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.
Montanans Celebrate "Sister State" Relationship During Visit to China
A cultural relationship that started in 1999 was celebrated on Thursday night in southwest China. Montana governor Steve Bullock and Guangxi governor Chen Wu took down the cover of the ceremonial wall of friendship between the two locations.
In 'Parts Unknown,' Anthony Bourdain is Not a Man on a Mission
Anthony Bourdain's television travelogue "Parts Unknown" goes to Iran to discover how people live behind the geopolitical smoke screen and to small-town Massachusetts to chronicle the heroin scourge. But even if the fourth season of his Emmy Award-winning CNN show fosters cultural diplomacy or raises drug awareness, this outspoken New York chef insists he is on no kind of socially minded mission.
India Leader Proposes International Yoga Day
India's prime minister is proposing a new addition to the lengthy list of annual U.N. observances: World Yoga Day. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extolled the therapeutic powers of yoga and said it could help tackle global problems.
American Football Growing Quickly in Brazil
Brazilians are starting to pay attention to a different type of football the one played with the hands. American football, once the sport nobody could understand, is quickly gaining space in the land of soccer, attracting a growing number of fans and participants. Brazil already has two well-established semi-professional leagues in place, and television ratings for the NFL are increasing rapidly.
Give Diplomacy in Iraq a Chance
It is often said that "doing nothing is not an option". It always is, and it is sometimes the best option. As the forces of Isis continue their murderous, genocidal and misogynistic advance in Iraq, it is an option that should be seriously considered. In the end, however, only 43 MPs voted against the "something" that the Prime Minister proposed on Friday.
University of Chicago Ends Controversial China-Funded Program
China’s soft-diplomacy push hit a speed bump this week when the University of Chicago decided to pull the plug on renewing a controversial Beijing-funded Confucius Institute.The decision may prompt other universities to rethink their relationships with Confucius institutes – attractive because they offer free Chinese-language classes and cultural programs to cash-strapped colleges in the United States, albeit with limitations on what they can teach.
The Simpsons Go to China
If there was something threatening about the incursion of Western cultural and political influence ten years ago, the China of today seems a bit more confident about its standing in the world. Not that this newfound swagger has supplanted the paranoic tendencies inherent to authoritarian rule...
Art and Culture Make more Long Lasting Impact than Diplomacy
Abu Dhabi: Many foreigners know India through stars in Bollywood films and famous Indian artists. That’s why art and culture make a far more lasting impact on relations [between nations and peoples] than that of diplomacy, a top Indian diplomat told Gulf News. India House, the Indian Ambassador’s residence in Abu Dhabi, will be hosting art exhibitions of both Indian and Emirati artists more often, T. P. Seetharam, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said.
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