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.

Saudi Officials Shut Down Display At Book Fair

Saudi Arabia boasts about the annual Riyadh International Book Fair, where Saudis can explore a flourishing book market, meet authors and engage in intellectual discussion. Every year, however, the book fair is transformed from an intellectual market into something more resembling a battle for the hearts and minds of Saudis.

Tags: censorship, committee for promoting virtue and prohibiting vice, Cultural Diplomacy, literature, riyadh international book fair, saudi arabia

Australians Condemn Victoria's Anti-Protest Law

In Australia, a controversial anti-protest law passed Tuesday in the country's second-most populous state. Opponents say it gives police unprecedented power to halt protests. Changes to The Summary Offences Act passed Victoria's Upper House and will take effect in September.

Tags: #antiprotestlaw, anti-protest law, australia, campaign, protest, social media, twitter

Exploring How Indian Americans Helped Shape U.S.

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington celebrates Indian-American culture, history and experiences, as Diksha Basu reports. When you enter Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, you are greeted by loud Hindi film music and a vinyl record from Mughal-E-Azam, one of the most iconic Bollywood films.

Tags: bollywood, diaspora, history, india, indian americans, national museum of national history, smithsonian, united states

Venezuela: As Protests Grow More Violent, Should Neighbors Weigh In?

As violence intensifies in Venezuela amid month-long antigovernment protests, concern over instability in the oil rich nation is demanding the attention of the region. But Venezuela's neighbors, many of which have integrated economic or security interests with this South American country, are wary of angering Caracas, which has rejected any interference in its domestic unrest.

Tags: chile, colombia, latin america, oas, panama, protests, regional organizations, south america, unasur, venezuela

Gambia To Drop English As 'Colonial Relic'

Gambia will drop English as an official language soon because it is a colonial relic, President Yahya Jammeh has said, without indicating which language the tiny West African country would use in its place. "We no longer believe that for you to be a government you should speak a foreign language. We are going to speak our own language," Jammeh said in an address in English last week that was broadcast on Tuesday. 

Tags: africa, colonies, english, gambia, history, language, united kingdom, west africa, yahya jammeh

An Israeli Rocker Sets A Modern Groove To His Iraqi Grandfather's Arabic Music

Imagine if you’d heard all your life that your relatives were musicians, then one day you find out your grandfather and his brother were, say, Simon and Garfunkel.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, daoud al kuwaiti, dudu tassa, history, iraq, israel, music, music diplomacy, rock music, salah al kuwaiti

Answering Russia Today's 'Questions On Ukraine The West Chooses Not To Answer'

Russia Today has asked five questions which it claims the West hasn’t answered. Here they are, with answers: 1. Why did the opposition oust Yanukovich after he conceded to their demands? They didn’t. Yanukovych fled Ukraine before fulfilling his commitments under the 21 February agreement.

Tags: digital diplomacy, op-ed, russia today, ukraine, united kingdom

After Crimea, Sweden Flirts With Joining NATO

It's a good time to have friends in Eastern Europe. Leaders in the region, who have reacted to Russia's occupation of Crimea by expressing fears that they could be next, are now taking solace in their alliances. "Thanks be to God, we are NATO members," exclaimed Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite last week.

Tags: crimea, nato, russia, suprastate diplomacy, sweden, ukraine

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