The type of bomb used in at least one of the Boston attacks is one that many recent veterans are all too familiar with. It was fashioned out of a pressure cooker. The devices are common in kitchens around the world. Instructions for turning them into bombs are distressingly easy to find. But I hope that their misuse as devices to wound and kill won’t obscure their value for bringing people together.

The mentor’s tone of the United States is standing in the way of the further development of Russian-U.S. relations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. “The present difficulties in relations stem from a number of unfriendly steps taken by the American side that provoked a furious response in Russian society,” he said at a session of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Popular Diplomacy on Thursday.

Following significant critical acclaim and audience enthusiasm for its Pakistan and Morocco seasons, Caravanserai: A place where cultures meet returns for a third installment featuring artists from Turkey. Caravanserai is an innovative cultural exchange program produced by Arts Midwest on behalf of its fellow U.S. Regional Arts Organizations.

A. Iain Johnston has the lead article in the latest issue of International Security. It's available for free right now, and it's quite the doozy. Entitled "How New and Assertive is China's New Assertiveness?", Johnston picks apart the claim made by many (including your humble blogger) that China's post-2008 foreign policy represented anything all that much out of the ordinary.

U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine rejected the idea that relations between the U.S and Russia are deteriorating and said social networking should be used to forge better ties during her visit to Moscow.

Educational exchange programs remain one of the strongest links between two countries. Over the last twenty years, thousands of Georgians have come to the United States for education, and over 3000 Georgians have participated in a U.S. professional or academic exchange programs.

U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine rejected the idea that relations between the U.S and Russia are deteriorating and said social networking should be used to forge better ties during her visit to Moscow.

Patrick Ho says Americans' distrust of China can be melted by reassuring skeptics that China is a nation of "peace-loving people". "We want to do away with what is called China bashing," said Ho, deputy chairman and secretary-general of the China Energy Fund Committee. "Having a big GDP doesn't mean we carry a big stick. A big GDP means we're prosperous."