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.
Greenpeace Activists Protest Gazprom At Basel Match
Campaigners supporting the environmental group Greenpeace have briefly disrupted a Champions League match in Switzerland in a protest against the Russian energy giant Gazprom, a sponsor of the game. Four activists on October 1 abseiled from the roof of the stadium to the field in Basel and unfurled a banner that read: “Gazprom. Don’t Foul The Arctic.”
Iran Parliament Endorses Rouhani’s Diplomatic Gambit
Iran's parliament strongly endorsed President Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic bid to dispel mistrust at the United Nations last week during a visit which ended with an historic phone call with President Barack Obama, Iranian media said. The backing from the assembly, controlled by political factions deeply loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a further sign that Rouhani has the support of the Iranian establishment, though there are some rumblings from hardliners.
Who Treats Their Workers Best?
Switzerland is first, Yemen last and Northern Europe the top region in a new evaluation of how nations foster their work forces. The Human Capital Report, released Tuesday by the World Economic Forum, measured 122 countries in four areas — education, health, employment and “enabling environment” — to establish the rankings. The fourth area encompasses subjects such as a country’s legal framework as well as transportation and communications infrastructure, which affect an individual’s ability to work.
How US Diplomats Keep the Peace in Asia
A report emerged over the weekend that the United States may have inadvertently green-lit the 1982 Falklands War by sending overly positive signals to the Argentine junta. These signals (based on US appreciation for Argentine anti-communist efforts) may have led the Argentines to believe that the U.S. would support its invasion, or at least not lend significant assistance to the United Kingdom in the ensuing war.
US Expels Venezuelan Diplomats in Retaliation
The United States has expelled three Venezuelan diplomats in response to their government's decision to order three US officials out of Venezuela. The US government gave 48-hour deadline on Tuesday to Venezuelan charge d'affaires Calixto Ortega Rios, Second Secretary Monica Alejandra Sanchez Morales at the Washington embassy and Consul Marisol Gutierrez de Almeida at the Houston consulate, to leave the country.
Northern Spy Lifts Cloak on Koreas’ Deadly Rivalry
On Oct. 24, 1995, as a man now known as Kim Dong-sik hiked up a rain-slick mountain road in Buyeo, about 95 miles south of Seoul, he could not shake off a foreboding. He and another North Korean agent had sneaked into South Korea by boat 52 days earlier on a mission to bring home a Communist spy who had been working in the South for 15 years.
Today’s Letters: Join the United States? Not Bloody Likely
Jonathan Kay presents an excellent introduction to why most Canadians would reject the Canada/U.S. merger proposed by Diane Francis. Ms. Francis suggests a possible American merger incentive payment to Canada of $17-trillion (coincidentally currently equal to the total U.S. debt), payable over 20 years. But there is a big problem for Canadians with that. As a percentage of GDP, the U.S. government now projects its revenue to remain constant, and its debt interest and entitlement costs to continue rising linearly and match revenue by 2025.
Is Barbaric Boko Haram Winning in Nigeria’s North Country?
In the dead of night, around 30 gunmen in pickup trucks and motorbikes sped onto the grounds of a college in northeast Nigeria. They headed into the male dormitories and opened fire. At least 41 students were killed when the suspected Boko Haram Islamists attacked the Yobe State College of Agriculture, in a rural area 30 miles south of the state capital Damaturu. They killed students in their sleep. Others were assembled in groups outside before they were shot dead. Some fled into the darkness and were cut down by gunfire. The surviving 1,000 students left the college in terror.
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