And that could place the 50-year-old US manned spaceflight programme—and its benefits to US prestige—in jeopardy, according to Eric Sterner, an analyst with The Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. ‘The vehicle signifies a continued commitment to human spaceflight, which plays into American soft power,’ Sterner says. ‘So, it has potential benefit there.’

Pressure is building from governments, companies and nonprofit groups to lift sanctions and “engage” with the regime. With U.S. companies and diplomats mostly absent, China has become the dominant power. The Burmese people remain poor and isolated from the world.

CPD Director Philip Seib was recently quoted in an article in The Layalina Review concerning President Obama’s new vision for American foreign policy in the Middle East.

The images of Barack Obama's recent visit were a publicity consultant's dream. But beyond the feel-good photography and the cheerful bonhomie, there was purpose and substance to Obama's trip, specifically the need to redefine America's relationship with Europe in a much-changed world.

Obama's morale-boosting stop-off, together with Queen Elizabeth's historic state visit just days earlier, have given Irish tourism a boost it desperately needed after three years of recession saw revenues and visitors drop by about a third.

The scandal that embroiled IMF chief Dominic Strauss-Kahn has shocked France in more ways than one. While the allegations themselves were a revelation, the Frenchman's treatment by US media left some observers stunned.

The training series features culinary demonstrations, lectures and field trips designed to expose the visiting chefs to the traditions of Louisianan, Southern Soul, Latin American, Native American and Appalachian cuisines, as well as Cajun culture.

...how is this new world to be built? The guiding model is to be found in Eastern Europe and the colour revolutions. In short, by using American soft power and public diplomacy to reshape the socio-political scene in the region, the aim is to transform the people's revolutions into America's revolutions.