[President Obama] had particularly productive and substantive meetings with the leadership of these three countries and also engaged with representatives of the private sector and civil society. The president’s message, and the dozens of agreements completed during the trip, underscored how tremendously significant the region is for the United States...

One implication of this is that the burden on U.S. public diplomacy has never been greater. As the role of publics expands, it becomes ever more urgent that the U.S. better understand them and effectively engage with them across a far wider spectrum (it's incomprehensible that Congress wants to slash funding for these functions at precisely the time they are most needed).

In Indonesia, home to 205 million Muslims — the greatest Islamic population in any nation— the administration recently opened in an upscale shopping mall a state-of-the-art, high-tech cultural centre. It is focused specifically on the country’s vast number of teenagers and twentysomethings.

APDS Blogger: Emina Vukic

Anyone attempting to visit the United States as a student, businessman or tourist knows that getting a visa can take weeks or months, and involve several visits to a U.S. embassy or consulate. U.S. officials say they are aware of the need to improve visa and other services for visitors, and that they are making concerted efforts toward that end.

Yet while last week's cuts failed to do much about the deficit, they could do serious damage to U.S. foreign policy. On Tuesday, the axe fell: The State Department and foreign operations budget was slashed by $8.5 billion -- a pittance when compared to military spending, but one that could put a serious dent in the United States' ability to positively influence events abroad.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors will receive $10 million under the compromise spending deal reached last week. President Obama effectively sided with the BBG over his own State Department in a funding dispute involving Internet circumvention work.

The teenage pop idol Justin Bieber became embroiled in a diplomatic imbroglio on Tuesday when it emerged that plans for a meeting between the singer and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had been called off, with the sides differing over why.