Jun 4, 2017
Two Canadian First Nation sound artists are currently in La Guajira, Colombia, working with Indigenous artists from Chile and Colombia to create a unique sound art installation to premiere at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto this fall. The cross-cultural project, called the Territ-Aur(i)al Imprints Exchange, invited sound artists Janet Rogers, who is Mohawk, and Casey Koyczan, who is Tlicho Dene. Read More...
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A strategic approach which protects the Gambia interests must be the ultimate goal of the government. Although reciprocity and sovereign equality is the basis on which states interrelate to each other, hegemonic powers tend to use their superior economic capabilities as bargaining leverages to attain better deals at the expense of developing economies. This starkly reminds us that international politics is a deadly complex business which requires a clear-cut thinking strategy to mitigate the brute forces of material power. Read More...
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The problem with “America First” is that it describes an attitude, not a purpose. It substitutes selfishness for realism. It implies that nations can go it alone, that we stand for nothing beyond our immediate self-interest, and that we should give little thought to how the rest of humanity thinks or lives. It suggests that if we are strong enough, we can prosper no matter how much chaos, disorder or injustice surrounds us. America First leads to the diplomacy of narcissism. And narcissism is as unhealthy for nations as it is for people. Read More...
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The latest email leaks from the Hotmail account of the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, could threaten Emirati diplomacy and strain regional relations, analysts say. Leaked emails point to strong relationship between the UAE and think tanks closely allied to Israel. Also contained in Saturday's leaks were emails detailing communications between the UAE and the US that aimed to prevent a meeting by the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, in the Qatari capital, Doha. Read More...
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DAILY NEWS & ANALYSIS (INDIA)
Besides putting his mark in the heart of Europe, Modi is understood to have also brought back momentum to India-Russia relationship amid growing concerns over Moscow's newfound closeness to China and Pakistan. In his typical style, he was able to connect with Germany's Merkel, Russia's Putin and France's Macron as well. Ahead of the restrictive meetings, he told Merkel that India and Germany are made for each other. Read More...
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Why is culture important in this day and age? When the world, as some say, is becoming more flat, when social media platforms make instant communication possible, when cities all over the globe resemble each other more and more, of what significance is it that the Philippines should project itself as having a distinct identity and culture—in other words, possess a brand that is as easily identifiable as the Japanese, the Brazilian or the Egyptian?This is the question that cultural diplomacy poses, and which is the challenge given to Filipino diplomats in the 21st century. Read More...
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Jun 3, 2017
Public diplomacy is perception. Remarkably—and, unthinkably, as recently as one year ago—today China seems to be the world’s most likeable superpower. [...] Li, who landed in Berlin on Wednesday, hoped to use his three-day trip, with stops in Germany and Belgium, to “voice support for an open economy, free trade and investment [and] global regional peace and stability." Trump, on the other hand, failed to support NATO, decried Germany as “very bad” for its trade policies, and even pushed aside Montenegro’s prime minister to the front of a group photo. Read More...
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Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit Saturday said the dialogue between Pakistan and India was the only way to move forward for resolution of long-standing issues as there was always a room for diplomacy. In an interview with an Indian TV Channel WION (World is on news), the high commissioner said as serious issues were involved between the two countries, so how they could be resolved without talking to each other. Read More...
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The UN General Assembly elected Kuwait, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Peru and Poland to the UN Security Council on Friday for a two-year term beginning next year, ASharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday.Kuwait, which will replace Egypt in the seat representing the Arab world, received 188 votes out of the 193-member General Assembly. During the membership campaign that it launched in 2016, Kuwait pledged to adopt balanced policies in dealing with the issues on the agenda of the Security Council. Read More...
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Latest innovation from tourism offers trips with a social mission to travelers who want more from a holiday than sea & shopping. This summer, vacationers can pair a visit to the colonial Colombian city of Cartagena with an program aimed at raising awareness about the modern slave trade. [...] "I have been asked whether the tour, given its theme, was 'depressing,' " Karen Weiss, who took a similar trip to Thailand, explained. "I assure you that it was not. It combines the excitement of visiting a fascinating country with broaden your understanding of the problem of human trafficking." Read More...
