The seventh session of the World Urban Forum, started Saturday, is set to discuss a wide range of urban issues facing the world today inColombia’s second largest city and 2013′s most innovative city of the year, Medellin.

Tags: colombia, medellin, summitry, united nations, south america, world urban forum, innovation, city diplomacy, u.n. human settlements program, urban land institute, development

The Turkish government's obsession with becoming a global power is providing a study in contrasts: While Turkey has been using civilian planes to transport weapons to Nigeria, it also is employing navy combat vessels to hand out humanitarian assistance in Africa.

Tags: turkey, africa, soft power, public diplomacy, nigeria, beyond horizons, humanitarian aid, aid diplomacy, recep tayyip erdogan, horn of africa

In a sign of the warmth of relations between two countries with a troubled history, Ireland’s president, Michael D. Higgins, is to arrive here Monday for the first state visit to Britain by an Irish president.

Tags: ireland, united kingdom, queen elizabeth, anglo-irish relations, british isles, history, european union, michael d. higgins

Mainland academics argued that China was the first to discover the disputed Diaoyu Islands and insisted this be taught in schools, days after Japan declared the contrary in its elementary school textbooks.

Tags: china, japan, education, media, diaoyu islands, east china sea, foreign policy, conflict, south korea, senkaku islands, history

Millions of Afghans lined up to vote for a new president Saturday, despite warnings of violence from the Taliban. Saturday's historic vote begins what would be the first democratic transfer of power for Afghanistan; President Hamid Karzai has served for two terms and is not allowed to run for a third under the country's constitution.

Tags: afghanistan, elections, democracy, taliban, south asia, hamid karzai, terrorism

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday praised Tunisia as the poster child of the Arab Spring, as Washington unveiled $500 million in new assistance to help revive the North Africa nation’s faltering economy as it continues its march toward democracy.

Tags: tunisia, middle east, africa, north africa, arab spring, barack obama, mehdi jomaa, aid diplomacy, foreign aid

Pro-Russian protesters have stormed government buildings in three eastern Ukrainian cities. In Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv they clashed with police, hung Russian flags from the buildings and called for a referendum on independence. Ukraine's acting president called an emergency security meeting in response.

Tags: ukraine, russia, protest, conflict, europe, donetsk, vladimir putin, crimea, public opinion

Let’s hand it to the U.S. government: At least this disastrous attempt to overthrow the Castro brothers did not almost lead to nuclear annihilation. But its impact on activists around the world who use digital tools to organize against repressive regimes feels devastating enough.
 

Tags: united states, cuba, u.s.-cuban relations, history, cuban twitter, zunzuneo, usaid, bay of pigs, conflict, twitter, social media, media, radio marti, marti tv, raul castro, fidel castro, digital diplomacy