It clarifies Cuba in America's official narrative not as a security threat but a country in transition, which is more in line both with Cuba's own self-image and how Latin American and European countries see it. Such a description undermines any rationality for the embargo and lends itself to a U.S. policy that emphasizes engagement and people to people contacts.

The Jamaican passport is ranked as one of the least valuable travel documents in the Caribbean based on the number of countries which allow its holders visa free travel through their ports of entry. [...] While agreeing that the power of the Jamaican passport is weak opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, Edmund Bartlett, said the low ranking is a reflection of a myriad of problems facing the country’s international image.

Despite the futuristic billboard, there’s something retro about Israel’s agricultural pitch to the family of nations. Israel has long swapped its communal agrarian identity for a capitalist society that is one of the most unequal among Western nations. The kibbutz movement is a shadow of what it once was, and nearly all of the farm labor in Israel is performed by foreign workers. But organizers say that Israeli agriculture heritage, as much as its identity as a “start up nation,” is a selling point.

The run up to next year’s election promises to involve more than the usual amount of debate about how America should engage the world. These three candidates – Clinton, Paul and Rubio – represent a stark contrast on that question.

China is the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations of all the permanent members of the UN Security Council. China’s rise in peacekeeping operations is indicative of China’s rise in global prominence by both expanding its role in foreign affairs and protecting its own economic interests.

The cuts will send Australia tumbling down the ladder of global big-heartedness. We'll drop from being the 13th most generous donor among wealthy industrial nations to 19th, at today's levels for other donors.