Valentino’s ateliers in the Eternal City could not be in greater contrast to groups of Kenyan women in an improvised workroom, creating traditional embroidery patterns inherited from Masai ancestors or the intricate crochet work handed down the female tribal chain. But these African women have been organized to create luxury products from designers such as Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood.

Brazilian firms hope that their reputation will ensure that opportunities keep coming. They are keen to distinguish themselves from competitors, especially the Chinese. They do not want to be seen as grabbing everything they can, says Rodrigo da Costa Fonseca, Andrade Gutierrez’s president in Africa.

The screening room of the public library in the U.S. Embassy is dim and quiet. Around 20 pairs of eyes are locked on the flat screen Sony TV at the front as the theme song to The West Wing rises to a crescendo.

"Malawi needs more sports infrastructure and the stadium to be constructed by the Chinese is just one of them," said Sports Minister Enock Chihana. Malawi's two existing stadiums have both been condemned as unfit for purpose by the Confederation of Africa Football and Fifa. Grounds funded and built by Chinese dollars are a major part of Beijing's so-called stadium diplomacy.

The Israeli instrumentalis Avner Hodorov is expected in Luanda on October 31 to be part of “Ponte Cultural” project of the Angolan music house. This was said to Angop this Sunday by the promoter of the event Giyora Arbiser. According to him, the visit of Avner Hodorov will contribute to the cultural interchange between Angola and Israel.

For the past five years, the Delfina Foundation has been facilitating cultural exchange with the greater Middle East and North Africa from its headquarters in London.

The Nobel committee's decision ignores EU-member's actions beyond Europe and the many more worthy candidates across the world... Look to some EU-member countries' contribution to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Africa, and the story may be a little different.

The Seychelles agreement with Mauritius to share the ownership of the Mascareigne bank was cited by the Seychelles founding President, Sir James Mancham, as being a prime example of solving a “contention” through the policy of cultural diplomacy.