The Modern Language Assn. reported that Korean language enrollment rose 45% from 2009 to 2013. Overall, language studies declined by 6.7% during that same period, and interest dropped in many popular ones, including Spanish, French and German.

Taiwan’s Tang Prize Foundation signed a cooperative agreement with U.S.-based Experimental Biology March 31, reaffirming TPF’s commitment to creating learning opportunities worldwide.

Instead, the Kremlin has become increasingly sophisticated in its media strategy. Even as it continues to enforce conformity of coverage at home, it criticizes conformity abroad. Moreover, it borrows from the playbook of its former Cold War enemy, the U.S., to shape public opinion—in part by concocting a powerful story of Western spin.

Are U.S. Foreign Service officers an endangered breed? They fear the State Department wants to define them away. This is one thrust of a new report from the American Academy of Diplomacy.(...)The risk comes from political appointees encroaching on their turf and State confusing the roles of FSOs and civil service employees, according to the Academy. 

And so it came, after years of protracted negotiations, extended deadlines and a diplomatic dance of unprecedented proportions – a deal that could signal a new era for Iran’s relations with the world. (...) Beyond the technical details of the agreement lies a triumph of diplomacy and the potential, if not for a realignment of US interests in the Middle East, then certainly a significant adjustment which has concerned its traditional allies in the region.

where China and Chinese-led institutions such as the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank would promote prosperity across the region. But he was on shaky ground — literally. The Boao Forum where Xi spoke took place in Haikou, capital of China’s island province of Hainan, whose local government, it seems, may not be able to pay its debt this year.

35 well-coiffed foreign ambassadors on formal state business in the US were sitting in the Khan Academy kitchen to learn about the educational nonprofit that has become a global name. Standing amid a crowd of laid-back software engineers and employees in casual garb, the foreign visitors were immersed in a different culture in more ways than one.