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.
Movie Director Feng Leaves a Lasting Impression in Hollywood
Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang left his handprint in cement outside the TCL Chinese Theatre on Friday as groups of Chinese onlookers snapped photos of entertainment stars' names on the Avenue of Stars. "Hollywood is a place of sunshine, beach, dreams coming true and endless creativity and innovation," Feng said at the ceremony. "I'm honored to join the people who have left their handprint at the theater."
As U.S. Withdraws From Afghanistan, Poppy Trade It Spent Billions Fighting Still Flourishes
The United States is withdrawing troops from Afghanistan having lost its battle against the country’s narcotics industry, marking one of the starkest failures of the 2009 strategy the Obama administration pursued in an effort to turn around the war. Despite a U.S. investment of nearly $7 billion since 2002 to combat it, the country’s opium market is booming, propelled by steady demand and an insurgency that has assumed an increasingly hands-on role in the trade.
Talk to Iran, It Works
There were high expectations after President Obama and Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, talked on the phone in late September. Those hoping for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff were excited that a breakthrough was imminent; meanwhile, some American allies, like Israel and Saudi Arabia, expressed deep skepticism over a potential American rapprochement with Iran.
Mexico’s Drug Cartels Love Social Media
Members of Mexico's drug cartels are really starting to harness the power of the internet, using it to run positive PR campaigns, post selfies with their pistols, and hunt down targets by tracking their movements on social media. Antoine Nouvet from the SecDev Foundation, a Canadian research organization, has been working with drug policy think-tank the Igarapé Institute on a project called the Open Empowerment Initiative.
Iranians Protest The U.S. Embassy
On Monday, over 10,000 Iranians protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. World News reports the disruption occurred due to the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the building, which permanently severed ties with the country and the U.S. Fifty-two hostages were taken captive in Iranian hostage crisis that lasted 444 days.
The Importance of Economic Diplomacy in the Middle East
The deteriorating security situation throughout much of the Arab world underscores the need to urgently search for nonviolent methods of achieving stability. At the heart of the current unrest are not only political issues but also economic failures that are wiping out the vestiges of hope that remain after the region’s recent revolutions. In conflict situations, public diplomacy must be employed carefully. Sometimes the swirl of violence becomes so pervasive that it sucks up the oxygen needed for peaceful enterprise to survive.
France Says its Journalists ‘Coldly Assassinated’ in Mali
France said on Sunday two French journalists found dead in the northern Mali region of Kidal had been “coldly assassinated” by militants and vowed to step up security measures in the area. Radio journalists Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont were abducted after interviewing a member of the MNLA Tuareg separatist group in northern Mali.
Space Agencies Of The World, Unite: The U.N.‘s Asteroid Defense Plan
The United Nations General Assembly may approve a plan soon for the world's space agencies to defend the Earth against asteroids. The plan, introduced last week, is expected to be adopted by the General Assembly in December. It would do two things: create an International Asteroid Warning Network so countries can share what they know about asteroids; and spin up a group of scientists from several countries' space agencies to look for smaller asteroids, as well as make plans to divert them away from the Earth.
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