Americans like to associate their spam with other countries. They joke about Chinese spammers or Nigerians or Russians. It's a time-honored nativist tradition. But, according to the new quarterly report from the security and spam monitoring company, Sophos, computers inside these United States relay—by far—the most spam. And we have in every quarter of the past year.

The Turkish government's obsession with becoming a global power is providing a study in contrasts: While Turkey has been using civilian planes to transport weapons to Nigeria, it also is employing navy combat vessels to hand out humanitarian assistance in Africa.

The choice of the topic is itself germane. In today’s turbulent world, diplomacy means that a country must take steps to achieve political goals and to promote its image in the international arena. It is becoming old fashioned for any country to rely solely on military and economic means in its relationship with other countries of the world. Countries interact with each other through diplomatic channels.

When it comes to matters of economic disparity and  sense of fair play, Brazil and Mexico score worse than countries in Africa. A survey conducted via mobile phones of people in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil and Mexico by Boston-based Jana shows people from both Latin American countries are more negative on issues related to inequality and taxation.

Audiences in Nigeria can now get their news on the go with DandalinVOA (VOA’s Platform), a dynamic new 24/7 mobile phone stream, which features a fresh mix of Nigerian and American music, with the latest news, sports and entertainment updates. “The 24/7 Hausa mobile stream looks past legacy broadcasting and uses mobile technology to reach the next generation,” said VOA Africa Division Director Gwen Dillard. 

Recent developments in Africa related to the contentious topic of homosexuality have reminded me of a discussion that took place during one of the interactive sessions at CPD’s 2013 Summer Institute in Public Diplomacy. During this discussion, I argued that the West needs to fully recognize and show respect to the cultural, religious, and sociological demagogy of countries (especially in Africa) opposed to the practice. This is especially true when promoting the acceptance of homosexuality as a human right.