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.

7 Reasons Lisbon Could Be Europe’s Coolest City

What makes a city "cool"? If it means being loaded with atmosphere, charm, great food and nightlife, yet ignored by the bulk of travelers, then Lisbon deserves consideration as Europe's coolest capital. Here's why.

Tags: Cultural Diplomacy, europe, tourism, gastrodiplomacy, art diplomacy, city diplomacy, portugal, lisbon, substate diplomacy, paradiplomacy

Will Afghan Women Prove A Match For The Taliban?

These are indeed troubling times in Afghanistan. As the United States prepares to withdraw its combat troops by the end of the year, rights advocates worry that Afghan women’s hard-fought gains of the past 12 years could begin to erode. Their fears are more than justified by the situation in Afghanistan today. Despite more than a decade of intervention and development, Afghanistan is considered the most dangerous country in the world to be born a woman.

Tags: united states, afghanistan, women, human rights, taliban, afghan independent human rights commission, the asia foundation

Abe Says China’s Prosperity Rests On Trust, Not Tensions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China’s continued economic growth will require building trust, not tensions, with other countries, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday. A steady Chinese military buildup over the last 20 years is a serious concern for countries in the region, Abe said in a CNN interview from Davos, Switzerland, where tensions between Tokyo and Beijing were on display at the World Economic Forum last week.

Tags: china, soft power, japan, foreign policy, military diplomacy, trust, shinzo abe, asia-pacific

The Many Narratives Of The Arab Spring

Last November, senior government officials held a ceremony in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, unveiling a monument to the revolution’s martyrs. The monument was simple, though its significance was not. It consisted of a stone pedestal on a circular base in the center of Tahrir Square. A military band played. At a brief unveiling ceremony that morning, Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said it was meant to honor “the martyrs of the January 25 and June 30 revolutions.”

Tags: middle east, arab spring, egypt, conflict, protests, hosni mubarak, revolution, tahrir square

How A Colombian Internet Address Became The Online Home For Startups

In less than four years, more than 1.6 million individuals and businesses, mostly start-ups, have created a website with an address ending with .co. That is a staggering number for a new top-level domain (the last bit of a web address). Contrast that with .biz, which was introduced in 2000 and by April last year had chalked up just 2.4 million registrations.

Tags: new technology, americas, digital diplomacy, latin america, colombia, south america, infrastructure, icann, .co

What’s Next For Pussy Riot? Prison Reform And Global Celebrity

There are at least a couple of documentary films on Pussy Riot, the art collective notorious for lip-synching a punk protest song in a Russian Orthodox cathedral. But Russian authorities had made it clear, as recently as a month ago, that they didn’t appreciate public attempts to screen such films.

Tags: russia, music diplomacy, celebrity diplomacy, vladimir putin, protest, reform, political prisoners, pussy riot, pussy versus putin

Four More Egyptian Embassy Staff Kidnapped In Libya

Four Egyptian embassy staff were kidnapped in Libya's capital Tripoli on Saturday, a day after another Egyptian diplomat was seized there by gunmen, the Libyan government said, underlining persistent disorder two years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall. No group claimed responsibility for any of the abductions, but they came soon after one militia group reported that its leader had been arrested in Egypt and had warned of a response.

Tags: egypt, libya, terrorism, security, conflict, tripoli, egyptian embassy

From Syrian Prisons To Diplomacy In Geneva

When Noura al-Ameer exchanged looks with the Syrian government representatives in Switzerland, she felt as though she was looking into the eyes of her interrogators in prison. The 26-year-old anti-government activist was detained for six months in some of Syria's most notorious prisons in Damascus and Homs before her release in late 2012.

Tags: syria, conflict, bashar al-assad, civil war, political prisoners, negotiations, syrian national coalition, noura al-ameer, diplomacy

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