A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
Cricket snub reignites India’s diplomatic war with Pakistan
The already fractious relationship between India and Pakistan has been soured even further after 11 Pakistani cricketers were snubbed in the auction for the upcoming 2010 Indian Premier League tournament.
U.S. Seeks Saudi Role in Helping Poorest Arab State
The Obama administration is urging a major role for Saudi Arabia in an emerging international effort to stabilize Yemen, said U.S. and European officials involved in the diplomacy. In doing so, the White House risks relying on an ally whose interests in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula don't always align with Washington's.
Museum row threatens Iran links
The Iranian government has threatened to sever cultural relations with the British Museum in a dispute over a prized clay artefact that echoes the recent souring of diplomatic ties between Tehran and London. The threat will come as an embarrassment to Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, who has made strenuous efforts to establish cultural links with Iranian scholars at a time of rising political tensions.
Taliban Overhaul Image to Win Allies
The Taliban have embarked on a sophisticated information war, using modern media tools as well as some old-fashioned ones, to soften their image and win favor with local Afghans as they try to counter the Americans’ new campaign to win Afghan hearts and minds.
Israel’s controversial expansion of Ariel University in West Bank
Israel’s Defense Ministry has given a green light to expand a college in the West Bank, a move aimed at strengthening Israeli ties to a settlement located deep within territory that Palestinians claim as part of a future state. "An Israeli university in the West Bank is a political statement that, 'We are here, and we are going to stay here,' " says Assaf Meydani, a lecturer at the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa’s school of government.
Team Obama scuttles the term “AfPak”
Haven't heard the term "AfPak" coming from senior administration officials lately? There's a good reason for that. The Obama team has jettisoned the term due to Pakistani ire, according to special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke.
Time for Australia to Live Up To Its Reputation as a Bully
These sound like the words of a Chinese official, yet this is what an Australian diplomat told me on a recent visit to Southeast Asia. Geographically on the fringes of Asia and with a different culture and history, Australia is sensitive to being perceived as a big-mouthed bully in the region.
Pakistani players pay heavy price for political tensions
But cricket has often been the great reconciler. Like the ping-pong diplomacy between the US and China, cricket has helped ease tensions between the Asian sub-continent's two sworn enemies. Until this week, that is, when the game inflamed passions that are never far from the surface.
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