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.
An Offensive Lesson
"Be very offended." That is what the world is learning from our presidential race, which is being closely followed across the globe. And just as our contenders parse every statement made by their opponents and surrogates in search for anything offensive, countries abroad are following suit. Never before have so many governments apparently been so offended by perceived slights to their images
Columbia activist travels to Iran
“We will learn firsthand about the lifestyles, beliefs and culture of ordinary Iranians at a time when our elected leaders and potential leaders use inflammatory, destructive rhetoric and misleading generalizations to refer to an entire country of fellow human beings,” Tinker Fortel said. “When our government fails to make decisions on behalf of the common good of humanity, we must work as individuals to take that responsibility into our own hands — this is what civilian diplomacy is all about.”
India, Iran turn to cultural diplomacy
The Iranian vice-president will launch the Iran Culture Week - a mosaic of Persian poetry, music and dance - later in the night. “The culture week will provide an opportunity to people here to become more familiar with the Iranian culture,” he said. “An Indian Culture Week will be held very soon in Tehran. It’s important that the peoples of the two nations become more familiar with each other,” he said. “It will help us in strengthening India-Iran relations.”
The world doesn’t want Leninism with its shopping malls
So why is all of this - Tibet on the one hand and American soft power on the other - so significant? It's simple. The century ahead will not be a struggle between China and the United States for global leadership. This is not a balance-of-power gladiatorial contest. There will, however, be a battle of ideas.
Carrefour reiterates support for Olympics
French supermarket chain Carrefour and its employees regretted over the disruption of the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Paris and fully supported the Olympics, a senior official said on Monday.
Long road to the Beijing games
The Olympics were seen as a stage to introduce China to the international community, bring it closer to the rest of the world — a culmination of it’s liberalisation since the early 1980s. Instead, the past few weeks have shown the Olympics has the potential for the opposite effect. The global slap the Chinese have felt has stirred up fierce nationalism - and many here are wondering why the approval of the international community should even matter.
Survey Shows Majority of Arabs Hold Negative Views of United States
The survey polled 4000 respondents living in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Eighty percent said their opinions were shaped by the policies of the U.S. government, not by American values or culture. Eighty-three percent of respondents identified the Arab-Israeli conflict as a key issue and 55 percent said they believe that despite U.S. efforts to broker a compromise between the two sides before the end of this year, a lasting peace is unlikely.
Cuban bloggers buck system with candor
Only a month has passed since ordinary Cubans won the right to own computers, and the government still keeps a rigid grip on Internet access. But that hasn't stopped thousands from finding their way into cyberspace. And a daring few post candid blogs about life in the communist-run country that have garnered international audiences.
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