On May 1 UW-River Falls hosted two Indian teachers as part of a cultural exchange program established by President Barack Obama. Designed to strengthen collaboration between American and Indian higher education institutions, students and faculty at UW-River Falls College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS) listened to a discussion about India’s school systems and their techniques for educating disabled children.

Two years after his election, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran is about to go down in history as a leader who defused an intense and bitter conflict that could have led to a military attack on Iran. A nuclear deal that the majority of Iranians hope will bring an end to the isolation of Iran, much needed relief from international sanctions, and a new chapter in U.S.-Iran relations is now in sight. If other enemy countries have faced each other on the battlefield and ultimately managed to work out their differences, why is it impossible for Iran and the United States to do the latter?

On his America tour, he makes the case for the democratic alternative to China’s influence in East Asia. By any measure, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the United States has been a resounding success. Having just wrapped up three full days in Washington, D.C., Abe is now in California, visiting both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Before Washington, he stopped in Boston and New York, making this the longest visit by a Japanese leader in decades.

Plenty of diplomatic deals get done on the margins of global get-togethers, but one conducted on Twitter in 2014 made Prime Minister Stephen Harper a digital star among his fellow world leaders.(...) Most world leaders use the social media tool to broadcast specific messages; Harper is among many who don't generally reply when messages are sent their way.

Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is in the U.S. this week for a tightly packed visit that will focus largely on the strong ties between the U.S. and its closest Asian ally. (...)This visit should help with the latter goal as Abe will have a summit with Obama and a state dinner at the White House with 300 guests. Image is important to the Abe administration, and it'll be on display during this U.S. visit, says Shihoko Goto, an Asia specialist with the Woodrow Wilson Center. 

Pope Francis, who has taken a public role in U.S.-Cuba relations, will visit Cuba on the way to the United States this fall, the Vatican announced Wednesday. (...)Pope Francis, who followed his predecessors Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II in visiting Cuba and calling for an end to U.S. travel and financial restrictions on the nation, wrote letters to Obama and Cubaan President Raúl Castro urging them to settle outstanding issues and clear the way for a deal.

When President Obama meets at the White House Monday with crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, he’ll be in conversation with a small, deep-pocketed Persian Gulf country that has mastered the art of public diplomacy to practically re-engineer Hollywood’s perception of Arab culture.

What are the implications of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for the next U.S. president? (...) Currently, 57 countries are confirmed founding members. The United States stands alone.Critics of the U.S. decision not to join see Washington sidelined as allies jump on the AIIB bandwagon.