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.
EU Student Scheme Reaches 3 Million Mark
The EU's student exchange scheme, Erasmus, has reached its 3 millionth participant since the programme was set up in 1987, the European Commission said on Monday (8 July). The statistics also show that in the academic year 2011-2012, more than 250,000 students went to study abroad or take up a job training for six months.
.LA Launches as First City-Specific Domain Extension
The extension, previously most commonly associated with the Southeast Asian country Laos, is meant to "appeal to local business owners — those in Los Angeles and possibly also Louisiana — who haven't been able to secure the name of their businesses using .com, .net or .org extensions," according to Mashable.
Latin American Indigenous People Look to Maori
Political leaders in central and south America are looking to Maori as a way to enhance their own traditional communities. Federation of Maori Authorities' chair Traci Houpapa visited a number of countries in Latin America earlier this year with the prime minister. She was asked by leaders there why Maori have become so economically and strategically sophisticated, and how they can empower their first nations peoples.
How the West Enabled Snowden’s Bid for Latin American Asylum
Suddenly, South America’s leftist presidents, whose hemispheric influence had been waning of late, found their mojo again. They rushed breathlessly to Bolivia to greet Morales, who shouted, “United we will defeat American imperialism!” while calling for the closure of the U.S. embassy there. By Friday evening, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in need of a political boost after just barely winning a special April election to succeed his mentor, the late Hugo Chávez, formally offered the “young American” Snowden asylum from “persecution from the empire.”
Brazil Now Looking for Portuguese, Spanish Doctors, Not Cubans
The Brazilian government, under pressure to improve public health services, has dropped plans to import a contingent of Cuban doctors and is instead looking to hire physicians in Spain and Portugal, the Health Ministry said on Monday. The plan to bring in Cuban doctors created a backlash because of questions about their qualifications. Brazilian medical associations argued that standards at Cuba’s medical schools were lower than in Brazil and equivalent in some cases to a nursing education.
AFDB: Aid Transparency is the “Only Way” to Conduct Development Business
The African Development Bank last week became the first multilateral lender to publish its data through the International Aid Transparency Initiative. After disclosing on July 1 data on both its public and private sector activities as well as providing precise geocoded information, AfDB joined the ranks of over 160 development organizations that seek to improve transparency on aid spending to make more effective in fighting poverty with IATI.
Newsroom Diversity: A Casualty of Journalism’s Financial Crisis
This means that fewer minorities are getting the opportunity to work in news, and news organizations are losing their ability to empower , represent, --and especially in cases where language ability is crucial, even to report on minority populations in their communities.
China Sees Value in Panda Brand
Giant pandas are not only one of China's most visible symbols, but are probably the country's biggest brand. One third of all tourist revenues in the province of Sichuan come from pandas, putting the equivalent of $16bn into the government's coffers.
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