With the current sectarian climate in the Middle East, it is rare to find events that host voices from across the region's sectarian and religious divides. But just a few days ago, a small window opened up in Doha. British-Yemeni journalist Abubakr al-Shamahi reports.

Tags: islam, middle east, sectarian violence, sectarian, conflict, sunni, shi'a, christianity, faith diplomacy, terrorism, arab unity

The revelation that a US government-funded program set up a cellphone-based social network in Cuba is likely to pose new challenges for independent bloggers and exile groups that work to increase access to technology.

Tags: cuba, united states, twitter, social media, propaganda, usaid, media, cuban twitter, zunzuneo, digital diplomacy, yoani sanchez, miami, raul castro

Governments worldwide are increasingly facing a fundamental question: how to deal with the causes of violent – often religiously motivated – extremism. They are not short of advice – and from a wide range of sources.

Tags: al qaeda, terrorism, government pd, security, digital diplomacy, youth, counterterrorism, public diplomacy, exchange diplomacy

McDonald's has suspended work at its three Crimean restaurants following ongoing diplomatic tensions in the region. The company said that it would try to support staff, and hopes to re-open its restaurants as soon as possible. The firm is the second in the Crimea to alter its operations after heightened tensions between Russia and the west.

Tags: mcdonald's, crimea, ukraine, russia, corporate diplomacy, security, non-state actors, conflict

Bush’s first art exhibition, titled "The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy," opens tomorrow at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and features 30 oil-on-gesso-board portraits of foreign leaders painted by the president over the span of a year.

Tags: george w. bush, art diplomacy, art, diplomacy, vladimir putin, united states, bush presidential library and museum, bush library

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, and there has been a global movement to remember and educate people about what happened.  Some survivors are sharing their painful memories in the United States, hoping students will listen and learn from what happened.

Tags: rwanda, usc, usc annenberg, rwandan genocide, genocide, shoah foundation, exchange diplomacy, los angeles, africa, violence, history, united states, kwibuka20, testimonies

In April 2013, I had the opportunity to accompany the Hawaiian slack key guitar ensemble Keola Beamer and Jeff Peterson, with Moanalani Beamer, as tour manager as the group toured Brazil with the U.S. Department of State's American Music Abroad program. 

Tags: hawaii, Cultural Diplomacy, brazil, music diplomacy, jazz ambassadors, american music abroad, u.s. department of state, moanalani beamer, keola meaber, jeff peterson, samba nation of brazil, sao paulo, youth, music, soft power

A recording has surfaced online purporting to be a leaked conversation between two Russian ambassadors discussing which parts of the world they would like to annex after Crimea.

Tags: russia, crimea, ambassadors, europe, catalonia, venice, scotland, alaska