An array of eight famous Japanese animated films will be screened at the National Cinema Centre on January 12-16. The event is being jointly held by the Japanese Culture Department, the Japanese Cultural Exchange Centre in Viet Nam, the Cinematographic Department and the National Cinema Centre.

The peace process has been major news in almost all Arab media before, during and after direct negotiations started between the Palestinians and the Israelis. In broadsheet newspapers it is front page news; in broadcast media it usually comes first or second. The mood of the commentary and analysis was quite ambivalent.

The long-running cartoon series explores issues such as family, community, education and religion in a way that few other popular television programmes can match, according to L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's daily broadsheet.