The death of a giant panda in captivity in Japan has caused something of a diplomatic stink. Apart from eating bamboo, this is something that pandas are very good at.

The American people want to play an active part in world affairs but their internationalism is increasingly constrained by economic troubles at home and diminished influence overseas, according to The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ 2010 survey of public opinion on U.S. foreign policy.

As Hillary Rodham Clinton has embarked on her first attempt at substantive Middle East diplomacy, she has drawn on her record of controversial statements about Israel and the Palestinians - and depicted it as an asset. It is a tricky balancing act that attests to the secretary of state's talent as a politician, as well as her predilection for getting into hot water with bold, sometimes ill-timed pronouncements.

Is Nicolas Sarkozy's so-called burqa ban, as my FP colleague David Rothkopf writes, an expression of rising intolerance in France? Perhaps. Coupled with his expulsion of more than 1,000 Roma, it sure looks like le président is trying to use a cultural wedge to shore up his flagging popularity. Still, I think the "burqa" issue (or, alternatively, the jilbab + niqab, or abaya issue) is more complicated than David allows.

Some believe the financial crisis has given Chinese enterprises a golden opportunity for overseas mergers and acquisitions. But is it the right time for them to "go global?" What are the risks of venturing overseas, and what are the potential benefits?

The clinic, administered by military medical personnel from both countries, would be one of the culminating events of a two-week, U.S.-led exercise meant to improve the FARDC's medical capabilities -- all part of the "soft power" strategy advanced by U.S. Africa Command, based in Germany.

Though the presence of Roma (more commonly known as “Gypsies”) is nothing new in Western Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy began an unprecedented immigration crackdown campaign on Roma in France this past summer. In July, Sarkozy announced plans to dismantle 300 illegal Roma camps in his country...

APDS Blogger: Hilary Tone

Though the presence of Roma (more commonly known as “Gypsies”) is nothing new in Western Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy began an unprecedented immigration crackdown campaign on Roma in France this past summer.