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.
YouTube Blocked in China, Google Says
Google said Tuesday that its YouTube video-sharing Web site had been blocked in China. Google said it did not know why the site had been blocked, but a report by the official Xinhua news agency of China on Tuesday said that supporters of the Dalai Lama fabricated a video that appeared to show Chinese police officers brutally beating Tibetans after riots last year in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, according to The Associated Press.
Israel’s New Cultural Diplomacy
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has received an extra $2 million dollars for programs to improve cultural and information diplomacy. Israel is currently under intense scrutiny and criticism from global audiences, according to world surveys which Israel is closely following. To reverse the generally negative world view of Israel, the government has an agenda to start creating a narrative of Israel that is not focused on conflict.
Obama to Woo Turks, Armenian Pitfall Awaits
U.S. President Barack Obama has created a chance to turn Turkey's role in the wider Middle East to maximum advantage simply by going there so early in his term. Turkey, a sometimes prickly NATO ally, holds no magic solutions, but it can help the United States in confrontations and conflicts that stretch from Israel to Afghanistan -- via Syria, Iraq and Iran -- and from Cyprus to the Caucasus.
Ukrainian Problems and Russian Factor: View From Berlin
Meetings and exchanges with representatives of various political, civic and academic circles of Germany, Bundestag members, and German foreign ministry officials were extremely frank, helping us better understand Germane’s perception of the 2009 “gas war,” and were also a good opportunity to put across to our Berlin colleagues the viewpoint of Ukrainian experts on the current dangerous situation in the field of energy security in the most detailed way.
‘Forceful Diplomacy’ Led to Pakistan’s Admission, Says Congress
Attacking the BJP’s divisive approach towards terrorism, the Congress Tuesday underlined its commitment to an independent foreign policy and claimed that Pakistan’s admission of the role of its citizens in the Mumbai terror spree was a victory of the party’s “patient but forceful diplomacy”.
Young Saudi Activist to Advise G20 Leaders
As part of the British Council’s pioneering Global Changemakers initiative, a selected group of young people will represent the voice of their generation when they meet G20 leaders on April 1-2 and discuss the implications of the current global financial crisis and how it affects their own countries. It is the first time that young people have been asked to give their recommendations at a G20 conference.
Second place for America in Pakistan
Sending the head of the CIA to Pakistan the day that Pakistan’s chief justice takes back the office that was his all along is so tone-deaf, it makes the US government seem alien, cold and foreign. This is no way to actualise President Barack Obama’s vision of American public diplomacy in the 21st century. All the money at Fort Knox, and all the international political capital of the Barack Obama presidency cannot overturn and undermine the kind of message that a CIA boss’ visit sends to Pakistan.
Foreign Service Jobs in Afghanistan to Grow
President Obama's senior national security officials have proposed a new overall strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which he is expected to approve this week. It includes sending hundreds of U.S. civilian officials to Afghanistan, increasing the size of the embassy and its outposts by about 50 percent -- to about 900 personnel.
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