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.
Eritrean Official Denies Sponsoring Insurgents to Destabilize Neighbors
Eritrea’s information minister has described as an unfortunate publicity stunt accusations that President Isaias Afeworki’s government is arming insurgents to destabilize both Ethiopia and Sudan ahead of their scheduled elections in 2010. Ali Abdu said the countries are exploiting the recent United Nations arms embargo imposed on Eritrea.
Afghanistan: NATO Treads Silk For Cyber Defence
NATO appears to have been more successful in building a cyber network in Afghanistan and its eight partner countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- than winning a protracted war against the Taliban.
Iranian protesters use Twitter, YouTube to broadcast violence
As violence flared Sunday between anti-government protesters and Iranian security forces, the world witnessed a second surge in Iranian "citizen journalism" via Internet platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
Public relations gimmicks will not help this country
Reports that the government has retained the services of Chlopak Leonard Schechter and Associates, an American public relations firm to manage its reputation abroad, were met with outrage by media commentators who criticised the waste of taxpayers’ money.
China’s Not a Superpower
At the moment, China is economically prosperous but ideologically bankrupt. It believes in neither communism nor liberal democracy. Besides depriving China of a source of soft power, the lack of appealing ideals and visions for the world is also responsible for the inward-looking mindset of the Chinese leadership, which has so far paid only lip service to calls for China to assume greater international responsibility.
Southern Africa Links Water Research Expertise
A project to boost water resources in southern Africa, first announced in 2003, held its first executive meeting last month.
USC offers America 101 for foreign students
Called "The United States: An American Culture Series," the USC class is an unusual semester-long effort by the university to help its international students learn about the strange food, difficult idioms and bewildering customs that surround them. To succeed academically, the theory goes, foreign students must also adjust culturally and socially to their new surroundings.
Iran and Twitter: the fatal folly of the online revolutionaries
For Twitter enthusiasts, this has been a bumper year. With a new online tool at their chubby fingertips, they've helped to change the world. Or at least, that's what they think: the so-called Iranian Twitter Revolution recently won a Webby award for being "one of the top 10 internet moments of the decade".
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