The University of Arkansas hosted more than 60 U.S. Department of State-sponsored Fulbright Program participants from Afghanistan as part of a Fulbright Enrichment Seminar last week. The program helped increase their knowledge of U.S. academic life, culture and history.

[FC] Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has threatened to take UEFA as far as the European Court of Human Rights after the club were fined for fans displaying flags supporting Catalan independence. European football's governing body fined Barca 40,000 euros ($44,000, £28,800) for the flags displayed during the European champions 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen last month.

A statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odessa, Ukraine, has been refashioned into Darth Vader. A Ukrainian artist, Alexander Milov [...] transformed the statue in response to recent decommunization laws, which require the removal of Communist symbols in Ukraine [...] “I wanted to make a symbol of American pop culture which appears to be more durable than the Soviet ideal,” Mr. Milov told the BBC.

The appearances of Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan in her tailored suits and gowns left Britain’s press swooning – describing her as “graceful”, “stunning”, “sophisticated”, “glamorous” and “chic” – during President Xi Jinping’s four-day state visit to the United Kingdom last week […] Peng’s carefully crafted image is a stark contrast to the wives of former Communist leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday in Manchester that he hoped Britain and China would strengthen cooperation and exchanges in the area of sports, including football, according to a statement by the country's foreign ministry.

Kids Euro Festival — the largest children's performing arts festival of its kind in America — returns to the Washington metro area October 24 to November 8, with more than 125 free, family-friendly, European-themed cultural events. 

Frédéric Ramel, a professor of international relations at Sciences Po in Paris, said Russia uses the Red Army Choir to engage in cultural diplomacy and to make foreigners appreciate its culture and its sense of nationalism.