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.

Clenched fist of Iran spurns Obama’s diplomacy

With the Obama administration's year-old policy of engagement with Iran hitting a shambolic dead end, the US president is under growing domestic pressure to support the Iranian opposition – a strategy some maintain he has already adopted.

Tags: united states, iran

Handcrafted wooden toys part of soldiers’ diplomacy arsenal

Simple wooden toys might seem like odd things for soldiers to carry with them as they head to war, but 82-year-old Harv Schaefer sees them as a pretty darn good diplomacy tool. "I figure they can make friends with 'em," he said.

Tags: united states

Karzai skipped core issues in Islamabad visit

Giving economy preference to security was an unimpressive show of imprudent diplomacy during Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s recent visit to Pakistan. The mild attitude that Pakistan had shown towards Afghan President reflected that Pakistani authorities were so obliged by Karzai’s arrival that they deemed it better not to get into serious discussions about security issues and stick to economy and trade.

Tags: pakistan, afghanistan, security

U.S. finally calls Mideast diplomacy by name - crisis

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon ended his visit to Washington on Thursday - a visit which coincided with the current crisis between Washington and Jerusalem, saying that "it's my understanding that this incident is behind us". Apparently, it only just began.

Tags: united states, israel

Indo-German Technology Centre in Delhi Soon

The centre's mandate is to bring together scientists and industry from both countries to carry out R&D projects in a “2+2” collaborative arrangement.

Tags: india, science diplomacy, germany

Afghanistan is not a fight against religion: NATO chief Rasmussen

Rasmussen, who as prime minister of Denmark during the issue over the controversial cartoons waded into controversy with Muslim ambassadors, said that "religion and faith should not be divisive and that, on the contrary, they should promote peace, forgiveness, mercy and tolerance."

Tags: afghanistan, nato

War Crimes, Human Rights: A Home Grown Solution

In order to get the war crimes/human rights pressure off Sri Lanka, it is imperative to realise that such pressures are a symptom and by-product of something having gone wrong in our external relations and our ability to communicate with the world.

Tags: sri lanka

Israel Lands in Public Relations Nightmare

Israeli riot police and soldiers have, since Friday, sealed off the Al Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, restricting entry to women and Palestinian men over 50. The tense situation on the ground has coincided with a diplomatic crisis of sorts with the Israeli government in confrontation with visiting United States Vice-President Joe Biden.

Tags: israel, palestine

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