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.
31 students from Nagaoka City visit Saipan
Nagaoka International Exchange Association brought 31 junior high school students from Nagaoka City, Japan to Saipan on Nov. 24 for a cultural exchange with Mt. Carmel School students. During their stay, the students introduced Japanese culture such as origami and Japanese games to local students and participated in Mt. Carmel's Thanksgiving Mass.
UN slams ‘discriminatory’ Swiss minaret ban
The United Nations called Switzerland's ban on new minarets "clearly discriminatory" and deeply divisive, and the Swiss foreign minister acknowledged Tuesday the government was very concerned about how the vote would affect the country's image. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said Sunday's referendum to outlaw the construction of minarets in Switzerland was the product of "anti-foreigner scare-mongering."
China School Exchange Established
Hamilton [New Zealand] has strengthened its sister city relationship with Wuxi in China with the establishment of a school exchange programme. Mayor Bob Simcock and a representative of the Mayor of Wuxi, a city of six million people, have signed an agreement to facilitate exchanges between schools in the two cities. Since 1986 the two cities have enjoyed a close sister city relationship and Mr Simcock said the school exchange programme will enhance this friendship.
United States’ shameful land mine policy
Is that the unspoken reasoning behind land mine policy? Or is it reluctance to ruffle military feathers as Obama today announces what is expected to be a huge increase in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan? A shrinking number of countries -- including China, Russia, India and Pakistan -- have not joined the Mine Ban Treaty. When will the U.S. join the rest of the world in banning these insidious weapons of terror that have caused so much heartbreak and devastation?
Ahmadinejad, the Blogger
It's hard to believe in light of this Internet repression, but Iran's president is himself a blogger. "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Personal Memos" is the place where he goes to vent and stay in touch with the common folk. He says he allots himself 15 minutes a week to write on his blog, but admits that at times he exceeds this limit.
Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue ‘soft’ power (VIDEO)
India is fast becoming a superpower, says Shashi Tharoor -- not just through trade and politics, but through "soft" power, its ability to share its culture with the world through food, music, technology, Bollywood. He argues that in the long run it's not the size of the army that matters as much as a country's ability to influence the world's hearts and minds.
Cricket Diplomacy and Pakistan
Amid the debates about American aid to Pakistan, and all the ongoing public diplomacy attempts to gain Pakistani “hearts and minds,” there is one simple measure which would really gain Pakistani support: Cricket Diplomacy.
Strong enough for a ‘reset’ with Russia?
It was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who observed that relations between two actors really involve six "persons": each actor's self-image, each actor's image of the other and, finally, what each actor actually is. Under this rubric, the success of President Obama's "reset" policy with Russia will depend not only on getting U.S. actions toward Moscow right but also on getting insight into the way the Kremlin views the United States and its new president.
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