Constraints notwithstanding, a group of 10 Palestinian officials attended a weeklong workshop on “Communication Skills & Media Relations for Diplomacy” this week in Turin, Italy to craft skills for engaging with all manner of media.

Canada is combating terrorism by improving “social cohesion” in Lebanon, which is inundated with Syrian refugees. Can it possibly work? [...] It is a subtle weapon; social cohesion improvements lack the immediate impact of a bomb. But can good intentions, friendly smiles and linking words be an effective response to terrorism?

President Emmanuel Macron’s mastery of public imagery, like that of Barack Obama, conceals a highly calculated, choreographed communications policy. [...] “For a president, everything is a story of symbols. He needs to have total control,” comments Albert-Alexis Galland, director of strategy with Kaolin.

In another step towards diplomacy, Cuba has opened its doors to the outside world by making an agreement with Google. Users in Cuba will now have the GGC to assist in content storage from Google owned services. Cubans can take full advantage of popular services, such as Gmail and YouTube, that can be used on servers owned by ETECSA, the state’s telecommunications company.