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.
[Bulgarian Foreign Minister] & Japanese Ambassador exchange notes over [Japanese gift]
Today, Foreign Minister Rumiana Jeleva and the Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria, His Excellency Tsuneharu Takeda, exchanged notes for a gratuitous grant of the Japanese Embassy for the purchase of restoration, photographic and audio and video equipment in the amount of 46.5 million yen (about 345 thousand euro). The donation is intended for the National Art Gallery of Bulgaria.
South Florida sees upswing in family trips to Cuba
The scenes are reminiscent of the days when MIA filled up with tens of thousands of exiles on early family-reunification flights in the late 1970s and early '80s. Family travel gradually dwindled as U.S.-Cuba relations cooled. Now, five months after Congress loosened strict Bush-era rules for family visits to Cuba, the numbers of travelers to the island is up dramatically, South Florida travel executives say.
US brushes off North Korea’s overtures
Many see Pyongyang's recent friendly gestures as a tactical move. The US moved Tuesday to freeze the assets of two North Korean entities, while South Korea accused the North of unleashing a deadly flash flood.
U.S. Learned Its Lesson, Won’t Abandon Afghanistan, Gates Says
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in an interview broadcast this week that the United States would not repeat the mistake of abandoning Afghanistan, vowing that "both Afghanistan and Pakistan can count on us for the long term."
U.S.-Cuba dialogue team envisioned
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has an old idea that's been tried before, which even its supporters say won't work: Create a team of exiles to dialogue with the Cuban government. Richardson pitched the idea to top Cuban officials while on a recent trip to the island, and he's already approached Cuban-American leaders who have agreed to participate, he told The Miami Herald in an interview.
Europeans’ approval of Obama jumps significantly from Bush
The latest edition of the survey showed that three out of four people (77 percent) asked in European Union nations plus Turkey expressed a favorable view of Obama’s handling of foreign affairs. A year earlier, Europe’s opinion of American leadership had deteriorated to the point where only one out of five (19 percent) surveyed expressed approval for American foreign policy.
British Council, Social Development Ministry kick off ME Global Community Xchange programme
The Ministry of Social Development [Oman] and British Council's Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) yesterday launched a unique programme to create awareness for better understanding between cultures. Named as 'International Community Xchange Volunteering Programme in Middle East', the programme is aimed at attracting more young people to volunteer and build strong bond between cultures. The British Council launched this programme in association with the Sultanate's Ministry of Social Development as a pilot project in the region.
India Week and Indian Food Festival opens in Astana
An India Week and Indian Food Festival underway in this Kazakhstan capital is giving people here a unique opportunity to enjoy the delicious cuisine of India prepared with original Indian spices and traditional flavours and with Indian music and films making for a genuine Indian ambiance. The festival, inaugurated here Tuesday by Indian Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, will shift Sep 14 to the previous capital of Almaty, where it will run till Sep 18.
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