It has become something of a rite of passage for Caribbean political leaders who direct the fortunes of the nations and territories that form the archipelago.

In recent weeks and months, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Guyana’s new President Donald Ramotar, Grenada’s head of government Tillman Thomas and Mia Mottley, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, came to New York at the helm of a six member delegation of the Barbados Labor Party to meet the Diaspora. What they all did was deliver an interesting message: nationals of their respective countries must continue to play an invaluable role in the further economic and social development of America’s third border.

MIA MOTTLEY

(NNPA)—Three Blacks sit atop the new government unveiled this month by newly elected President Francois Hollande, making the French Republic the European leader in political diversity with a government loaded with people of color.

EUROPEAN LEADER IN DIVERSITY—French President Francois Hollande addresses reporters during a joint press conference with Benin and African Union President Thomas Boni Yayi, left, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 29. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

All three are from the Caribbean region and one is a veteran Parisian lawmaker. A prominent member of the new cabinet is Christiane Taubira from French Guiana.

Taubira was named justice minister—making her the highest ranking woman in the new cabinet. A lawmaker since 1993, she authored a French law in 2001 making slavery a crime against humanity.

by Abdi Guled

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)—Beachfront dining, fresh lobster, and a European clientele: Somalia's restaurant scene is quickly changing for the better.

NEW RESTAURANT—Ahmed Jama, right, walks in front of his restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali businessman Ahmed Jama recently returned to Somalia from London to open two Western-style restaurants in two hotels he owns, one on the beachfront and the other downtown Mogadishu. His beachfront property boasts stylish beach beds and flat-screen TVs.

by J.M. Hirsh

What do you feed a man who spent decades eating prison food in the name of freedom and reconciliation?

PERSONAL CHEF—In this undated handout image from the book, “Home Cooking: Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen,” Nelson Mandela, left, and his personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, are seen. (AP Photos/Coyne Public Relations, Debbie Yazbek)

It was an intimidating question Xoliswa Ndoyiya wasn’t sure she knew how to answer. It was about 20 years ago and at the time she was just a young cook working at a Jewish retirement home in Johannesburg, South Africa. But a friend had urged her to apply for the job as Nelson Mandela’s personal chef.

So she did. And when he met her, he immediately put her at ease.