A group of foreign college students who came to the U.S. on cultural work exchange visas in December have been protesting their working conditions at a McDonald's in Harrisburg, Pa. In the process, they've wading into a debate about guest workers in the U.S. The students include Jorge Rios, who says three months ago he eagerly did the legwork necessary to get a J-1 visa, used for student work exchange.

In mid-July will be the 34th anniversary of Operation USA's inaugural relief airlift to 44,000 Vietnamese refugees huddled on a water-less, tree-less offshore Island in Malaysia. No different than most contemporary start-ups, the germ of an idea for a relief effort to aid some refugees has now grown into a much-lauded international disaster relief and development organization which has worked in 100 countries.

For more than a half-century, relationships with “sister cities” abroad have fostered diplomacy, educational opportunities and cultural growth. Now, however, cities in Washington state — and the South Sound in particular — are using them for economic expansion as well.

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now.” “Now every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.” The statements made by Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods, respectively, were attempts to mitigate the damage caused by scandal.

Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun on Monday urged Chinese businesses in Africa to work for mutual benefits and shared development. Zhai made the call at a forum on Chinese businesses in Africa, which was hosted by China Public Diplomacy Association and attended by Chinese enterprises, academics, and African diplomats in Beijing.

The Spanish institution Casa Africa and SAMRO Foundation has announced the 'Johannesburgo Vis a Vis' initiative, the first music contest and business meeting between Spanish music producers and South African musicians. From Thursday, 11 to Saturday, 13 April, Johannesburg will be the City for a new edition of 'Vis-a-Vis' to promote a greater presence of African music on Spanish stages.

Pope Francis' diplomatic skills were put to the test Monday as his political nemesis, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, asked him to intervene in the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican as to whether the Argentine-born Francis would accept her request, which was made during his inaugural audience with a visiting head of state on the eve of his installation as pope.