Ben Cardin (Md.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has had enough with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s mismanagement. On Tuesday, he sent a blistering letter[.] [...] The notion that one can run a giant organization out of a senior staff office is something an oil executive might think up; in government, it’s a disaster. Cutting out thousands of professional diplomats deprives one of not only expertise but also bandwidth (try managing two or three major crises with only a couple of dozen key players).

African nations have entered the space race, with Ghana as the most recent example of this bold technological achievement. [...] Other nations of the world have utilized space technology as a means of scientific advancement and socioeconomic progress. Ghana and other nations of the African Union and are no exception, as they become players in the global space race, and seek leadership status in the frontiers beyond Earth.

Bolivia will host the 2nd Forum of Ancient Civilizations in 2018 with the objective of promoting the exchange of ancestral knowledge among several countries, announced local media. [...] The first edition of the event took place this year in Athens with the participation of heirs of great civilizations, among them, Bolivia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Greece, Peru and Mexico.

To be an effective public diplomat, you need a well of sufficient soft power resources on which to draw. There is no canonical definition of public diplomacy (PD), but the official practice of it involves using informational, educational, and cultural tools to engage with international audiences to advance foreign policy goals. For the United States, PD officials often design strategies and employ tools that leverage what makes America popular and attractive.

"The announcement of Neymar's transfer to PSG was piloted among the high ranks in Qatar as a sort of communications strategy that would overshadow the debate around all other considerations, namely terrorism," said Mathieu Guidere, an expert in the geopolitics of the Arab world.

Odessa may not exactly leap to mind as a hotbed for book lovers – it is perhaps better known globally for its "mail-order bride" industry. And although it lacks the literary pedigree of St Petersburg, Edinburgh, Paris or Tangier, it has a storied past as a stopping point for Europe-trotting writers and intellectuals.