It’s hard to say something new to Israelis about Syria's Bashar al-Assad after more than two years of civil war in the neighboring country. But contemporary artists Yanay Geva and Lilac Madar have tried to do just that in an exhibition that features everything from a gas canister to a family photo of the Assads, placed on a lace-covered side table with a bowl of Arab sweets.

It was a dinner conversation that got me thinking about elephants. I was speaking with Rachel Dwyer, a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and she was telling me about her research. She studies elephants in Bollywood movies. “The definitive film for elephants in Indian cinema has to be ‘Haathi Mere Saathi,’ made in 1971” she says. “It was the biggest [Bollywood] hit up to that point.”

Michael Ardaiolo discusses fashion diplomacy and how fashion can affect cross-cultural identities with Harriet Brown and Timi Komonibo. Harriet Brown is an associate professor at Syracuse University. She has more than 30 years of experience as both a writer and editor in magazines. You can find her recent work in the New York Times science section, where she covers issues like food, eating and body image.

On the sad occasion of Nelson Mandela’s death, it’s worth recalling his words on languages: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” I read that quote on a poster on the wall at the Beijing Language and Cultural University on a smoggy morning this September – BLCU is one of the British Council’s longest standing and biggest partners in China.

“We’ve spent decades making their toys, their shoes, and even their flags,” a deep voice intones in Mandarin as US military tanks trundle across a desert. ”All the while, enduring their condescension and biding our time…finally the moment has come; now they will know our greatness.” A group of American soldiers looks up at the sky that suddenly fills with screaming jets, missiles, explosions, fire and fumes.

In case you haven't heard, France is going after Bob Dylan. French authorities have filed preliminary charges of "public insult and inciting hate" against the legendary singer-songwriter. Dylan was reportedly questioned and charged in November; the charge stems from a complaint filed by the Council of Croats in France (CRICCF), which flagged comments made by Dylan in a Rolling Stone interview published in September 2012.

There probably isn't a more American condiment than ketchup. