The itinerary and agenda for President Obama's trip to Israel next month is still being hammered out by teams on both sides. But the visit already has an official name, and by the end of the week, it will have a logo too. Past presidential or dignitary visits to Israel have been named, but mostly by the police, who code-named their operation to secure President George W. Bush's visit "Clear Skies" and Pope Benedict XVI's tour as "White Robe."

“IT is not going too far to say that American foreign policy has become completely subservient to tactical domestic political considerations.” This stern verdict comes from Vali Nasr, who spent two years working for the Obama administration before becoming dean of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Social cause gaming, or the use of games to promote awareness of societal problems, has been growing since pioneer online projects like Food Force, the United Nations World Food Program’s 2005 game about confronting famine, and Darfur Is Dying, MTV’s 2006 offering in which players navigate the terrors of a Sudanese refugee camp.

The United Nations Club of Southern Oregon University and Ashland Peace House sponsored a two day conference Wednesday and Thursday entitled “Debunking the ‘Clash of Civilizations’: Understanding Islam, Islamophobia, and the Middle East,” a conference that featured speakers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

President Vladimir Putin, introducing a new concept of Russia’s foreign policy that relies more heavily on ‘soft power,’ expressed confidence that the country’s influence in the world "will continue to strengthen." In dealing with these global hot spots, Russia will make an active use of economic diplomacy and the so-called “soft power practices” in its foreign policy, the Russian leader said.

Bravely (or recklessly) writing these lines in Ottawa, I am running the risk of being ostracized by my Canadian hockey-loving colleagues and friends for as much as hinting any approval of the KHL—Russia-led Kontinental Hockey League (spelled with a K so as not to be confused with several existing CHL sports acronyms and to resemble its original Cyrillic spelling).

WASHINGTON -- Alhurra television celebrates its ninth anniversary on Feb. 14, with a larger audience and claims of editorial progress.