The fellow appointed commissioner general, Jose Villareal, was a former fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. He helped raise the $61 million required for the creation of the American pavilion. We do not know what he did as commissioner general because the whole pavilion had been outsourced.

I have spent some time as of late picking through the now infamous train wreck that was the American pavilion at Shanghai. Cynthia Schneider offers her opinion on what went wrong here. Here’s my take:

In the war of ideas between freedom and authoritarianism, the Voice of America (VOA) broadcast program is losing to the voice of communist China – not because Beijing’s message is better but because its strategic vision and will to win surpass Washington’s.

Open Hands Initiative co-founder and chairman Jay T Synder says,” “This is not just a comic book; it’s a breakthrough effort in public diplomacy that helps forge lasting bonds and understanding between the youth of the United States and the Middle East.

At the close of the 100th anniversary celebration of Tokyo's gift of cherry blossoms to Washington, it's worth remembering the story of diplomacy behind the trees. Like most diplomatic initiatives, this one had to overcome indifference, opposition, and many setbacks before it could flower.

Olli and others have created something quite new, music that not only draws on Bollywood itself, but also the inspiration the industry has sparked within non-South Asians in parts of Europe. It’s good to find something that transcends stereotypes rather than simply playing with them.

An Iraqi adaption of Shakespeare's famous love story opens at the playwright's home town of Stratford-upon-Avon tonight, marking the European premiere of "Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad," according to the World Shakespeare Festival.

This colonial Mexican city recently received a special guest. Malia Obama, the US president’s 13-year-old daughter, walked through the city’s elegant, ornate churches on a school field trip with 12 classmates and two dozen security guards.