“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them,” Confucius once said. Apparently, someone extremely powerful has taken the saying to heart, having decided that a 31-foot bronze statue of the ancient Chinese sage that was unveiled near Tiananmen Square four months ago did not belong on the nation’s most hallowed slice of real estate.

A hulking sculpture meant to promote reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia became an accidental emblem of their historic enmity after workers erected scaffolding towers and began to demolish it this week.

A 57-member China Disabled Arts group – UNESCO Artists for Peace, arrive in Ghana on 18th April, 2011 for a 3-day official visit to the country. The visit to the country is in furtherance of the bilateral cultural agreement signed between the Republic of China and Ghana in the field of Cultural exchange, promotion and development.

The exhibition, entitled "The Forbidden City," gives visitors "an opportunity to take a glimpse at life behind the walls of the imperial palace before it opened up to the common people after six centuries," said Greek entrepreneur Bassilis Theocharakis, founder of the foundation.

Over a decade in the making, and with a $400 million price tag, it's a key piece of China's efforts to exert the "soft power" of culture on a grand international scale. The museum merges two prior institutions: the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of Chinese Revolution.

Imagine you are a rising global superpower of 1.3bn people. You have spent three decades ramping up a $5 trillion economy and upgrading your infrastructure. Now you are reopening your national museum—where you tell your story to your citizens and visitors...

"The heart of the uprising," "The symbol of a divided nation," "the neo-cons' worst nightmare"... These are just a few of several descriptions from over the last few weeks that have been used to frame Tahrir Square.

Now, 50 years on, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to be honoured with a statue on London's Mall. The monument - which will be the first of a Soviet-era Russian in the capital - is due to be unveiled in July, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic visit to Britain three months after his space mission.