The notoriously hermetic and isolated country of North Korea closed its borders to tourists last fall due to concerns about the threat of Ebola. Remarkably, it has recently decided to reopen them in order to hold a sporting event: the Pyongyang Marathon. 

The U.S. and Cuban presidents announced last December a restoration of diplomatic relations after more than half century. The skaters are hoping their efforts help things get off to a flying start.

A just published study highlights how commerce and glitz are reinforcing support for autocracy by international sports associations and undermining the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) newly found resolve to hold potential host cities to human rights standards to which world soccer body FIFA pays lip service.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr. Modi said he conveyed “best wishes” to the Pakistani prime minister for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, as well as to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “Cricket connects people in our region & promotes goodwill,” Mr. Modi said in another tweet.