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.

The reasons for what some have called the agency’s “strategic dysfunction” are many, but among them is surely the fact that, prior to Lack’s appointment, there had never been a single decision maker responsible for the BBG. Instead, the organization was governed by a part-time board of nine members.

The Arab Summit, held recently at Sharm El-Sheikh, can be the beginning of a new phase in joint Arab action and the credibility of Arab countries if decisions are translated into reality.

Negotiators appeared to be moving wearily on Thursday toward a preliminary accord on limiting Iran’s nuclear program, but they remained at odds about how specific that agreement would be. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, suggested the accord would take the form of a general statement that he would issue publicly with Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

Much of the Western news coverage of the death of Lee Kuan Yew has been characterized by grudging admiration for the rise of Singapore and tut-tutting about Lee’s autocratic style. The subtext is that anyone who fails to embrace Jeffersonian democracy as the ideal political system is unworthy of praise.

The United States pledged $507 million in humanitarian aid at an international donors' conference for Syria on Tuesday as the United Nations issued an appeal for $8.4 billion in commitments this year — the organization's largest appeal yet for the war-ravaged country.

On Tuesday, the Limón company was announced as one of three companies selected for the fifth iteration of DanceMotion USA, an initiative of the State Department, produced in partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Joining the Limón company are Dance Heginbotham and Bodytraffic, a Los Angeles troupe.