For me it's simple: sport is one of the universal languages which connect people and cultures. Whether it's maths, music, science, the arts - or, increasingly these days, English - humanity has many universal languages, which can bring people together whatever their differences.

From “Gangnam Style” and competitive electronic sports to kimchi-flavoured pot noodles, South Korea’s cultural exports are eagerly consumed around the world.  Filipinos are hooked on its dramas. The French love its pop music and its films. Last year South Korea raked in $5 billion from its pop-culture exports.

The Scotland-Russia Forum is calling on Britain and Russia not to let short-term political disputes endanger cultural links between the two nations. Writing in the latest edition of its newsletter, the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Edinburgh - where the annual festival is under way - said: "The richer the culture – the easier it is to punish".

Sinology conferences are usually lacklustre affairs where scholars talk about anything from burial rituals in the Han dynasty to Tang poetry. However, a recent European sinology conference in Portugal has turned into a completely scandalous event thanks to some Chinese officials.

Korea and China have maintained a close relationship since 1992, when they reestablished diplomatic ties that had been severed after the Communists came to power in Beijing in 1949.  Historical and cultural bonds over two millennia underlie their ties, which are evolving into a more mature, substantive and multidimensional partnership based on their growing geopolitical and economic interdependence.

The young men doing the serenading are part of the Mexico Boys Choir, which travels to Fort Worth every summer in a musical and cultural exchange with the Texas Girls’ Choir. In their homeland, the boys are known as the Estudiantina Guadalupana Potosina. The youngsters have been involved in the exchange for more than two decades.