Call it the return of basketball diplomacy. The State Department on Friday named hoops legend Shaquille O’Neal the first ever “Sports Envoy to Cuba” and said he’d visit Havana on Saturday to hold basketball clinics for the island nation’s youth. The trip is a part of the Obama administration’s broader effort to increase cultural exchanges between Washington and Cuba after the two nations restored diplomatic ties last year for the first time in five decades.

The coincidental timing of the exhibition at the OAS’s Art Museum of the Americas in Washington may have a healing effect: “In mounting this exhibit, we’re conscious of the value of artistic expression to communicate both the intentions and views of the artists and to speak more generally about social change and political engagement in the hemisphere,” said James M. Lambert, secretary for hemispheric affairs at the OAS.

The day before the “Brexit” vote, when British citizens will decide whether to remain in the European Union, they were in London initially to pass out croissants fresh off the Paris train to convince their still-European compatriots not to leave the E.U. [...] “Our aim was never to affect votes,” she said. “I think we’re all aware that this campaign has been incredibly divisive, that there’s been so much anger, and we just wanted to do something that had positivity and friendship at its heart.”

The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Kaoru Yoshimura, has inaugurated a Japanese language and cultural centre at the Mary Star of the Sea International School at Kasoa in the Central Region. [...] He noted that one important area of Japan’s diplomacy was cultural diplomacy in the form of cultural exchanges, which he said played an important role in bringing understanding and contributing to peace and security in the world.

Every community in India has its own recipes, spices and cooking techniques. Or regions and states have the same general dish - but with their own unique twist. But food is not just limited to feasting. Indians stay focused on food even when fasting. [...] Indians also use food as a beautiful way of honouring the dead and celebrating life.

Millions of people across the world are marking the second International Yoga Day on June 21. The brainchild of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is an enthusiastic yoga practitioner himself, the UN-sponsored day has been endorsed by an unprecedented 175 countries, including Qatar.

A delegation of young Chinese public officials is visiting South Korea at the invitation of the Korea Foundation to seek exchanges with South Korean municipal governments, the foundation said Tuesday.