Welcome to Around the World! This week we feature some of the biggest stories to come out of UN General Assembly week, and we announce a special contest -- #VoteForYourCity!
 | Vote For Your City: The Top Global Cities What makes your city stand out? Is it food, architecture, or an awesome music scene? The Diplomatic Courier has chosen 30 cities in 5 different categories, and we want you to #VoteForYourCity! Which is the top city in public transportation? Which is the best city to get an education? The city with the most likes and shares in each category will be featured in our November edition. Cast your vote by liking and sharing the photo of the city you choose, here! |
 | Tweet, Then Delete: Obama and Rouhani’s Diplomacy Takes to Twitter This week, President Obama failed to get a handshake with President Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly, but then managed to get a brief phone call with the Iranian leader, who later tweeted about the exchange. Maybe one day we will be asking what it will take to get a Twitter “follow back." Read more about it here. |
 | Crown Princess of Norway: On Addressing AIDS in 2013 Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway spoke on the need to refocus and reframe the global conversation on AIDS at the Social Good Summit in New York City on September 22, 2013. Watch the Diplomatic Courier's video interview with Her Highness here. |
 | Public-Private Partnerships: The New Paradigm of American Foreign Policy Over the past decade, the way the U.S. delivers foreign assistance has undergone a quiet transformation. The move toward integrating public-private partnerships (P3s) in American foreign policy started in part by growing fiscal austerity in Washington. Read more about it here. |
 | Her Excellency Toyin Saraki of Nigeria: The Biggest Misconception About Contraception in Nigeria Her Excellency Toyin Saraki of Nigeria is the Founder and President of The Wellbeing Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to reverse poverty by easing its less privileged members into a state of wellbeing which she describes as "a satisfactory condition of existence in health, happiness, and prosperity." Watch our video interview with Her Excellency at the Social Good Summit, here. |
 | "It is time the global community answered the call of parents everywhere for the schooling their children deserve. In doing so, we can lay the foundation for a world without extreme poverty," says Michael Sheldrick of the Global Poverty Project. Read more about it here. |
 | U.S.-India Partnership: A Legacy Foreign Policy Issue India’s stability and success are in the vital interests of the Unites States. Imagine the security and global challenges for America if India’s great democratic promise failed. While India’s economic situation is far from catastrophic, they are in some serious trouble. Read about it here. |
Around the Web
For the first time in 17 years, the U.S. government has shut down, due to a failure of the U.S. Congress to pass a budget for the fiscal year which began at midnight on October 1st. How will this affect foreign policy? Micah Zenko at the Council on Foreign Relations argues that it will only hurt the U.S.'s credibility abroad. He writes, "Given that many foreign policy tasks require congressional oversight or approval, why should U.S. citizens have any faith in their elected officials’ ability to evaluate controversial programs, such as drone strikes, Guantanamo trials, or National Security Agency surveillance, since they cannot pass a budget?"
The immediate impact the shutdown would have on military and diplomacy institutions was not clear, although it may have very little impact if the situation in Washington is resolved quickly. However, if it drags on, already-skittish allies may turn to other sources of support.
This Week in History
1936: General Francisco Franco is proclaimed the head of the insurgent Spanish state.
1949: Mao Zedong declares the official establishment of the People's Republic of China at a ceremony in Beijing.
1957: "In God We Trust" appears on U.S. currency as an act to distinguish itself from the officially atheist USSR.
a global affairs media network
Around the World!
October 1, 2013
Welcome to Around the World! This week we feature some of the biggest stories to come out of UN General Assembly week, and we announce a special contest -- #VoteForYourCity!
| Vote For Your City: The Top Global Cities What makes your city stand out? Is it food, architecture, or an awesome music scene? The Diplomatic Courier has chosen 30 cities in 5 different categories, and we want you to #VoteForYourCity! Which is the top city in public transportation? Which is the best city to get an education? The city with the most likes and shares in each category will be featured in our November edition. Cast your vote by liking and sharing the photo of the city you choose, here! |
| Tweet, Then Delete: Obama and Rouhani’s Diplomacy Takes to Twitter This week, President Obama failed to get a handshake with President Rouhani at the United Nations General Assembly, but then managed to get a brief phone call with the Iranian leader, who later tweeted about the exchange. Maybe one day we will be asking what it will take to get a Twitter “follow back." Read more about it here. |
| Crown Princess of Norway: On Addressing AIDS in 2013 Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway spoke on the need to refocus and reframe the global conversation on AIDS at the Social Good Summit in New York City on September 22, 2013. Watch the Diplomatic Courier's video interview with Her Highness here. |
| Public-Private Partnerships: The New Paradigm of American Foreign Policy Over the past decade, the way the U.S. delivers foreign assistance has undergone a quiet transformation. The move toward integrating public-private partnerships (P3s) in American foreign policy started in part by growing fiscal austerity in Washington. Read more about it here. |
| Her Excellency Toyin Saraki of Nigeria: The Biggest Misconception About Contraception in Nigeria Her Excellency Toyin Saraki of Nigeria is the Founder and President of The Wellbeing Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to reverse poverty by easing its less privileged members into a state of wellbeing which she describes as "a satisfactory condition of existence in health, happiness, and prosperity." Watch our video interview with Her Excellency at the Social Good Summit, here. |
| "It is time the global community answered the call of parents everywhere for the schooling their children deserve. In doing so, we can lay the foundation for a world without extreme poverty," says Michael Sheldrick of the Global Poverty Project. Read more about it here. |
| U.S.-India Partnership: A Legacy Foreign Policy Issue India’s stability and success are in the vital interests of the Unites States. Imagine the security and global challenges for America if India’s great democratic promise failed. While India’s economic situation is far from catastrophic, they are in some serious trouble. Read about it here. |
Around the Web
For the first time in 17 years, the U.S. government has shut down, due to a failure of the U.S. Congress to pass a budget for the fiscal year which began at midnight on October 1st. How will this affect foreign policy? Micah Zenko at the Council on Foreign Relations argues that it will only hurt the U.S.'s credibility abroad. He writes, "Given that many foreign policy tasks require congressional oversight or approval, why should U.S. citizens have any faith in their elected officials’ ability to evaluate controversial programs, such as drone strikes, Guantanamo trials, or National Security Agency surveillance, since they cannot pass a budget?"
The immediate impact the shutdown would have on military and diplomacy institutions was not clear, although it may have very little impact if the situation in Washington is resolved quickly. However, if it drags on, already-skittish allies may turn to other sources of support.
This Week in History
1936: General Francisco Franco is proclaimed the head of the insurgent Spanish state.
1949: Mao Zedong declares the official establishment of the People's Republic of China at a ceremony in Beijing.
1957: "In God We Trust" appears on U.S. currency as an act to distinguish itself from the officially atheist USSR.
