When I hear ‘sports diplomacy’ evoked in conversation I often wince, knowing that 99% of the examples do not live up to the standards of the term. Athletes and coaches who work for a team outside of their country for no purpose other than for a love of the game and personal gain do not always qualify.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has, to her credit, visited fifteen African countries on four separate trips. But her presence has been overshadowed by President Obama’s absence. Obama has set foot on the continent just once: for a mere 20 hours in Ghana in July 2009 where he gave a speech on democracy that resulted in no substantial action.

Their consensus is simply, we need to get to know China more. China is a complicated country, burdened by its past and not quite that comfortable in its new role as a world super power. Unless our leadership understands the nuances of our China relations a little more deeply, mixed signals between us will likely keep the relationship tense, and that cannot be good for both countries.

India’s great nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi coined the term satyagraha as a philosophy of non-violent political struggle in 1906, while he was engaged in the early anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

India’s great nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi coined the term satyagraha as a philosophy of non-violent political struggle in 1906, while he was engaged in the early anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. His political philosophy, refined over subsequent years as he returned to India to lead its struggle against British imperialism, had far-reaching impacts. Gandhi’s philosophy helped to fuel independence struggles not only in South Africa, but in India, a host of other post-colonial countries, as well as the African-American civil rights movement in the United States.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan trumpeted Turkey's credentials as a rising democratic power on Sunday, saying his Islamist-rooted ruling party had become an example to the Muslim world after a decade in charge.

After waging a rather impressive charm offensive for some years -- after pursuing a subdued diplomacy in which the Iron Chancellor would've taken pride -- Beijing has wantonly squandered the reserves of goodwill it accumulated in Asian capitals.

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed his excitement over the 3-month-old black terrier puppy he had received as a gift from his Russian counterpart. “He is a good dog and beautiful,” Chavez told a Russian delegation in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, according to the Associated Press. ”I’m going to call him ‘Russian’.”