As a handful of students gathered to learn a new language at the Microsoft store in New York City, a different set of students gathered a world away in Nigeria to embark on a similar journey. The language in both cases is coding, and Microsoft executives are making it a global cause. “Coding is a universal language,” said Dona Sarkar, principal product manager at Microsoft. “Coding is the language of solving problems.”

[A] State Department appointee approached me regarding my potential interest in a Democratic vacancy on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, a small bipartisan board that, since 1948, has been charged with advising the administration and Congress on the effectiveness of U.S. public-diplomacy activities. As with other government commissions, its positions are uncompensated and part-time; they offer opportunities for qualified citizens to apply their talents for public benefit. I expected things to unfold relatively smoothly.

The British public is fearful of the rise of fascism around the world in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory in the US and the Brexit referendum in the UK, according to a new survey released today. The study by BMG Research for ‘The Independent’ newspaper also showed that most people think the number of individuals holding fascist views is increasing in the UK and on the continent as well.

A group of Hollywood television stars are touring Israel in an attempt to strengthen ties between the US and the Jewish state, as well as to bolster the struggle against the BDS movement. The trip is organized by America's "Voices in Israel" group (Conference of Presidents) in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry for Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy.