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.
Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid
President Barack Obama authorized targeted airstrikes and emergency assistance missions in northern Iraq, saying Thursday the U.S. must act to protect American personnel and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the face of advances by violent Islamist militants. The U.S. military said it completed a delivery of meals and water to thousands of members of a religious minority who fled the town of Sinjar and are trapped in nearby mountains by the group calling itself the Islamic State.
Death Knell in Fine Print
The United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014 (HR4490), passed July 28, 2014 on a voice vote in the House of Representatives, was born out of frustration and desperation – frustration over ways to counter foreign propaganda and desperation to streamline what has become an unwieldy, inefficient, poorly managed and less than effective international broadcast conglomerate.
USAID’s $500 Million Dam Project Circling the Drain in Afghanistan
A linchpin of the American counterinsurgency strategy in southern Afghanistan is maintaining electrical service in Kandahar City, and even that modest goal appears to be slipping away with the ongoing troop withdrawal. That is because the long-overdue upgrade of Kajaki Dam, slated to provide power to Kandahar, now appears unlikely to ever be finished.
KCON a Mini-Coachella for Korean Pop Music
Very few American fans can see K-pop acts perform live. Some popular South Korean bands like Girls' Generation or 2NE1 have played showcases in major U.S. cities, and the girl group Crayon Pop just toured with Lady Gaga. Yet for most such acts, it's never made logistical or financial sense to play the States, despite a fervent fan subculture here. This year's KCON, the third installment of the annual K-pop festival in downtown L.A., might be changing that line of thinking.
Hollywood Stars and Israel: Is the Relationship Fading Over Gaza?
Since the Israeli incursion into Gaza began more than a month ago, there has been a growing trend of celebrities vocalizing their reaction to the ongoing conflict. Media interest in the “flood of celebrities” and their outpourings has been incessant, provoking a level of scrutiny often reserved for world leaders. Expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians have emerged from a mix of artists.
The ISIS Online Campaign Luring Western Girls to Jihad
The self-proclaimed Islamic State, formerly known by the acronym ISIS, is actively recruiting Western women and girls. And in the process this “caliphate” that now occupies large swathes of Syria and Iraq is showing, once again, that it’s almost as shrewd with social media as it is ruthless on the battlefield. The tweets and blogs apparently are written by Western women married to jihadi warriors.
Saudi Arabia is Slathering the Lebanese Military with Cash
Saudi Arabia has just decided to give the Lebanese military $1 billion in military aid, mostly in ammunition and small arms. This latest dollop of cash has a lot more to do with the fact that the Islamic State, which has recently shown a noticeable lack of concern about what anyone else has to say about national borders, recently bopped over into Lebanon to go raise hell, shoot up, and finally occupy a small town called Arsal in the northeast of the country.
How North Korea Attempted to Sell Itself to the Outside World
North Korea’s approach to marketing itself to foreign visitors has often been contradictory, the product of competing bureaucracies and the changing whims of the leadership. In this environment, North Korean authorities can often seem hungry for foreign visitors one minute, then going out of their way to frighten them off the next.
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