I’ve been thinking a lot lately on what influences us. Day to day we each have our routines and along the way are bombarded by images, messages, and endless information. But what breaks through the information overload and influences us? What captures our attention, our imagination and ultimately lodges itself in our memory? Maybe I’m paying closer attention to the details of everyday more acutely after reading Joe Nye’s latest book The Future of Power.

Since Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) gained independence in 2002, the small territory has witnessed an intense competition between the US and China. While Timor-Leste has not been considered as strategically important for either country, both see their presence in the territory as a barometer for their global competition.

Thanking trade counselors for their devoted efforts that have contributed to the growing of the Turkish economy, Erdoğan said these efforts were helping Turkey emerge as a soft power. “Soft power is now ahead of hard power. A country’s influence is no longer measured with its military power but with its economic and diplomatic power.”

India's strength does not lie with its nuclear weapons or its missiles or the size of its armed forces. India real strength lies with the IT, its culture, its civilization and its vibrant democracy. Today, India's soft power is everywhere, in every nook and corner of the world and you see India through its dance, through its music, though its food...

Unique Japan opens a window to rare Japanese cultures, suggesting understanding of Chinese culture is limited there, since, while the classical culture is well-preserved by the Japanese, they tend to know little about modern Chinese culture.

Producers and movie industry advocates visiting the Beijing International Film Festival’s first full day on Sunday from around the world joined their Chinese counterparts in a summit to slice and dice the potential perks and pitfalls of making movies together.

“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them,” Confucius once said. Apparently, someone extremely powerful has taken the saying to heart, having decided that a 31-foot bronze statue of the ancient Chinese sage that was unveiled near Tiananmen Square four months ago did not belong on the nation’s most hallowed slice of real estate.