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.
Culture minister urges soft power boost
aiwan should increase efforts to foster creativity and boost the nation’s soft power in the face of China’s rapid development in the arts sphere, Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) said yesterday, urging the government to recognize China’s strength in this regard amid a recent frenzy over a Chinese TV show.
Local quartet shares music, culture with eager Egyptian students
Steven Partyka, drummer for Capital Region jazz group the Arch Stanton Quartet, wasn’t in the best of moods when the group went to perform for high school students in Egypt. But the experience turned out to be the highlight of the band’s weeklong tour in the country from March 20-26, not just for Partyka but indeed for the whole band — guitarist Roger Noyes, bassist Chris Macchia and trumpeter Terry Gordon.
Russia Goes Tit-For-Tat After U.S. Releases Magnitsky List, But Trade Trumps All
On Saturday, Russian officials released a list of 18 American citizens who are accused of human rights abuses and will henceforth be banned from entering Russia. The list was made public a day after the United States released a list of 18 Moscow officials accused of human rights abuses in the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian citizen who died in prison four years ago.
Egypt is in a state of political paralysis
On Thursday, Mursi announced that he will hold daily Twitter sessions with the general public, underscoring his perception that the mainstream media are deliberately misrepresenting him. Several anti-Mursi media outlets are owned by Mubarak loyalists, who would like to see post-revolutionary Egypt destabilised to such an extent that the military would seize control again.
Top Israeli authors plead with Palestinian security prisoner: End hunger strike
The public appeal came in response to a message written by Issawi and posted on Facebook, in which he asked Israelis to intervene on his behalf. The security prisoner has refused solid food for eight months and is now in Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot because of his deteriorating medical condition.
US Secretary of State John Kerry presses China for help with N. Korea
Over a long day of diplomacy in Beijing, Mr Kerry warned Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping that the stakes were high as China's erratic ally North Korea threatens a missile launch that would extend a weeks-long crisis. The region has been engulfed by threats of nuclear war by Pyongyang in response to UN sanctions imposed over its recent rocket and nuclear tests, and Mr Kerry stressed that China has a unique sway over North Korea.
China opens new media centre to train officials
In an attempt to step up public diplomacy both home and abroad, China today opened its first national media training centre to help government officials and entrepreneurs attain high-level skills for communicating with the media and the public.
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I met Renee Lee in the Spring of 2010 when she was an MPD student in my Corporate Diplomacy class. The next year Renee graduated with her MPD and I encouraged her to apply to the Presidential Management Fellowship as I was one and it truly was a defining moment in my career.
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