Is India a soft power? This question has been asked so many times that it almost sounds like a cliché. But it comes back to haunt India every time a group of armed men makes the aspiring global power go down on its knees. It happened in Kandahar.

Maximum India, a 20-day cultural extravaganza of Indian soft power, kicks off here on March 1 with scores of artistes set to enthrall a capital where India is now looked on more favourably than ever before.

When the democratic revolt in Tunisia successfully ousted the old regime, the world reacted with amazement. Democracy from below in the Arab world? After the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year-old regime in Egypt, the heartland of the Middle East, amazement has turned into certainty.

I do not believe you can successfully use the Turkish template or replicate the Anatolian model in Middle Eastern and North African countries, where anti-government protests are spreading rapidly and taking down authoritarian leaders who have failed to live up to the expectations of their people.

Ten members of Afghanistan's High Peace Council paid a four-day visit to Turkey this week, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. Led by its chairman, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, the delegation met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as with members of parliament's Turkey-Afghanistan Friendship Group.

For nearly 90 years, the BBC World Service has spoken to the world from its headquarters in Bush House on The Strand in London, but an air of despondency now fills its corridors. In that time, the World Service has given the UK a unique form of “soft power”, where the station’s “This is London” opening introduction to news bulletins has been regarded as a byword for accuracy and impartiality.

News.Az interviews Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1994 to 2007.

Chinese foreign policy has not escaped the dramatic transformations in that key country in our region. The foreign policy of China has become more sophisticated and less dogmatic, characterized by its increasing reliance on soft power.