Literary watchers in China say awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to Chinese novelist Mo Yan will generate greater interest and spur the development of literature in the country. Channel NewsAsia explains why the win is even a source of soft power for the country.

In the near future, no one will be able to become a leader without digital followers, and no diplomat will be well-positioned to represent his or her country if he or she does not personally engage on social networks. And it is not the size of the followership that matters, but the quality of the conversations.

Marines with Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji invited Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members with Fuji Schools to participate in a fall social Sept. 29. Activities throughout the day included a three-legged race, tug-of-war, soccer and softball, and finished with a barbecued meal that provided an opportunity for everyone to interact.

Pakistan and China Wednesday signed two agreements for cooperation in the economic, technological and cultural sectors. The first agreement “Economic and Technological Cooperation between Pakistan and China for a grant of 70 million RMB” was signed by Acting Secretary Economic Affairs Division Iftikhar Ahmad Rao and Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zeng Wei.

The statement said intellectuals are the soft power that strengthens Egypt in the Arab and international arenas. The draft gives the president the power to appoint a quarter of the members of the Senate from officials, ministers and former ambassadors, but did not mention writers, thinkers and artists and intellectuals, the statement added, who are the nation's conscience and mind.

An opening ceremony of the world’s largest Jewish center “Menorah,” which has been created for almost a decade by the local Hasidic community, has taken place in Dnipropetrovsk. The launch of the center was attended by hundreds of important guests. Those included Israel’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy...

There was a time when American power was viewed as decisive in the Middle East. If Washington sneezed there was a sense that the region would catch a cold. Times have changed. Many factors brought us to this point. Perhaps most important is the fact that though the region has changed, U.S. policies have not adapted.

Chinese views on US-China relations have declined sharply in the last two years, a new study has found. Only 39% of people said they would call the relationship co-operative, down from 68% in 2010, a Pew report said. Many Chinese people, especially the young, urban and well-educated, said they admired elements of US soft power, such as science and technology.