Canada will be able to "punch above its weight" at the G20 summit as a result of the country's reputation as a strong performer during the recession, say some observers.

China is expanding its presence on U.S. campuses, seeking to promote its culture and history and meet a growing global demand to learn its language.

Dozens of doctors and nurses fanned out from a Chinese navy hospital ship to treat poor Jamaicans as part of a global humanitarian mission to portray China’s rapidly growing military as a responsible power. The aim of the operation...is to soften the image of China’s 2.3 million-member military and boost its ties with other nations’ armed forces.

Hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup was supposed to provide an unalloyed boon to Brazil’s global image. Yet tournament preparations have highlighted many structural weaknesses in Latin America’s largest country, and predictions that the World Cup will deliver enormous economic benefits should be treated with skepticism.

In a first of its kind, al-Shabaab militants took journalists to witness al-Qaida's battle for Somali hearts and minds. It was the first time the group had spoken publicly in Somalia and the first time it had distributed aid. With thousands of destitute people facing an uncertain future, the camps are fertile ground for recruitment by radicals.

...the outcome [Palestine's admittance to UNESCO] has obliged Washington, under U.S. law, to cut its $80 million annual financial contribution to Unesco, weakening an important vehicle of U.S. "soft power" influence through the projects supporting U.S. goals in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Monday's vote to admit Palestine as a full member of Unesco, the U.N. cultural arm, was a sharp reminder of just how limited Washington's influence -- hard, soft and smart -- has become in respect of the Middle East's most intractable conflict.