Bahrain ordered a top U.S. diplomat to leave the country on Monday after he met with a leading Shiite opposition group. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski is not welcome in Bahrain. It said he intervened in the country's domestic affairs by holding meetings with some groups at the expense of others.

Tags: bahrain, united states, tom malinowski, public diplomacy, us department of state, human rights, deportation

The United States officially ended one of the most ineffective and widely criticized programs of the last decade aimed at undermining the Cuban government, the State Department revealed Monday. Foggy Bottom's inspector general released a report showing that AeroMarti, a multimillion-dollar boondoggle that involved flying an airplane around Cuba and beaming American-sponsored content to the island's inhabitants, quietly ended in April. 

Tags: cuba, united states, castro, propaganda, international broadcasting, public diplomacy, government pd, us department of state

The Ukrainian flag is once again proudly flying above the former separatist bastion of Sloviansk. One by one, the towns and villages of Donbas are being recaptured. But even as Ukraine gains the edge in its military conflict with Russia, the information battle continues to be one of David against Goliath. Whether it’s through the state media giant Russia Today, soft power campaigns or diplomatic backchannels, the Kremlin has implemented what some commentators have dubbed “the biggest information special operation” to date. 

Tags: russia, ukraine, voice of america, russia today, international broadcasting, crimea, soft power

When you think of North Korea, "cheerleaders" may not be the first thing that springs to mind.  But the news that Pyongyang plans to send a "cheerleading squad" to the South Korean city of Incheon for the upcoming Asian Games is not just a surprising and weird news story – it may actually be quite an important political sign.

Tags: north korea, south korea, sports diplomacy, foreign relations, soft power, dance, Cultural Diplomacy

Despite the encouraging news that 63 girls and women have reportedly escaped the grips of Boko Haram, the militant Islamic group still holds the more than 200 schoolgirls it kidnapped in April captive.  Meanwhile, in Chibok, the home of the schoolgirls whose April 14 kidnapping by the group sparked off the #bringbackourgirls campaign, things have not improved.

Tags: hashtag diplomacy, digital diplomacy, boko haram, nigeria, new technology, social media, twitter

As tensions between Palestinians and Israelis remain high, there is a moment of hope in the middle of everything that is bleak: The father of a murdered Palestinian teenager was consoled by the uncle of a slain Israeli teenager.  "We expressed our deep empathy with their sorrow, from one bereaved family to another bereaved family," said Yishai Fraenkel, the uncle of Naftali Fraenkel, one of three Israeli teenagers found dead after being abducted on June 12.

Tags: palestine, israel, conflict, terrorism, islam, judaism, people-to-people, citizen diplomacy

As a Chinese folk art festival closed in Washington on Sunday, burgeoning cultural exchanges between China and the United States has been deemed a more active and pivotal role in promoting bilateral ties.

Tags: cultural exchange, Cultural Diplomacy, china, united states, art exhibition

The safe return of 46 Indian nurses from Iraq is the result of astute diplomacy and a calibrated exercise of soft power by multiple agencies of government. While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj engaged her counterparts at the political level in West Asia, including Foreign Ministers of the six oil-rich monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council, sound tactical leadership seemed to have been provided by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. 

Tags: government pd, soft power, middle east, india, public diplomacy, isis, iraq