"The announcement of Neymar's transfer to PSG was piloted among the high ranks in Qatar as a sort of communications strategy that would overshadow the debate around all other considerations, namely terrorism," said Mathieu Guidere, an expert in the geopolitics of the Arab world.

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?

The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday said it had cancelled all matches and agreements with Pakistan after the Afghan intelligence linked the Pakistani intelligence agency to the Kabul bombing that left 90 dead and 463 wounded. [...] Kabul and Islamabad had recently reached an agreement to play two friendly matches in Kabul and in Pakistan's Lahore city, besides two series of matches in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, and other agreements on sports.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende has strongly condemned the Palestinian Authority for using Norwegian aid money to establish a women's center in Burqa named in honor of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi. Brende further noted that "Norway will not enter into any new aid agreements with the Palestinian Election Commission or UN Women in Palestine until procedures are put in place to ensure actions such as these don't happen again in the future."

Overseas, the State Department is working with other countries and organizations to share experiences, ideas, and practices that can assist partner nations to better protect public places.  Under the auspices of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), the United States and Turkey are co-leading the “Protection of Soft Targets in a Counterterrorism Context Initiative,” which aims to raise awareness, identify needs, and leverage expertise and experiences to better protect potential soft targets. 

Members of the Saudi government are visiting the US and China. In both countries, they are striving for good relations - and their traveling diplomacy shows that the kingdom is exploring new paths. [...] the crown prince bent over backwards to offer pleasantries, calling Trump a "true friend" of the Arabs and declaring that he did not believe Trump's attempted travel banwas aimed at Muslims. Rather, the crown prince stated, the US simply wanted to protect itself from terrorism.