Earlier this week, Barack Obama again rejected Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign claim that Russia is America’s biggest “geopolitical foe.” In fact, Obama said, Russia is a regional power acting out of “weakness,” adding that he worries more about a mushroom cloud over New York City than he does about Vladimir Putin.

Tags: middle east, russia, united states, barack obama, vladimir putin, syria, iran, diplomacy, foreign policy, crimea, ukraine

Mexicans don’t trust law enforcement agencies, which creates a toxic environment for combating cartel violence, according to research released on Thursday. Roughly 90 percent of Mexicans have little or no confidence in municipal police. 

Tags: mexico, security, public opinion, narcotrafficking, organized crime, police, drug cartel, violence, conflict, north america, rule of law

In an international version of the blame game, Beijing and Tokyo have frequently resorted to historical analogies in their argument about which side is responsible for the deterioration of bilateral relations. In a Jan. 22 speech, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe compared China and Japan today to Germany and Britain on the eve of World War I.

Tags: china, japan, history, shinzo abe, conflict, xi jinping, diplomacy, sino-japanese relations, asia pacific

Pakistan announced last week that it received a $1.5 billion grant from Saudi Arabia, which it termed a “friendly gift” and an “unconditional grant." Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long had warm ties, but the no-strings-attached gift sparked immediate concern from Pakistani journalists, security experts, and opposition politicians, who question whether the grant is part of a behind-the-scenes deal for Pakistan to provide weapons for Syrian rebels.

Tags: saudi arabia, pakistan, united states, barack obama, aid diplomacy, foreign aid, military diplomacy, diplomacy, middle east, syria

Turkey has blocked access to YouTube just hours after the leak of a recording allegedly depicting a security meeting on Syria. Google, YouTube's parent company, had previously refused government requests to remove other videos alleging government corruption. #TurkeyBlockedYouTube began trending immediately across the country, with many sharing screenshots.

Tags: #turkeyblockedyoutube, censorship, google, recep tayyip erdogan, security, syria, turkey, twitter, youtube

Barack Obama may recall a tricky moment when he first met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia five years ago. Bending to shake hands with the octogenarian monarch, the taller American appeared to bow deeply. Republican snipers in America gleefully blasted the president for “kowtowing” to rich Arabs.

Tags: energy, history, iran, israel, king abdullah, middle east, muslim brotherhood, saudi arabia, united states

The U.N. General Assembly voted 100 to 11 with 58 abstentions to call the mid-March referendum in Crimea illegal, to support Ukraine sovereignty and independence, and to reject Russia's use of force to alter its borders. 

Tags: international law, referendum, russia, soviet union, u.n. general assembly, u.n. security council, ukraine, united nations

It was a big family reunion as more than 300 people from Chinese and US sister cities and sister provinces and states got together on Wednesday evening at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. Participants came from all parts of the two nations, such as Qinghai province in Northwest China and Fort Worth, Texas, for the US-China Sister Cities Conference in Washington on March 26-28.

Tags: china, city diplomacy, exchange diplomacy, sister cities, united states, us-china sister cities conference, xi jinping