When people talk about the resumption of relations between the United States and Cuba, as they did over the weekend as President Obama and President Raúl Castro sat down for the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in more than 50 years, they talk mostly about history and diplomacy and influence, and what it could mean for the future in terms of trade and travel, not to mention human rights. What they do not generally talk about, however, is fashion.

When David Ensor announced last week that he was stepping down as the director of the Voice of America, critics saw the move as the latest sign of turmoil at the government agency that is charged with presenting America’s viewpoint to the world.

For Australia, a key focus of its foreign policy should be how to balance its economic ties with China and its cultural ties with the United States; appeasing both without getting in the middle of an ugly tug-o-war that forces Canberra to take sides.

U.S. President Barack Obama nominated former U.S. envoy for North Korea policy Glyn Davies as ambassador to Thailand on Monday following a six month vacancy for the post, media outlets reported. Davies’ appointment, which has to be approved by the Senate, comes amid strained ties between the United States and Thailand, which is Washington’s oldest Asian ally.

The first large-scale event organized by the Carmel Institute, the symposium reminded its guests about the profound cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during WWII and stressed the importance of the role such unity could play in the future, as well as how this might be achieved given the current political situation.

The run up to next year’s election promises to involve more than the usual amount of debate about how America should engage the world. These three candidates – Clinton, Paul and Rubio – represent a stark contrast on that question.

Stories about the increasing synergy in Sino-Russian relations have proliferated over the last few months with Western, Russian, and Chinese analysts unable to agree on the genuine contours of the relationship. However, there exists a consensus that the partnership between Moscow and Beijing has reached a mature phase with broad economic, political, cultural, and security dimensions and stable, institutionalized mechanisms binding the two powers together. 

And the new star in Latin America is ... the United States? The reviews are in, and while the United States still faces plenty of tricky relations in a diverse region of 35 states, President Obama walked away with more salutes than swipes from a regional Summit of the Americas where the United States usually takes a drubbing. The question now is whether Mr. Obama and his successors can capitalize on the new credibility Washington has earned, primarily through his reconciliation with Havana.