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.
India stretched its Soft Power on International Yoga Day, but the Real Work Begins Now
The more significant question to ask is whether it serves as an important tool for India’s aspirations as a global power. Many have written that yoga is one of the best “soft power” tools in India’s global tool kit. In the US alone, it claims to be a heavy-duty industry worth more than $30 billion. Most people who practice yoga know that it emerged in India almost 5,000 years ago, and recognise its holistic attributes. So, how will this grand-scale exercise enhance India’s global image?
#AnimatED: Pope Francis’ Global Diplomacy for ‘Sister Earth’
Pope Francis dove into a secular subject with his first major encyclical on the theme of environment, “Laudato Si” (“Praise Be to You”), calling countries and peoples to stop ruining the Earth, “our common home." The 184-page document, which can be read here, is regarded as Francis’s critique of unrelenting global capitalism, businesses that sacrifice the environment for profits.
Michael Fallon: Use Foreign Aid To Deter Mass Migration
Britain’s foreign aid budget must be used to “discourage mass migration”, the Defence Secretary has said. Michael Fallon said that foreign aid spending “should be used” to help prevent conflicts breaking out in African countries in order to prevent refugees fleeing to Europe. He said that it would stop the UK military having to “fish people out of the Mediterranean” when they try to escape from their home countries.
Troops Display ‘Soft Power’ From Siachen to S China Sea
India’s armed forces yesterday demonstrated the country’s ‘soft-power’, participating in the first International Yoga Day at the highest battlefield of Siachen to the South China Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
Soldiers practised yoga at the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield at 5,400m altitude, and also in Ladakh and Kargil, along with all major stations across the country.
The Indian Navy, observing “Yoga across the Oceans”, had ship crews stationed in international waters, from the Mediterranean to the South China Sea practising yoga.
Chinese Official Urges 'Basketball Diplomacy' To Enhance China-U.S. People-To-People Exchanges
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong on Sunday called for more "basketball diplomacy" activities to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
Liu made the appeal during a visit to NBA basketball team Houston Rockets' home field Toyota Center, where a group of Chinese student athletes from Tsinghua High School are working on a basketball training program.
She said sports are an important part in people-to-people exchanges, which have played a unique and significant role in China-U.S. ties.
Yoga is India's Soft Power, says Prakash Javadekar
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today performed yoga asanas with more than a thousand participants at a mega event organised here as part of International Yoga Day celebrations. Javadekar inaugurated the yoga session at 7 am at the Forest Research Institute premises here along with IFS probationers, officers and faculty members and followed it up with another programme held by Patanjali Yogpeeth at the Rangers Ground where he was accompanied by state BJP chief Tirath Rawat and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Ajay Bhatt. In his brief speech, Javadekar appealed to people to embr
Havana Biennial: Bargains, Hype, Politics and the Malecon
The Havana Biennial art exposition wrapping up Monday has been held 12 times since the 1980s. But this is the first since U.S. efforts to improve relations with Cuba began six months ago, allowing an unusually large contingent of American visitors. Here are some observations from U.S. art collectors and their representatives about how Havana's art scene has evolved and the impact of detente. Janda Wetherington, whose Pan American Art Projects gallery in Miami specializes in Cuban art, says prices have gone up since the last Biennial.
UK Will be Assertive in Military Strategy, says Michael Fallon
The defence secretary has defended the government’s military strategy and spending, saying that “no country in Europe is playing such a strong global role”. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he said the UK was “in it for the long term” when it came to Nato and deterring Russia, also hailing British operations against Islamic State (Isis) and humanitarian missions. [...] In his Telegraph article, Fallon highlighted the role of soft power in tackling the causes of instability, while also highlighting areas of military spending, including aircraft carriers and submarines.
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