As of today, neither the United States nor Israel has a vote in UNESCO -- the United Nations’ organization that leads global initiatives on everything from HIV/AIDS and climate change to literacy and Holocaust education. (Its name is short for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.) The downgrade is the result of two sets of laws that the United States and UNESCO have had for years.

In 2010, I returned to London to meet again with the nation-branding consultants I had interviewed three years earlier. I expected to encounter a very different portrait of the field from the one that had been painted for me a few years earlier. Aftershocks from the global financial crisis of 2008 – 2009 continued to make themselves felt, upending the foundations of market value.

The M23 rebel group declared an end to its 20-month rebellion in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, saying it was ready to disarm its troops and pursue a political solution. The movement has decided "to end its rebellion from this day forward and pursue, by purely political means, the search for solutions to the root causes that led to its creation," M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement.

There were high expectations after President Obama and Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, talked on the phone in late September. Those hoping for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff were excited that a breakthrough was imminent; meanwhile, some American allies, like Israel and Saudi Arabia, expressed deep skepticism over a potential American rapprochement with Iran.

The United Nations General Assembly may approve a plan soon for the world's space agencies to defend the Earth against asteroids. The plan, introduced last week, is expected to be adopted by the General Assembly in December. It would do two things: create an International Asteroid Warning Network so countries can share what they know about asteroids; and spin up a group of scientists from several countries' space agencies to look for smaller asteroids, as well as make plans to divert them away from the Earth.

Twenty-three sake masters held a tasting event at U.N. headquarters Friday, giving diplomats and their staff a chance to sample various kinds the Japanese liquor often called rice wine. While sampling sakes made by 48 breweries across Japan, some hailed the “sophistication and craftsmanship” used to create the intriguing tastes.

Forty years ago, a military coup overthrew the leftist government in Chile. President Salvador Allende was killed, and thousands were arrested and tortured. Many died in prison, among them an army general loyal to Allende, Alberto Bachelet. His wife and daughter were also tortured and forced into exile - first to Australia and then to Germany. The daughter, Michelle Bachelet, was elected president of Chile in 2006.

Saudi Arabia dealt a high-profile snub to the international community and the United States on Friday when it turned down a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council. The unprecedented move was a culmination of months of public derision directed toward the U.S. for its halfhearted approach to intervention in Syria, its tacit support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and, most recently, its overtures to Iran.