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.
Turkey, Turkmenistan Looking to Revive Silk Road
Turkey and the Central Asia's Turkic countries should boost cooperation to revive the "Silk Road," which was once the most influential trading route in the world, Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said Tuesday. "Rebuilding the Silk Road which was used by our ancestors would be significant not only for Turkmenistan and Turkey, but also for the whole world," Berdimuhamedov told a joint press conference with Turkey's Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek in Ankara. Stressing the importance of natural gas which flows through all Turkic republics, the Turkmen president said the transpo
Fulbright and the Decline of America’s Cultural Diplomacy
This U.S. leadership in cultural diplomacy is now decaying, in part because international partnership programs are on the fiscal chopping block. For example, the Fulbright scholarship, the United States’ flagship international exchange program, is facing more than $30 million in congressional budget cuts.
World Starts to Love UK Again as Memories of the War in Iraq Fade
The rest of the world feels more positively about the UK than it has for almost a decade, according to the findings of an international survey. The Country Ratings Poll asked more than 24,500 people from 24 nations whether they felt positive or negative about 16 countries and the EU. The UK finished third, with 56 per cent of those surveyed saying they thought it was having a good influence internationally.
U.S. Senators Set Bill Seeking Overhaul Of Food Aid Rules
Two U.S. lawmakers will introduce legislation on Tuesday to end restrictions on international food aid programs, which they say would free up hundreds of millions of dollars per year and get aid to some 9 million more hungry people around the world. U.S. Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democrat Chris Coons of Delaware, chairman of the Africa subcommittee, are jointly introducing the "Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014," according to a copy of the bill obtained by Reuters.
Brazilian Discontent Ahead of World Cup
The national mood in Brazil is grim, following a year in which more than a million people have taken to the streets of major cities across the country to protest corruption, rising inflation and a lack of government investment in public services such as education, health care and public transportation, among other things. A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 72% of Brazilians are dissatisfied with the way things are going in their country, up from 55% just weeks before the demonstrations began in June 2013.
#BringBackOurGirls: The Verdict
Social media campaigns (such as Kony2012) are frequently dismissed as superficial and a displacement for real engagement – labelled "slacktivism". Yet, despite some difficulties, #BringBackOurGirls does appear to be a case where the worldwide outcry voiced through Twitter has had a genuine impact and promoted meaningful action. It has put the story into the mainstream, largely because it is now framed as a simple humanitarian drama – "horrible terrorists snatch innocent girls".
This Weird Tower Could Save Millions of Lives Every Year
The United Nations estimates that people in sub-Saharan Africa spend roughly 40 billion hours per year collecting water, and what they do find is often unsafe to drink. In some parts of Africa, finding potable water can be a six-hour endeavor. Roughly 3.4 million people die every year from water-related disease. The water shortage is a major life-threatening problem that affects as many as 1 billion people on the continent alone, but it's not as though you can just snap your fingers and make water magically appear out of thin air. Or can you?
Taiwan Launches New Youth Exchange Program with U.S.
Taiwan has launched a new program in which students and young professionals from the United States will visit Taiwan to learn more about the country through engaging with their Taiwanese counterparts and meeting government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
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