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Delegates of the Young Diplomats of Ghana (YDG) hosted a farewell dinner last week at the Tomreik Hotel in Accra in honor of the UNAIDS Country Director, Mr. Girmay Haile, who ends his duty tour to Ghana at the end of June this year. The dinner offered the opportunity for the young diplomats to have a final interaction with Mr. Girmay, on his experiences working as a Diplomat in Ghana and to congratulate him for his selfless dedication to the vision of UNAIDS in Ghana and support for the cause of YDG as Patron. Read More...
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International broadcasting federations have vowed to step up their work to spread information about disaster risk reduction to their audiences, thereby giving a critical boost to efforts by governments.The pledge came at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which wrapped up last week in Cancun, Mexico, and was made by representatives of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Read More...
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Jun 2, 2017
President Donald Trump's decision to remove the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement is yet another manifestation of how he continues to see U.S. interests as narrowly economic. Had the president a more expansive view of both the nation's interests and influence, he would have kept the U.S. in the accord. Instead, he not only harmed global efforts to address a pressing problem, but also deprived the U.S. of an important source of so-called soft power. In a world in which military might is increasingly difficult and costly to use, America will suffer from this loss. Read More...
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Three years into the war in Ukraine, international attention and aid to displaced people has waned. In an area near the war zone, Natasha Bluth reports on volunteer groups trying to fill gaps in support for one of the world’s largest internally displaced populations.Many Ukrainian community organizations, inspired by the Euromaidan protests that called for improved human rights and better ties with Europe, have expanded since the conflict began, including local NGO Ulybka rebenka, or Smile of a Child, which was founded a year earlier to aid disadvantaged children. Read More...
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Representatives from Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, and the University of North Georgia gathered in Jinotega, Nicaragua to attend Comunidad Connect’s Third Annual Health Summit. For 3 days, the invitees learned about Comunidad Connect’s model for sustainable development, grew in their understanding of health care delivery systems, and made connections with representatives from the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health, the Local System of Integral Health Care, the Red Cross, and other community development institutions working in the region. Read More...
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NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER
The day before President Trump met with Pope Francis, Cardinal Peter Turkson juxtaposed the president’s speech in Saudi Arabia with what the Pope said in Egypt. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “Pope Francis & Pres Trump reach out to Islam-world to exorcise it of [religious violence]. One offers peace of dialogue, the other security of arms.” [...] Yet the Ghanaian cardinal, Francis’ chief “minister” for matters of peace, suggesting that the “peace of dialogue” is the path to be preferred over the “security of arms.” Read More...
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Kim Young-tae, a Korean transport policy expert, on Thursday was named secretary general of the International Transport Forum (ITF), an intergovernmental body under the OECD. It is the first time a Korean has been named to a director position of A7, the highest among grades that range from A1 at the OECD. [...] "Well, Korea as a country has been spotlighted for its rapid development. It rose from the ashes of war. Many countries want to learn how Korea built its top-notch transportation infrastructure in such a short amount of time." He said Read More...
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The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday on a U.S. and Chinese proposal to blacklist more North Korean individuals and entities after the country's repeated ballistic missile launches, diplomats said on Thursday. The draft resolution, seen by Reuters, would sanction four entities, including the Koryo Bank and Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People's Army, and 14 people, including Cho Il U, who is believed to head North Korea's overseas spying operations. Read More...
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Jun 1, 2017
In Singapore's botanic gardens this morning, an orchid will be named after the Prime Minister and his wife Lucy in the tradition of naming a hybrid of the national flower after visiting leaders. [...] Tonight, Mr Turnbull will give the keynote address to the Asia Security summit — more commonly known as the Shangri-La dialogue. Delegates from more than 50 countries will be in the audience. [...] The Economist dubbed the incident the "Shangri-La dust up". Security will be intense and Singaporeans have already been warned to avoid anything that could be deemed suspicious. Read More...
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The 4th “transatlantic dialogue” took place at the University of Luxembourg on Campus Belval in Esch-sur-Alzette. The theme was “creating human bonds through cultural diplomacy”. 320 attendees and 100 cultural actors from Europe, the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia discussed and performed around the notion on how cultural diplomacy has a vital role to play in international relations.In 55 discussions and workshops, participants studied inter-sectionalism and common bonds; and how to bridge differences by understanding cultural identities. Read More...
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The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday said it had cancelled all matches and agreements with Pakistan after the Afghan intelligence linked the Pakistani intelligence agency to the Kabul bombing that left 90 dead and 463 wounded. [...] Kabul and Islamabad had recently reached an agreement to play two friendly matches in Kabul and in Pakistan's Lahore city, besides two series of matches in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, and other agreements on sports. Read More...
