In Indonesia, smart power is also increasingly gaining in attraction and popularity. On several occasions, the Indonesian Military (TNI) elite has used the term to explain how the defense force must cope with future multidimensional threats and challenges.

U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine rejected the idea that relations between the U.S and Russia are deteriorating and said social networking should be used to forge better ties during her visit to Moscow.

Patrick Ho says Americans' distrust of China can be melted by reassuring skeptics that China is a nation of "peace-loving people". "We want to do away with what is called China bashing," said Ho, deputy chairman and secretary-general of the China Energy Fund Committee. "Having a big GDP doesn't mean we carry a big stick. A big GDP means we're prosperous."

The Summer Work and Travel program, created as a public diplomacy tool in 1963, allows foreign university students to work and travel for up to four months in the United States, where most work entry-level jobs at resorts, theme parks and restaurants, and experience American culture. The only firm requirements for participation in the program are a working knowledge of English and to be a full-time student at a university. About 1 million students have participated in the program.

Did you know Yemeni Kurds support Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s peace efforts with the Kurdistan Workers Party? The March 6 tweets from Yasin Aktay, a prominent pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) pundit, say they do.

David Pountney, who is also the company's artistic director, was awarded the Order of Merit at a ceremony in Vienna. It recognises outstanding contributions to co-operation between Poland and other nations. He was honoured for staging Polish opera in his role as director of the Bregenz festival in Austria since 2003.

The Japanese government presented two former baseball players with the People's Honor Award recently, causing a sensation in the country. The two winners were Shigeo Nagashima in his late 70s and Hideki Matsui who has just retired. Once a player and coach of a famous Japanese professional baseball team Yomiuri Giants, Nagashima is one of the most celebrated baseball players in postwar Japan

The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks if North Korea lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as the saber-rattling government rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find "ready partners" in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program.