Only a lucky few North Koreans get the chance to travel out of the country, but the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) first national hearing impaired football team is being given the rare privilege to play their first international friendly game against Australia in Sydney this weekend.

Some of these emerging diplomatic trends seem to have the potential to solve real problems, but can they really guarantee results or are they diplomatic fads that will go out of style as soon as the diplomatic community is faced with more complex challenges?

Eco-warriors on the front lines of climate diplomacy often frame the environmental conflict between the developed and the developing world as a version of the notorious skirmish between Lawrence H. Summers and José Lutzenberger, which happened on the sidelines of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, widely seen as the official start of the world’s interest in climate change.

President Obama could take a lesson in Congressional relations from his own top diplomat. Samantha Power, now a year on the job as the US ambassador to the United Nations, says she’s learned the value of investing in relationships with her counterparts from around the world. 

In 1998, TIME Magazine declared feminism dead. Nearly 15 years later, it wondered if instead, perhaps feminism should be banned. (...) Indeed, it's clear 2014 was a historic one for feminism. Women stood up for their rights, challenged stereotypes, fought for recognition and took control of the dialogue. The following is a non-exhaustive list of some of the most iconic feminist moments this year.

The top UN official for humanitarian aid, Valerie Amos, who oversaw international relief efforts in Syria and other trouble spots, is stepping down, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

The United Nations is undertaking a process to develop a set of sustainable development goals that will be used to target international development assistance during the post-Millennium Development Goal period of 2015–2030.

 As General Myers, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has observed, “every dollar spent on the soft power of ideas is worth 100 in hard power.”(...) In the years ahead, no matter who controls the White House or Congress, our nation must focus more of our efforts on soft power.