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.
The End of Nuclear Diplomacy
A year ago, the Bush administration, despite its rhetoric on the issue, had a rather uncoordinated and lackadaisical approach to advancing European missile defense...Public diplomacy on the issue in Poland and the Czech Republic has been abysmal. The placement of interceptors in Poland may not happen because of differences that have arisen between Washington and Warsaw.
China Apologizes for Police Beating of Foreign Journalists
As tens of thousands of foreign journalists arrive to test China's pledges to respect media freedom during the Olympic Games, the nation offered apologies Tuesday for the beatings that police gave two Japanese journalists who were covering a deadly assault by Muslim separatists.
China’s Gold Rush
Like the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, China is looking to make a statement by winning more Summer Olympic gold medals than the United States. Unlike in the Soviet Union, capitalism has infiltrated nearly all aspects of Chinese life -- except sports. Chinese compete like Adam Smith in the marketplace but like Vladimir Lenin in the arena.
Polluted, Polite, With a Chance of Rain
China is not the first to give man-made rain a try. Many scientists note that there is no proof that rain management works as advertised. In 2003, a report by the National Academies of Sciences said that despite ongoing efforts to seed clouds in several countries and American states, there was no reliable evidence that the techniques generated more rain than the clouds would have disgorged anyway.
Nigeria: British Council’s Return to Enugu
Given its head-start as the dominant cultural institution in Anglo-phone countries, the British Council has, in the past, played very beneficial roles in the Nigerian society by operating well-stocked libraries for students and teachers and facilitating programmes that exchange Nigerian students with their Commonwealth peers.
YouTube to provide Olympics Coverage in Some Countries
Google owned video sharing service YouTube has announced that it has now signed up a deal with International Olympic Committee to provide limited coverage of the event in 77 countries across the world.
Iran Launches World Manuscripts Data Bank
Yerik Utembayev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Iran, INLA director Ali-Akbar Ash’ari, director of Miras-e Maktub Research Center Akbar Irani and several numbers of Iranian experts on manuscripts attended the ceremony.
U.S. Foreign Aid: More Guns Than Butter
Scheduled to become fully operational October 1, 2008, the new Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is developing at a time when the Pentagon controls an increasing share of foreign aid that used to be directed by civilian agencies. U.S. soldiers have stepped in to fill the breach left by the diminishing capacity of the State Department and USAID. They are doing everything from building schools to mentoring city councils, often in situations where they don't know the language and are unfamiliar with the culture.
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