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.
Start-Ups Find Collaborative Work Space in Johannesburg
In Johannesburg, South Africa, there are a small but growing number of shared office spaces in which sole proprietors and small businesses rent a desk and other services. For small business owners and start-up companies, this route not only provides cheaper overhead for workspace, but it also helps entrepreneurs network. The OPEN Collaborative Workspace is on the fourth floor of a building in an artsy, up and coming area just south of downtown Johannesburg, in a neighborhood called Maboneng.
US-Vietnam Ties: Time for a Rethink?
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's trip to Washington this week to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House is being closely watched by observers of the bilateral relationship, both in Vietnam and abroad. There is a general sense among some observers that there is a historic opportunity to upgrade the current relationship to a strategic partnership.
Al-Qaeda Tries to Soften Image with Ice Cream
The jovial tug o’ war and children’s ice-cream-eating contest wouldn’t look out of place at any town fair. But the family festivities in the battle-scarred Syrian city of Aleppo had a surprising organizer: al-Qaeda... The attempt to soften Islamic State’s image comes as it struggles to win support in the areas of Syria that are outside government control. Many residents view the group as a foreign force more concerned with imposing Islamic law than with fighting against President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.
Zimbabwe Blogger Takes on Robert Mugabe
On Wednesday, Robert Mugabe, will seek another term as Zimbabwean president in a rematch of the contentious 2008 election with challenger Morgan Tsvangirai. ut this time, 33 years after the 89-year-old first took office, the icon of the African independence era is being hounded by a creation of the Internet age. In March, a self-proclaimed disaffected insider of the ruling Zanu-PF party created the Facebook page of "Baba Jukwa".
Murrow’s Farewell
Edward R. Murrow’s last broadcast on CBS occurred July 25, 1964, on “FAREWELL TO STUDIO NINE,” a 55-minute special broadcast on the radio network commemorating the closing of perhaps the most famous radio news studio in all of broadcasting, at least up to that time 49 years ago. Studio Nine, at 485 Madison Avenue in New York City, was the anchor studio-news center for CBS before, during, and after World War II, until the move of all of us in late July, 1964 to the new CBS Broadcast Center across town.
Forget Portland: China Might Just Be the New Epicenter of Craft Beer
One of the other reasons why our product appeals to Chinese consumers on a base level is because it incorporates Chinese cultural elements in the beers themselves and also incorporates Chinese literature and historical references in the naming and branding of the beers. Two good examples of this would be our Iron Buddha Blonde Ale and our Little General IPA. The Iron Buddha Blonde uses tie guan yin wu long tea during the brewing process, which gives the beer a floral note at the end. The name "Iron Buddha" is one way to translate the tie guan yin (铁观音), or the iron goddess of mercy.
Leave Hezbollah Alone!
Between the continued bloodshed in Syria and the military takeover in Egypt, it might be easy to overlook recent events in Lebanon. But Middle East watchers need to keep a sharp eye on the current turmoil in Lebanon because spillover from Syria could cause the security situation to flame up quickly into a full-scale sectarian civil war. Several stabilizing factors have kept the situation in Lebanon from escalating out of control, one of these being Hezbollah's resistance to being drawn into conflict with other Lebanese.
Five Latin America Leaders in the Top 20 Most Followed on Twitter
Five Latin America leaders are on the list of the twenty most followed on Twitter in the world, among them Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, ranking number ten with 2.1 million followers (followers). The eleven and twelve positions are occupied by the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto and Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, each with more than 1.9 million followers in the world. The report “Twiplomacy 2013″ was released this week.
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