While U.S. military and economic hegemony may decline, it does not follow that American filmmakers -- or other agents of culture-making -- will lose global influence at the same time. America has... taken its advantages in money and power and linked them to the creation of cultural forms that have broad appeal to people worldwide.

The first Indian wines to be sold by a British supermarket could become a fixture on its shelves after coming close to selling out in record time. India has a long tradition of winemaking but its wines have only recently been able to compete with more established regions. The country is also being recognised in international competitions.

The 9/11 Commission charged by the U.S. Congress and president with investigating the “facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001” and making recommendations for “how [to] avoid such tragedy” in the future had little to say about failures related to the nation’s diplomatic preparedness to combat ideological threats. In fact, the Commission’s conclusions about pre-9/11 diplomacy were summed up in its final report in one sentence:“The diplomatic efforts of the Department of State were largely ineffective.”

Some analysts see the strings of visits as a battle for influence in the region, a rivalry between those countries to exert soft power in the post-war country. "Strategically speaking, France is competing with Turkey. Both countries consider this region as a natural influence zone," Dorothee Shmid, a researcher at the Paris-based think-tank IFRI told Xinhua.

China has talked a great deal about using its currency reserves to project “soft power,” but when it comes to pulling the trigger, it has been extremely cautious about putting its money anywhere besides the safest and most liquid instruments. ... but there’s little evidence that China has actually weighed into these markets in any sizable way.

The survey's banner findings concern American public opinion's shift towards Asia over Europe, particularly among the younger generation of Americans. For the first time ever, more Americans (51 percent) believe that Asian countries, such as China, Japan, or South Korea, are more important...

Because being "pro-Europe" is a faith cult rather than a policy, its adherents dare not raise a peep of protest at its outrages. Not for the first time in Europe's history, a centralised superstate stalks the continent with a retinue of uncritical appeasers unable to see the wood for the tax-free salaries.

Turkey’s response to the Palmer Report is an attempt to clarify...its initial reluctance to side with protesters in Libya and Syria...Turkey views its conduct of foreign policy as a balance between diplomacy and hard power to pursue its interests, both moral and geopolitical.