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.

#PowerWomen Own Social: Hashtags On Fire 2014

Women rule social media. They dominate Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, and stand click-to-click with men on Twitter and Tumblr. It's not all pretty pictures. This is the breakout year for hashtag activism on issues around women and girls. 

Tags: social media, new technology, facebook, twitter, non-state pd, non-state actors, public diplomacy

Energy Firms Head Rush to Myanmar

Myanmar has been opening up slowly since reforms began in 2010, but as constitutional changes gather momentum so the rate of overseas investment appears to be speeding up.

Tags: myanmar, southeast asia, foreign investment, democracy, non-state pd, non-state actors

Billy Joel's Russian Tour Revisited: Interviewing Filmmaker Jim Brown, Plus Mastodon's Brann Dailor

Jim Brown: A couple of things: First of all, rock 'n' roll had been outlawed in the beginning in the Soviet Union. In a way--and I'm making a larger film about this--rock 'n' roll became a way to protest the government and to stick up for individualism. It gathered crowds, the Soviet Union wasn't into religion or anything that gathered crowds other than their own communist politics.

Tags: cold war, Cultural Diplomacy, soft power, music diplomacy, russia, united states

NPM Hopes Exhibits In Japan Will Highlight The Nation's 'Soft Power'

The director of Taiwan's National Palace Museum (NPM) said she hopes upcoming historical exhibits of NPM cultural treasures in Japan will showcase Taiwan's 'soft power'. Fung Ming-chu's remark came as over 200 sets of precious works from the NPM are set to be exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum from June and later this year at the Kyushu National Museum. It marks the first time NPM treasures will be displayed in an Asian country other than Taiwan.

Tags: taiwan, japan, soft power, Cultural Diplomacy, exhibit

Obama To Announce $5 Billion Anti-Terrorist Fund

In his commencement address at West Point, Obama will ask Congress to support a new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF), a White House release said. The United States is setting up a $5 billion “terrorism partnership fund” to help other countries push back against radical extremists, President Obama will announce Wednesday. “It will allow us to pursue a more sustainable and effective approach to combating terrorism that focuses on empowering and enabling our partners around the globe,” the release said.

Tags: counterterrorism, united states, government pd, obama, terrorism partnerships fund

Brands, International Unions Press Cambodian Government on Labor Issues

Representatives from some of the world’s largest fashion brands and the leader of one of the world’s biggest union organizations met this week with Cambodian officials and local clothing manufacturers to demand better treatment and improve workplace safety for the country's estimated 600,000 garment workers. 

Tags: cambodia, human rights, fashion, public opinion, non-state actors, africa

Top Shop: Arab Tourists to UK Ranked Highest Spenders

Visitors from the Middle East have topped a ranking of tourist spending in the UK, with the average family likely to shell out a staggering $42,000 per trip.  People from the UAE, Egypt and other regional countries spend more in the UK than all other foreign nationalities, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Tags: united kingdom, europe, tourism, non state pd, middle east, egypt, united arab emirates

Manhattan’s Billionaire Row of Condo Towers Spreads South

A model apartment is opening this week at the Baccarat Hotel and Residences, a 50-story tower under development on West 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, across from the Museum of Modern Art. Singapore-based Pontiac Land Group is joining with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Hines to construct a 72-story condo tower on the same block. Farther east, China Vanke Co., China’s biggest publicly traded developer, is working with Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding LLC on a 61-story building on Lexington Avenue.

Tags: foreign investment, united states, manhattan, singapore, china, public diplomacy, non-state pd

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