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It was December in northern Syria and the temperature was dropping fast. U.S. special operations forces urgently needed to get blankets to their partners. They turned to a small charity run by Jim Hake, a former venture capitalist. Within eight hours, 200 blankets had arrived, paid for by Hake’s NGO, Spirit of America. [...] And Hake argues, if extremists are relying on private donations to launch terrorist attacks, why can’t private citizens in America donate money to help U.S. forces fighting them? “To prevail, we need all elements of national power — private and public,” Hake said. Read More...
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The biggest box office stars don’t always hail from the US, they come from other places, too. Beyoncé, the internationally famous and quite possibly most talked-about woman in the world, has about 14.7 million Twitter followers. She’s ranked at, roughly, the 119th most popular person on Twitter. Shakira, the Colombian-born pop star, has a whopping 45.2 million Twitter followers. She’s about 18th on the Twitter popularity scale. [...] This is not to say that American movie stars are not popular, it's just that the Hollywood's near monopoly for almost a century is lo longer in effect. Read More...
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Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said 16 countries had rushed relief supplies and medicine to Sri Lanka to assist more than 600,000 people who were driven away from their homes following Friday's monsoon deluge. India and Pakistan have also deployed medical teams on the ground in some of the worst-affected areas, he said. The United Nations has said it will provide water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas. Read More...
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May 31, 2017
Dangal’s success story in China — coming as it does, five months after its theatrical release in India and elsewhere — has triggered a stream of breathless box office updates, analytical thinkpieces, and odes aplenty. As it should. [...] Egyptian hawkers referring to Indian women visitors as “Kareena! Aishwarya!” isn't surprising. But to have a teenager from the tiny island country of Timor Leste tell you that Preity Zinta’s Kya Kehna is his favourite film, or have folks in Vietnam express sadness about Balika Vadhu actress Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide — that is surreal. Read More...
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THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Ukraine’s bid to eventually join the European Union wins a critical vote, a victory in its war against Russia and for democratic values. [...] At a time when three major countries are pulling away from Europe, Ukraine’s eagerness to embrace the EU and its values shows how much other countries want in. [...] For others outside the EU, however, the allure is a deeper theme, that of civic values such as equality and openness. And they are willing to make big sacrifices to join the Continent’s biggest club. Read More...
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At the launch of Girls Education Network in Koforidua, the director of Girls' Education Unit (GEU) at the Ghana Education Service (GES) said if parents performed their parental responsibilities, teenage girls would not fall prey to illicit sex, which often resulted in unexpected pregnancies and school drop-outs. She said there was the need for a paradigm shift, hence the establishment of the network to advocate girls welfare and advancement. [...] Some local NGOs and international partners included UNICEF, United States Agency for International Development and UNESCO. Read More...
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The United States is resisting plans to highlight how climate change is disrupting life in the oceans at a U.N. conference of almost 200 nations next week, Sweden's deputy prime minister, who will co-chair the talks, said on Tuesday.President Donald Trump doubts that global warming has a human cause. [...] He tweeted after a Group of Seven summit in Italy on Saturday, "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" All other G7 leaders reaffirmed strong commitment to the global deal. Read More...
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Rubies, natural gas, pagodas and teak- just a few words of what pops into peoples’ heads when they hear the word “Myanmar.” Be prepared to add another word to that list; and it’s not one that you would expect. Myanmar coffee has recently traveled to showcase in the London Coffee Festival and the SCA Expo, thanks to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who funded a five-year project implemented by Winrock International in the form of the Value Chains for Rural Development. Read More...
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World Bank today approved a US$50 million emergency project - Somalia Emergency Drought Response and Recovery Project (SEDRP, the Project) - to scale up the drought response and recovery effort in Somalia. Somalia is facing its worst drought in decades, with over half the population – an estimated 6.7 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance and recovery support. The Project will address the immediate needs of communities affected by the drought as well as supporting early recovery and improved resilience to future shocks. Read More...
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May 30, 2017
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he is trying to convince U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of the value of investing in foreign aid and diplomacy and warned that if Washington pulled back as a global leader, other states would step up. Trump has proposed cutting U.S. diplomacy and aid budgets by about a third, or nearly $19 billion. This includes cutting some $1 billion from U.N. peacekeeping funding and a steep cut to funding for international organizations. Read More...
