A blood bank in the Pacific Northwest has developed a kit for transfusions in remote places that it says "takes the banking out of blood banking." [..] Linda Barnes, chief operating officer at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, says the military was the model for what is, essentially, a walking blood bank. Barnes has done a lot of international consulting about strengthening blood systems in places such as Ivory Coast, Kenya, Ukraine and the Caribbean islands.

A growing number of Israeli politicians are expected to descend on Washington DC in the coming months as part of an effort by the government to forge ties with the Trump administration.
The first to meet with the new administration will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom President Donald Trump invited to visit the White House during their phone call on Sunday.

Over the past year, Arafa has opened his studio apartment in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood to refugees and domestic violence victims free of charge, and he’s launched a website to help Americans across the country do the same. The concept of his site, called EmergencyBnB, resembles Airbnb, where people list their homes or a bedroom for travelers to rent by the night. 

Bangladesh embassy in Washington has held an interaction with the young US professionals as part of its annual 'public diplomacy outreach'. [...] The embassy said over 70 professionals from a variety of disciplines joined the "Embassy Experience" programme on Friday evening to know Bangladesh's history, economy, investment opportunity, tourism and culture.

The soft power roadmap for what is needed is relatively clear. Seizing the moment requires the United States and international partners to give much higher priority to activities such as public diplomacy, sustainable development assistance, and exchange programmes.

United States Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, has said technology and innovation is redefining relations between Washington and New Delhi. [...] The US envoy said science and tech diplomacy is not new - during the Cold War, science served a common language that helped bridge political and cultural divides.

The Egyptian Embassy in Washington launched the 2016 public diplomacy campaign to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the inception of parliamentary life in Egypt.

The prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran capped 14 months of secret diplomacy and talks between Washington and Tehran as the U.S. and world powers negotiated the pact to curb Iran's nuclear program, reflecting a thaw in relations between the sworn enemies.