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.
Signs of New Life in Northern Iraq
There is a sense of optimism, cultivated with newly planted rosebushes and flowerbeds, in this capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. For a region that has seen decades of strife, Kurdistan is emerging as "the other Iraq," a place where progress is marked by the opening of new shopping malls and the pouring of concrete at countless construction sites. While other parts of Iraq remain volatile, Kurdistan is furthering both public and private sector investment.
Building Networks, Businesses, and Communities Through an African Exchange
When successful entrepreneurs come together, the ideas that emerge are nothing short of amazing. And when those entrepreneurs are also women who have fought gender bias and other challenges, the ideas have the potential to change the face of commerce for a continent. This week, we welcomed to Washington small and medium-sized business owners from 27 countries in Africa who spent the last two weeks meeting with U.S. entrepreneurs and CEOs in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Albuquerque, as part of the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP).
Medallo Goes “Tech”
Earning the title ‘City of the Year 2012′ the capital of Antioquia has been and praised for having implemented innovative and sustainable measures for improving the quality of life for its close to 2 million inhabitants. As Colombia’s second largest city and one of the vital engines of economic growth in country, Medellín has always taken pride in being a key hub for banking and mining companies as well as an attractive place to do business, given an ideal location close to the coffee axis and the coasts of both the Pacific and Caribbean.
A Summer of Austerity has Europe Chillin’ on the Cheap
Austerity or not, August is vacation time in Europe. As the continent's political leadership joins millions of citizens heading to the beaches, however, the tough economic times mean most are taking care to ensure their holidays look humble. Tropical beaches and hanging with billionaire buddies are out, stay-cations and low-cost flights are in as politicians take the ritz out of the recess.
Obama Won’t Talk With Putin, But He Can Still Speak Loudly
With U.S.-Russia relations getting increasingly tense, it comes as little surprise that U.S. President Barack Obama postponed his bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some people wished he would go, if only to send the strongest possible message to Mr. Putin directly about the need to end Russia’s crackdown on human rights. On the other hand, Mr. Obama still has that opportunity when he attends the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg on Sept. 5 and 6.
SM to Set up SMTOWN Museum in Los Angeles
Planting K-Pop on US soil, SM Entertainment announced its plans to create the SMTOWN Museum in Los Angeles. On August 7, SM Entertainment revealed that it will be building a place for US residents to experience hallyu in Los Angeles. The new SMTOWN Museum (tentative name) will be located at 6th and Oxford in Koreatown. “We’ve been planning for a long time to create a place where residents in Hollywood could experience hallyu, but we decided that it was more meaningful to bring US residents and tourists who were interested in hallyu to LA’s Koreatown,” said the agency.
A Cafe Where the Spirit of the Arab Spring Lives On
In the heat of the afternoon, especially this past month of Ramadan, downtown Tunis plays dead. Offices and shops close at 2 p.m. and life is suspended as everyone, parched and hungry, waits for sunset and the breaking of the fast. On a side street behind the Interior Ministry, the only movement is the occasional rumble of a tram, the only sound the trill of its bell warning pedestrians to step off the tracks.
Perspective: Keep Our Embassies Open
In what a spokeswoman attributed to "an abundance of caution," the State Department decided late last week to close a host of American embassies in Africa and the Middle East, most of them in predominantly Muslim countries, due to concerns about possible terrorist attacks. This decision may have been prudent and was certainly based on extensive, if ambiguous, intelligence, but it should not become the norm.
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