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Moldova's foreign ministry on Monday expelled five Russian diplomats, ordering Moscow to remove them in a move that outraged the country's pro-Russian president. The foreign ministry declared the diplomats "personae non grata," giving the relevant note to the Russian ambassador to Moldova Farit Mukhametshin on Monday, a foreign ministry aide, Artur Sarbu, told AFP, without explaining why they were being expelled. Read More...
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During the opening ceremony Belarusian Culture Minister Boris Svetlov noted that the center will work to represent and popularize the cultural legacy as well as modern culture and art of Belarus in addition to providing information about the country's public, political, and economic life. Boris Svetlov noted that the center will assist with the advancement of Belarus-China cooperation in cultural affairs, humanitarian affairs, education, tourism, and information by expanding contacts and cooperation with creative, cultural, and educational institutions and the general public of the two countries. Read More...
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Trump’s trip left a big impression on our European allies. So much, that German Chancellor Angela Merkel turned around and announced at a campaign rally that “the times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over.” Joseph Nye’s theory is that when the citizens of another country have a positive view of the U.S. it improves our chances of being able to achieve our foreign policy goals with that country. This soft power, the power of attraction contrasts with hard power, the power of coercion, such as military might and economic sanctions. Read More...
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Haiti is one of many poor countries where international aid has failed to fulfil its objectives. Despite billions of dollars being pumped in, little has changed since the disastrous earthquake of 2010, Joel Boutroue told EURACTIV France. Haiti would be better off without aid. After the earthquake, $5bn was spent by the international community. But a large proportion of this money never reached the ground because it covered operational costs. Most is absorbed by international NGOs with not even 1% taken by local NGOs. And the rest is spent on humanitarian aid programmes. Read More...
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Ramadan is usually a time for fasting, prayer and renewal of religious devotion. For some local Muslims, this year’s Ramadan will also be a time to organize and send some relief to those facing hunger and famine. From Toronto to Ottawa and Calgary, members of the International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) are teaming up with students and Muslim volunteers to prepare and pack about 1,500 supply kits to be delivered to thousands of families in Somalia. Read More...
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May 29, 2017
Nepal celebrated Mount Everest Day 2017 in the Sheesh Mahal Hall, Serena Hotel with more than two hundred dignitaries, including members of the diplomatic corps and government. Nepal has been celebrating Mount Everest Day since 2008. Present at the event was Everest Summiteer Nazir Sabir whose documentary was displayed and enjoyed thoroughly by the guests. The documentary showcased the grandeur of the peaks, the challenges faced by the mountaineers and their mighty success. Read More...
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Malawi hopes global lenders will release funds frozen over a government graft scandal three years ago now that the World Bank has resumed its budget support programme. This support traditionally accounts for about 40 percent of the budget of the poor southern African country. [...] "The recent resumption of the World Bank budgetary support, the expected confirmation by the IMF that Malawi is on track in its pursuance of fiscal management reforms are all signs of international confidence coming back in our economic management," Gondwe said. Read More...
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Australian officials have been working hard to secure one of two seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 term, pushing at international forums for voting countries to back their bid. [...] Just six months ago, during his visit to Australia, Special Rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights François Crépeau said Australia’s human rights standing had been tarnished by its “regressive” migration policies falling behind international standards. Treatment of migrants by boat “served to erode their human rights.” Read More...
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The U.S. government is auditing a foreign aid program that loaned almost $1 billion to renewable energy projects in Chile – including solar farms in such deep financial trouble that the loans may never be fully repaid, according to people familiar with the matter. [...] OPIC, which aims to advance U.S. interests by lending to overseas business ventures, loaned about $2.5 billion to 32 projects throughout Latin America, in 2013-2014 with over a third of those funds going to Chilean energy projects. Read More...
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Every May 31, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. The Ministry of Health through Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) is organising this year's celebration under the theme, 'Tobacco a Threat to Health, Environment and Development' which will take place at Nyamirambo Stadium in Kigali. According to WHO, about 6 million people die from tobacco use every year. Read More...
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Bangkok professionals are not strangers to the difficulties created by cultural differences, and the need to navigate cross-cultural relationships effectively is becoming more important than ever. The city’s historic position as a hub for the high-growth ASEAN region, and the fact that many multinational companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Huawei, and Unilever, have set up regional offices in the city, has required professionals here to constantly build and maintain a culturally diverse range of business relationships. Read More...
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