Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh believes he can break the political deadlock that has stymied the protection of the Southern Ocean after completing a series of epic swims off the coast of Antarctica. But Pugh says by stripping down to his swimming trunks and confronting the extremes of human endurance he has captured the imagination of Russia’s people and its politicians, opening up a dialogue that could pave the way for the largest ocean sanctuary on Earth. It’s what he calls ‘Speedo diplomacy’.

European powers struggling to hold together a stalled Ukrainian peace accord will resume talks with Russia and Ukraine in Germany next week as efforts shift from the battlefield to solving political disputes.  European Union leaders say easing economic sanctions on Russia requires full compliance with the agreement negotiated in Belarus in February.

Fake news stories. Doctored photographs. Staged TV clips. Armies of paid trolls. Has Putin’s Russia developed a new kind of information warfare – fought in the ‘psychosphere’ rather than on the battlefield? Or is it all just a giant bluff?

At the end of last year, China introduced a draft law that forbids foreign NGOs that engage in activities contrary to "Chinese society's moral customs." In Russia, organizations that receive foreign funding must register as "foreign agents." Egypt, Bolivia, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe have passed similar measures. These governments see malign motives behind many of these foreign-financed initiatives. Are they right to be worried?

At a joint news conference at the Kremlin, the two leaders said that their discussion had focused on economic issues, including trade and tourism. They also said they talked about energy issues and Russia’s plans to build a natural gas pipeline through Turkey to Europe, in which Greece could play a crucial link.

Since the beginning of the year, the small autonomous area of Gagauzia in southern Moldova has become an improbably important focus of Russian foreign policy.

Russia urged the U.N. Security Council on Saturday to call for a "humanitarian pause" in airstrikes by a Saudi-led military coalition to help evacuate foreigners from Yemen and unhindered access to deliver aid to civilians caught in the fighting between Shiite rebels and supporters of the country's beleaguered president.

Instead, the Kremlin has become increasingly sophisticated in its media strategy. Even as it continues to enforce conformity of coverage at home, it criticizes conformity abroad. Moreover, it borrows from the playbook of its former Cold War enemy, the U.S., to shape public opinion—in part by concocting a powerful story of Western spin.