Smart bombs, clandestine special forces operations, high-profile defections and, now, the arrival in London of a high-ranking Libyan envoy sent by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator’s son, to negotiate the possibility of the family fleeing into exile.

The skyline of this city -- what little there is of it -- is a Chinese creation...These highly visible investments, increasingly unavoidable across Africa, are designed to buy influence with governments.

If the heart of foreign policy is its vision then a cardiogram of South Africa's post-apartheid foreign policy would start with some fairly lively scratches: Nelson Mandela's lofty but somewhat naive vision of external relations...

DOHA --- My conversation with two North African friends ranged widely, from the role of satellite television in the Arab world to the prospects for electoral reform in the region. Then we came to how other nations would deal with the new dynamics of Arab politics. One of my friends said, “In the past, diplomacy has been with the leaders, but now it must be with the people.”

When the United States Africa Command was created four years ago, it was the military’s first “smart power” command. It has no assigned troops, no headquarters in Africa itself, and one of its two top deputies is a seasoned American diplomat.

As international forces launched attacks against Libya on Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton struck a tone highly unusual in the annals of American military interventions: humility.

The success of yesterday’s Paris summit in securing international backing for the military strikes on Libya marks quite a comeback for French diplomacy. Just two months ago, France was offering another Arab autocrat, in Tunisia, help controlling rebellion.

India cannot match China’s massive investments in Africa, but it is using its information technology capabilities and its affordable university courses to stay relevant on the continent.