Can the pianist Yanni do what negotiations between U.S. and Iranian diplomats have failed to accomplish: bring a little harmony to two nations that have been adversaries for 35 years?

MOFA will follow up with a wide range of activities next year, such as sending performance groups on cultural diplomacy tours throughout the region, according to the director-general. 

I used to be asked how the US could deploy its soft power in the Middle East more effectively. That was in the days of the Iraq and Afghan wars and President George W Bush’s ill-advised warnings to the world that “you’re either with us or against us”.

The visit is designed to bolster the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K., a term coined by Winston Churchill after World War II to describe the diplomatic and cultural ties between the two nations.

Now ramen noodles are the latest target of government efforts to take advantage of this spreading interest in Japan’s pop culture and food around the world, and its growth potential.

On December 7 and 8, the Confucius Institutes Headquarters held the 9th Confucius Institute Conference in Xiamen in southern China. The conference theme was “Embrace the New Decade of Confucius Institute,” and was attended by over 2000 delegates. 

The British Museum’s director is adept at forging links where politicians have failed. As Russia’s Hermitage gains from his latest negotiations over the Parthenon marbles, one BBC journalist recalls watching past triumphs unfold