For four days last month, an art collective called Postcommodity erected a two-mile-long temporary installation of balloons that bi-sected the U.S.-Mexico border. Called “Repellent Fence”, the project included 26 balloons, each tethered to the other, which floated right above a stretch of the border located on the edge of Douglas, Texas and Agua Prieta, Sonora. 

Iran is starting to use its soft power, agreeing last month to lend works from the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art’s (TMoCA) collection of international and Iranian art for an exhibition in Berlin next year. The show, a symbol of Iran’s rapprochement with the West, could travel beyond Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Tehran museum tells us. The exhibition will include works by international and Iranian artists.

University professors in the United Kingdom say they will halt all cooperation with Israeli schools in an effort to draw attention to Israel's violations of international law. In a statement released on Tuesday, 343 UK academics announced that they would no longer accept invitations to visit Israeli academic institutions, act as referees in any of their processes, or participate in conferences funded or organized by them.

The University of Arkansas hosted more than 60 U.S. Department of State-sponsored Fulbright Program participants from Afghanistan as part of a Fulbright Enrichment Seminar last week. The program helped increase their knowledge of U.S. academic life, culture and history.

Fewer Chinese students who are studying abroad have chosen to major in business compared with previous years [...] China's commitment to improve the country's soft power is another factor, according to Miao Lyu, executive secretary-general of CCG. "In recent years, China has made efforts to developing the country's soft power and has paid great attention to the development of the liberal arts field," said Miao.

The economic development agencies of Paris and New York City have launched a trans-Atlantic business exchange program intended to provide emerging companies in both cities with access to opportunities internationally. The NYC-Paris Business Exchange will help tech, clean tech, fashion and design, tourism, food and beverage, and arts companies overcome barriers that inhibit entry to foreign markets, with the goal of allowing these local companies to grow and Parisian companies to expand within New York City.

The U.S. Peace Corps last year saw its applications reach a 40-year high in response to an initiative to revitalize the overseas service organization. About 23,000 Americans volunteered to serve in the Peace Corps in fiscal 2015, a 32 percent increase from the year before [...] With an annual budget of $379 million, the Peace Corps allows volunteers to serve two-year appointments overseas [...]