In all these, where do we locate quiet, likeable people whose contributions may not have had immediate dramatic impact on the trajectory of history but who possess intangible assets that make us feel that they must be playing important roles in the way the wheels of history rotate?

Turkish Energy Ministry officials confirmed Wednesday that Ankara is preparing to send a technical delegation to Iraq, supposedly at Baghdad's request, to discuss building an oil pipeline linking southern Iraq and Turkey. The decision is an important indicator that Ankara is ready to make strategic energy moves to deepen its influence in the region, says Stratfor.

IT SOUNDS like the beginning of a bizarre guessing game. As of this month, the following unlikely mixture of people and agencies found themselves tarred with the same brush: Liverpool City Council, the developers and municipal authorities of Panama, the Islamist rebels of West Africa and the quarrelsome bishops of some ancient Christian churches in the Middle East. They all bear a share of responsibility for the fate of places that have recently been deemed by UNESCO to be “World Heritage Sites in danger”.

Second, the Study Camp is targeting the right demographics - the movers and shakers who may also be opinion leaders. Public diplomacy often works best through local authoritative figures, and provided the politicians and media are trusted in these societies...then they are in a strong position to mediate information and opinion on behalf of Taiwan.

One of the most profound, defining moments of my career was when I worked as a Special Assitant to Charlotte Beers during her tenure as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. If you've seen the film The Devil Wears Prada , you would have a sense of what working for her was like.

CPD University Fellow Rob Asghar published an article on July 4th in the Christian Science Monitor titled "The 'America Effect': How immigrants fall crazy in love". Reflecting on the experience of his family, originally from Pakistan, Asghar traces through the ways in which an American experience forever shapes the lives of immigrants who come to the nation.

The State Department announced major changes to the J-1 Summer Work and Travel Program in May and expanded a list of jobs that students should not be allowed to work. It was the latest in a series of steps to fix the program since The Associated Press reported in 2010 that abuses included participants working in strip clubs.