The missed opportunity of not visiting Japan early enough should now be offset by the rhetoric of the joint statement. The converging geo-political interests of India and Japan in curbing the growing assertiveness of China in the Asia-Pacific is certainly one of the major factors binding the two nations together. 

The blunt, unsparing language — among the toughest diplomats recall ever being aimed at Israel — lays bare a frustrating reality for the Obama administration: the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has largely dismissed diplomatic efforts by the United States to end the violence in Gaza, leaving American officials to seethe on the sidelines about what they regard as disrespectful treatment.

Germany and the United States sought on Sunday to restore vital ties badly frayed by a spying row which led to the expulsion of the CIA station chief in Berlin. Secretary of State John Kerry emerged from talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier to offer reassurances that the two vital transatlantic allies remain "great friends". In a bid to lighten the atmosphere and use sports diplomacy, Kerry even wished his counterpart "good luck" in Sunday's football World Cup final when Germany will take on Argentina.

Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday showcased his guitar-playing talent, holding a lunchtime jam session during talks with officials in Beijing.  “Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong urged him to do so following a lunch at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, that concluded 5th Annual U.S.-China People-to-People Exchange,” reads the YouTube description of clips from Kerry’s concert.

The lines between the World Cup and diplomacy have always been blurry. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry wrote an opinion piecein the Washington Post about the need to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, as the 20 July deadline to reach a final agreement rapidly draws near. Perhaps with sport on his mind, he wrote: "There may be pressure to put more time on the clock."

As negotiators from Iran and the P5+1 nations meet behind closed doors in Vienna in a final push for a comprehensive nuclear deal, a separate round of negotiations is taking place online. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, traded accusations, praise, and hopeful words in advance of the final round of nuclear negotiations. The two sparred in a pair of op-eds published in the The Washington Post (Kerry) and Le Monde (Zarif), and in a video Zarif made available on YouTube. 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday, where he will pledge more aid to help Syria's neighbors deal with an influx of refugees and press Lebanese parliamentarians to swiftly choose a new president.

Americans studying in Latin America have stopped looking so intently at Mexico, which has dropped from first to fourth for U.S. students going abroad in the region in 10 years. Only about 4,000 U.S. students study in Mexico, with crime and drug violence being the main deterrent.