As official Washington prepares for the late April visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his scheduled address to a joint session of Congress, many aspects of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan will rightly be feted, including a robust strategic alliance and significant economic ties between the two nations. 

U.S. President Barack Obama nominated former U.S. envoy for North Korea policy Glyn Davies as ambassador to Thailand on Monday following a six month vacancy for the post, media outlets reported. Davies’ appointment, which has to be approved by the Senate, comes amid strained ties between the United States and Thailand, which is Washington’s oldest Asian ally.

Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power last June, the country has finally tilted toward stability as the new leader focused on promoting both security and reconstruction. This favorable turn of events has opened up a host of possibilities for Egypt to regain its regional stature.

The first large-scale event organized by the Carmel Institute, the symposium reminded its guests about the profound cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during WWII and stressed the importance of the role such unity could play in the future, as well as how this might be achieved given the current political situation.

And the new star in Latin America is ... the United States? The reviews are in, and while the United States still faces plenty of tricky relations in a diverse region of 35 states, President Obama walked away with more salutes than swipes from a regional Summit of the Americas where the United States usually takes a drubbing. The question now is whether Mr. Obama and his successors can capitalize on the new credibility Washington has earned, primarily through his reconciliation with Havana.

Bermudez is one of the two Cubans recently chosen by the National Institute for International Education (NIIE) for a six-month scholarship at Namseoul University. Along with Lorena Care Lim, who’s also from the capital of Havana, Bermudez is enrolled in a Korean language program for international students at the school in Cheonan, South Chungcheong. The scholarships are part of NIIE’s effort to promote the Korean language and invite foreign students willing to develop a deeper understanding of it to come to Korea. 

Is Israel a superpower? The question comes up and meets a number of answers and reactions. Some would answer that it is a miniature superpower, while others feel Israel is treated like a vassal state of the US.