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.

India Takes Aim At Privileges Held By U.S. Diplomats

India chipped away at America's diplomatic perks Wednesday, ordering the envoys to obey local traffic laws and warning that a popular U.S. Embassy club violates diplomatic law because it is open to outsiders. The moves were the latest in a campaign to exert pressure on the U.S. following the arrest and strip search last month of Devyani Khobragade, an Indian diplomat based in New York City.

Tags: united states, india, diplomatic immunity, new york, devyani khobragade, u.s. embassy

Central African Leader Faces Pressure To Quit At Thursday Summit

Central African Republic's interim President Michel Djotodia will face pressure to step down at a summit of regional leaders on Thursday amid frustration at his failure to quell his country's religious violence. Political sources in Bangui and French diplomatic sources said Djotodia was expected to step aside at the meeting of leaders from the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena.

Tags: africa, france, conflict, civil war, violence, central african republic, summitry, michel djotodia, economic community of central african states

Syrian Rebels Take ISIL’s Aleppo Headquarters

Fighters from several Syrian rebel brigades seized the headquarters of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the main northern city of Aleppo, an NGO said Wednesday. "Fighters from several Islamist rebel brigades took control of the children's hospital in the Qadi Askar district, which is the headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the city," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Tags: middle east, syria, terrorism, conflict, civil war, rebels, jihad, islamic state of iraq and the levant, aleppo

Japan In 2014: Can Abe Manage China Tensions?

Will Japan assert its own vision for East Asia, or will it continue simply to react to China? That will be the biggest question in 2014 for Tokyo as tensions with Beijing continue to mount. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to beef up military spending and enhance its longer-term security is a game-changer for the region, and while there is a chance the move will strengthen bilateral relations between Japan and the United States, it is unclear how this will impact Tokyo’s relations with Beijing.

Tags: china, japan, asia pacific, foreign policy, military diplomacy, conflict, east asia, shinzo abe, east china sea,

Vanished

The day that 17-year-old Israel Arenas Durán disappeared began, like most, with his mother making him breakfast. He ate with his father and 15-year-old brother, Irving, at a small wooden table outside the family's single-room home, overlooking the plant nursery they run in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leó.

Tags: mexico, latin america, conflict, north america, criminal organizations, drug trafficking, crime, narcoterrorism

YouTube Channel Becomes Rallying Point For India’s Dalits

Dalit Camera, a popular YouTube channel dedicated to India's Dalits (formerly untouchables), has become a rallying point for the community, reports Vanya Mehta. "I believe that the protests in Delhi over the gang rape of a student have no other political significance than a mere middle class fury," feminist and Dalit activist Rekha Raj says, standing with a microphone in the city of Kottayam in the southern state of Kerala.

Tags: india, social media, non-state pd, youtube, campaigns, hindu, dalit camera, untouchables, dalits

Reinventing The Inter-Korean Relationship

On February 12, 2013, North Korea carried out its third nuclear test in the run-up to the inauguration of a new administration – my own – in the South. Around that time, the Presidential Transition Committee adopted the “Trust-Building Process on the Korean Peninsula” as a key policy of the new administration. Though the North’s nuclear test created pressure to revise the trust-building process, I made it clear that I would stay the course.

Tags: asia pacific, foreign policy, north korea, history, conflict, trust, nuclear, koreas, south korean

Who Wants To Buy The New York Times?

People come to New York City for all sorts of reasons: to study; to travel; to become doctors and lawyers and writers; to make it on Broadway or as stand up comedians or to toil in the kitchens of up-and-coming restaurants. Chen Guangbiao is here this week to buy the New York Times. It’s not as surprising a proposal as it might sound if you know anything about Chen, the 45-year-old Chinese billionaire philanthropist with a knack for staging over-the-top, headline-grabbing stunts in the name of politics, poverty, disaster relief and the environment.

Tags: china, media, journalism, newspapers, new york times, chen guangbiao

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