As part of its “soft public diplomacy” efforts, the Israeli Foreign Ministry embarked this week on a new program to teach Hebrew to the Arab world. To this end, the ministry’s digital diplomacy department on Tuesday uploaded a video clip to its Arabic-language Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, in which two staffers offer a lesson in simple words, such as, “Yes,” “Thanks” and “Hello.”

The Buderim-based Buddies Refugee Support Group is again calling for hosts for the Learn English Holiday program, which pairs refugees and Sunshine Coast residents for a week-long exchange. Fergus Fitzgerald of Buddies said he considered the exchange one of the organisation's flagship programs due to its immense benefits to both parties. "For the asylum seekers and refugees, sometimes this is the first time they've stayed in a normal family setting since they've fled their home,” he said.