The pastor of a small Florida church, under pressure from President Barack Obama and other world leaders, said he is abandoning plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

US troops rely on local Afghan interpreters in the mission to win hearts and minds in the Afghanistan war. But many learn crucial languages on the job, resulting in deadly mishaps.

During a visit to the International Tourism Fair in Caracas yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced he would meet with leaders of Venezuela's Jewish community. "We respect and love the Jewish people," said Chavez, who added that opponents have falsely painted him as "anti-Jewish."

British Muslim activists plan to burn the U.S. flag outside the U.S. embassy on September 11 to voice anger at plan by a U.S. Christian pastor to burn copies of the Koran the same day, a hardline Islamist said on Thursday.

China's Communist Party finds itself in a bind. Although it still views cinema as an ideological tool and maintains a tight leash on local productions, it also wants the domestic film industry to develop into a global commercial player.

If the underlying intent of international aid projects is to “win the hearts and minds” of the Afghan people, then by many measures the United States is failing. Despite investing nearly $50 billion in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, only half of Afghans polled last year have a somewhat favorable or better view of the United States.

On August 31st, little noticed outside naval analyst circles, China’s first purpose-built hospital ship left port on her inaugural mission... Peace Ark’s deployment marks the start of a new phase of Chinese soft power: medical assistance to win hearts and minds.

In the western Balkans and the Middle East, Turkey is already an important force and an influential actor with considerable “soft power”. It is important both politically and economically in Iraq, and in working with the EU to persuade Iran to meet international concerns on its nuclear programme.