A U.S. ban on its citizens travelling to North Korea has come into effect, at a time of heightened tensions over North Korean missile launches. The new rule was announced after U.S. student Otto Warmbier died after being released from prison in North Korea. The State Department said it was necessary "due to the serious and mounting risk" of detention.

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA), New York’s newest arts space, has not yet found a permanent home. But that won’t stop it from moving ahead with its first exhibition. The institute is opening to the public on May 4 in Little Italy with a show of work by four contemporary women artists. The space will serve as a temporary location while the institute searches for a permanent headquarters in New York.

The fallout from President Trump’s executive orders limiting travel from some Middle Eastern and African countries is having far-reaching implications for U.S. tourism. It is not just visitors from the countries targeted by the bans that are souring on U.S. travel; the seven countries included in Trump’s original order in January account for 0.1% of incoming travelers. Rather, an atmosphere of fear at the nation’s airports are scaring off people without the slightest connection to the Muslim world.

Immigration [...] has recently become the focal point of President Trump’s first weeks in office. In response to his travel ban, which suspends the refugee program and prevents immigration to the United States from seven predominately Muslim countries, a variety of groups and organizations have spoken out about what it means to be American, how we should move forward with immigration, and what intrinsic values are essential to the success of the United States. 

Peace Meal Kitchen is an exercise in gastrodiplomacy – fostering cultural exchange and increased understanding through food. As NPR wrote in 2014, while the concept is fairly new in terms of its place in cultural diplomacy as a whole, “the idea itself can be traced back to the ancient Romans, who often made peace with their enemies over a good meal.”