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 Kazakhstan’s ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’ All About Image, or Doing Some Real Good?
On June 10 and 11, Kazakhstan hosted the Fifth Congress of World Religions.
Deprived of ‘checkbook diplomacy’ in Yemen and Syria, Saudi Arabia flounders
The latest series of WikiLeaks cables have once again embarrassed the Saudi government and forced it on to the diplomatic defensive. The cables, over half a million documents said to have come from the Saudi Foreign Ministry, contain titillating details about how Riyadh operates — but no smoking guns related to nuclear enrichment or other issues of global fascination.
American Jazz group in Botswana For Cultural Exchange
The artists visit Botswana for the second time and this time around through an invitation by the United States (US) Embassy. Speaking to the music stakeholders and musicians at Old Naledi on Tuesday, the leader of the group Antony Stanco said they were excited to be in Botswana for yet another gratifying experience.
He advised the local musicians to learn from others who came before them. He said in America they have music schools but not everyone was fortunate enough to go there.
It Will Take Silky Diplomacy to Build China’s New Road
Today it is known as the Karakoram Highway, a twisting road carved high into the mountains along which trucks inch their way south through China and into Pakistan. You can trace the origins of this dizzying pass back to the Han dynasty, when it formed part of a trading route stretching 4,000 miles. Merchants would ferry valuable Chinese silk to markets as far west as Italy, collecting ideas from the world’s great cultures and depositing them as they went.
Saudi Arabia Thwarts UN Emergency Aid for Yemen
Months after the Saudi government pledged to single-handedly meet the United Nations’ (UN) “flash appeal” for humanitarian aid to Yemen, Riyadh is making it clear that the donation doesn’t come without strings attached.
On April 12, as the Saudi-led air campaign rained bombs over Yemen, the UN issued an emergency flash appeal calling for $274 million in aid for the country to address the increasingly dire humanitarian condition. Less than 24 hours later, the call was met entirely by the very government that was leading the attacks against Yemen.
Russian Spies, Suspicious Books, and the New Cold War Emerging in Europe
On December 9, during a routine session of the European Parliament in Brussels, someone snuck into the building, probably through an inner parking garage, and quietly placed copies of the same thick paperback book into the private mailboxes of all 751 parliamentarians.
The book, Red Dalia, is a takedown of Dalia Grybauskaite, the president of Lithuania. The country sits on the fringes of the EU, squeezed between the former Soviet dictatorship of Belarus and the militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The books were printed in English.
Helsiniki Projects 'Soft Power' on Finno-Ugric Question But within Tighter Limits Set by Moscow
The Russian government has always understood the interest of the three Finno-Ugric countries – Finland, Hungary and Estonia – in the Finno-Ugric peoples within the borders of the Russian Federation as “a pretext for putting pressure on Russia when the situation requires,” according to Alina Sergeyeva, a St. Petersburg commentator.
Martin O’Malley Hits Hillary Clinton with Benghazi Attack, Faults ‘Twitter’ diplomacy
Democratic presidential underdog Martin O'Malley took a swipe Friday at front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for mishandling the Arab Spring revolution in Libya and the subsequent deadly terrorist attack on the U.S.
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