, travel to war graves on the Austrian border, tour the 2016 earthquake-hit town of Amatrice, and meet the Pope at the Vatican. It's part of the Royal Family's mission this year, to charm their way around the EU.

Almilaji had more hope of getting back to his wife. But he understands his new reality as a Syrian trying to study in the United States: “I have to accept being lost between orders and anti-orders.” Suddenly, Canada is looking like a really good option. “Canada is having a moment,” Ted Sargent, vice president-international at the University of Toronto, said last month. “It is a time of opportunity.”

International education in Asia Pacific has been a critical diplomacy tool for the region – one that is becoming all the more essential given the tempestuous global political landscape and a move towards isolationism in a number of countries, educators said this week at the Asia Pacific Association for International Education conference. [...] stakeholders nonetheless observed that the region’s global competitiveness continues to increase.