Obama’s decision to address gay rights in Africa is a political “tightrope,” Downie said, as the U.S. president balances his administration’s human rights values with lingering sensitivities about Western countries’ colonialist approaches on the continent.

On January 28, 1979, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, then China’s vice premier, started his nine-day official visit to the United States, the first such visit by a top Chinese leader since the founding of the People’s Republic. There are many memorable moments from his tour, but the most iconic is undoubtedly when he put on a ten-gallon cowboy hat and waved to the audience in a Texas rodeo. That moment humanized Chinese leaders, who had been demonized by American leaders and mass media for nearly two decades.

US President Barack Obama may have launched his official presidential Twitter handle @POTUS just two weeks ago, but he and other global leaders have been using the microblogging platform for years.

President Barack Obama has nominated Gayle Smith, a White House adviser, to run the US international development agency. If the move is confirmed by the Senate, Smith, a former journalist and long-time Africa expert, will be in charge of the Obama administration’s development agenda for the final years of his presidency.

The White House is keen to capitalize on Abe`s desire to put Japan back at the center of power in Asia, as China flexes its political and economic muscle. In the Oval Office Obama and Abe will discuss trade and are expected to hail progress toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership that brings together 12 countries -- including Japan and the United States.

Recent diplomatic rows with countries like Brazil are no secret and President Obama is working to repair bilateral relations with the strategically important countries before he leaves the oval office for good.

Barack Obama and Raul Castro shook hands last night in an historic manifestation of thawing animosity between the US and Cuba after more than 50 years. The two presidents met at the Summit of the Americas. Obama and Castro will meet again today to talk about renewing diplomatic ties after they were severed 54 years ago after the 1959 revolution led by the Cuban leader and his brother Fidel.