The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the United States' government development finance institution, said it has approved funding for a $400 million solar farm in South Africa as part of new energy projects in emerging markets. [...] The company said the initiative was part of President Barack Obama's $7 billion plan to "Power Africa". Launched in 2013, the plan aims to boost electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Concerns about the closing of the American Center in Moscow appear to be overblown. Russia is still open to new ideas and the constructive role that can be played by soft power. [...] This may look like a form of paranoia, but truly speaking, the major goal is to find a fine line between culture and politics. 

Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the United States [...] comes as the Xi administration is engaged in an ongoing crackdown on human rights activism and the freedom of speech, and as the state legislature has recently passed or proposed several laws aimed at minimizing dissent and reinforcing Party ideology. 

The big question is how effectively he can apply his accumulated soft power to make a difference on the world stage. [...] But the pope's most audacious foreign-policy move has been a crusade against worldwide income inequality and environmental degradation, including man-made climate change.

The closure of the American Center in Moscow is just the latest step taken by the Kremlin to crack down on U.S. public diplomacy initiatives within Russia and ratchet up anti-Western sentiment.[...] As Ambassador Tefft suggests, the move marks the culmination of a decades-long process of undermining U.S. cultural influence in Russia that emerged in the wake of the post-perestroika euphoria and belief in the rosy future of Russian-U.S. relations.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Holy See hopes the rapprochement will soon be followed by the removal of the U.S. embargo, which the Vatican has long opposed. On Friday, the United States eased rules for U.S. citizens wishing to travel to Cuba and simplified procedures for telephone and Internet investments and money transfers to Cuba.

Soldiers use the term kinetic force to describe the firing of bullets, bombs and artillery. Non-soldiers often think of the business of war as entirely about the kinetic. But it's not just about this hard power. The role of Influence is often more important than anything.

Pope Francis begins his historic visit to Cuba and the United States this weekend, when he will address the US Congress and the United Nations. It is a chance to influence policymakers on issues that will shape the future of the planet. But there is another platform he should be invited to join.