Cuba has exchanged American citizen Alan Gross for three Cubans jailed in the United States. The prisoner swap is set to be the first step in a major overhaul of US-Cuba relations.

Secretary of State John Kerry will host the annual “Diplomacy at Home for the Holidays” reception at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17, in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the Department of State.

The obituary of the American century has been written, but there are very good reasons to believe that the USA will continue to play a dominant role in the 21stcentury. America’s continued dominance is based on its ability to project both hard and soft power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has nearly completed his purge of independent news media in Russia.  “This is not just a war of information,” says one keen analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.  “It is a war on information.”

How do we deal with American supporters of terrorist groups like ISIS? Europe may have some surprising lessons with its kinder, gentler approach to homegrown jihadists.

A survey of African stakeholders carried out in 40 African countries by the OECD for the African Economic Outlook 2011 found that emerging partners such as China were ranked as having a comparative advantage for cooperation in infrastructure, innovation, and even health compared with Africa’s traditional bilateral and multilateral partners.

People getting all bent out of shape by the idea of USAID funding Cuba’s underground hip-hop scene need to drink a rum and coke and relax, according to a figure at the center of the controversy.

Russia has condemned legislation passed by the United States Congress authorizing $350 million in military aid to Ukraine's government, which has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east.