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.
East Indian Summer: Two Surinamers Revisit Their Indian Roots
[The prime minister] announced a slew of new procedures to help people of Indian origin (PIOs) in Girmitiya countries (where PIOs are descendents of indentured Indian labourers) obtain overseas citizen of India (OCI) cards even if they had left India four or five generations back. Along with Surinamers, PIOs from countries like Fiji, the Reunion Island, Guyana and other Caribbean states will benefit from the new norms.
The Obstacles to China's Bid for Soft Power
The American withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement has opened the door to China to try and strike a pose as the leading defender of liberalized trade and globalization. The public face of this new push is none other than China’s president. This month, Xi became the first Chinese president to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos where he set forth the case for continuing to expand global trade.
Twitter Diplomacy: Trump Using Social Media to Spur a Crisis with Mexico
Six days after taking office, President Donald Trump is facing the first international crisis of his administration. And it’s unfolding on Twitter. Following through on campaign promises to crack down on immigration, Trump signed executive orders to both kick-start the construction of a border wall with Mexico and block federal grants for “sanctuary cities“ - jurisdictions that offer safe harbour for undocumented immigrants.
May's Ankara Visit Signifies Importance of Turkey-UK Relationship
With British Prime Minister May set to arrive in Ankara today to meet her Turkish counterpart, Binali Yıldırım, experts highlighted the importance of her visit, especially right after her trip to the U.S. Commenting on the visit, diplomatic sources in Ankara stated, "Prime Minister May's visit will reflect the fact that Turkey is an indispensable partner and a close ally for the U.K. on many issues of global importance, including trade, security and defense."
How Culture Became a Powerful Political Weapon
When it comes to living in a democracy, Nato Thompson argues, nothing affects us more directly and more powerfully than culture. Culture suffuses the world we live in, from TV to music to advertising to sports. And all these things, Thompson writes in his new book, Culture as Weapon, “influence our emotions, our actions, and our very understanding of ourselves as citizens.”
Trump May Be Eyeing VOA As Outlet For 'Alternative Facts'
Most Americans probably don't think about it much, and some may even be unaware, but the United States has a government-funded international media outlet, Voice Of America. Now that Donald Trump is president, VOA, at least in a technical sense, is under his control. If you are thinking "This may not end well," you may be correct.
Indonesia Intensifies Participation for Creating World Peace
Indonesia has decided that its foreign policy in 2017 will focus on intensifying interactions with other countries to protect the nation`s interests, security, ideological objectives, and economic prosperity. To this end, the country continues to participate in implementing world order based on freedom, lasting peace, and social justice. Creating a peaceful world is also one of the national goals outlined in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
U.S. Soft Power Helped Kenyan Man's Efforts to Save his Mother Tongue
American linguistics professors and students assisting an effort by members of a tribe in Kenya in creating teaching materials for their language. We at The World in Words podcast wanted to find out more about this. Is it worth the effort? The Americans are from universities that receive federal and state support. They have sent their people to rural Kenya to assist language activist Kennedy Bosire and others.
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