It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the State Department today in honor of Our Cities, Our Climate – an initiative between the State Department and Bloomberg Philanthropies.[...]At the center of the State Department’s public diplomacy is the mission to connect the United States with the world to foster creative and powerful networks of citizens around the world to build common understanding.

The Palestinian flag has for the first time been raised at the United Nations following an address delivered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the UN General Assembly.

How a satirical card game is skewering the international development industry — and raising uncomfortable critiques of the global development agenda.

The group, led by former U.S. envoy to the United Nations for management and reform issues Mark Wallace, as well as former Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, and others, is hosting a summit on Monday that “will draw more than 100 youth activists and government officials to New York City from dozens of countries,” it says. The efforts are aimed at preventing young people from being lured into extremist ideology, particularly on the Internet.

Turning first to the question of whether the public is actually interested in climate change, Google web searches show that the countries searching most frequently on the topic tend to be those most affected by changing climatic conditions [...] This suggests that being affected by the phenomena increases public interest: it is not wealthy countries idly researching a topic they hear on the news, it is affected populations trying to understand more about what they are experiencing.

[The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals are] a long list, featuring 17 goals written in the dense language of geopolitics. But how to do that when there are cross-cultural divides, language barriers, and 757 million people around the world who cannot read or write? Enter Jakob Trollbäck, graphic designer and chief creative officer of design and branding firm Trollbäck + Company.

Francis’ visit to the U.N. caps a series of recent diplomatic interventions, including serving as a mediator and guarantor during 18 months of secret negotiations between the United States and Cuba. The two countries resumed diplomatic relations in July, restoring official ties that were cut in 1961.

David Beckham is urging world leaders to put children at the center of the ambitious set of global initiatives that will be adopted Friday at the United Nations.