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.
Is Asia's Signature Mode of Transport Set for an Electric Revolution?
Millions in South and Southeast Asia rely on these three wheelers -- known variously as rickshaws, tuk tuks or tricycles -- as an affordable mode of transportation. But while beloved by many, the vehicles are also blamed for bottleneck congestion and pollution, spewing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particle matters that become trapped inside the lungs. As concerns over air pollution and fuel dependence grow, several Asian companies are vying to become the Tesla of motorbikes to bring zero-emission, light electric vehicles to the masses.
Boeing Wins $3.8 Billion 737 Order Amid China Travel Boom
Boeing Co. (BA) will sell 50 737 aircraft worth at least $3.8 billion to a low-cost carrier being set up by Juneyao Airlines Co., as a loosening of Chinese government controls on low-cost travel stokes demand expectations. Economic growth is helping make air travel affordable to more Chinese, increasing demand for planes from carriers such asAir China Ltd. (1055) and China Southern Airlines Co.
The Random Muslim Scare Story Generator: Separating Fact from Fiction
In Britain, there is now a cycle of Islamic scare stories so regular that it is almost comforting, like the changing of the seasons. Sadly, this rotation is not as natural, or as benign, although it is beginning to feel just as inevitable. We had the niqab winter last year, as the country lurched into the niqab debate for the second time in three years. Now we are in the spring of halal slaughter.
A Seismic Shift in British Public Diplomacy? Didn’t Feel a Thing
The best known – and, dare I say it, the most respected – example of public diplomacy broadcasting just ended. Did you notice? Don’t worry, you weren’t supposed to. You see, in April, after 75 years, the British government stopped directly funding the BBC World Service.
Africa and China's Values Deficit
Li Keqiang’s four nation visit to Africa in early May, the first since he became Premier last year, was kept off the front pages by the continuing unrest in Ukraine and theputsch by the Constitutional Court in Thailand. These issues are serious, but in many ways the story of China in Africa will almost certainly have a longer and deeper impact on the world, and deserves far more attention.
An Austrian Drag Queen Wins Eurovision
As the last of the thirty-seven participating countries weighed in (Israel, the Netherlands, Iceland, Slovenia), a dark-horse winner emerged: Conchita Wurst. A glamorous drag queen, the Austrian candidate was decked out in a long, glittering dress and sported a full beard. “It’s a firm and clear rebuke against Putin’s anti-L.G.B.T. legislation and people who support it,” William Lee Adams, the editor-in-chief of WiwiBloggs.com, the Internet’s most-read Eurovision Web site, said.
What Bollywood Stars are Saying About the Indian Election
India's national election, which wrapped up this week, has divided Bollywood along political lines more sharply than any other race in years. In the past month, Bollywood stars have taken to public forums and Twitter to show support for their preferred candidates or criticize their opponents.
Priced Out of Rio's Booming Favelas, Brazil's Poor Resort to Mass Squatting
This week, a thousand homeless families in São Paulo reportedly moved into a site just two miles from the opening venue of the World Cup. They were bussed to the site by the Landless Workers' Movement, which says the occupation aims to highlight the failure of government promises to improve social housing.
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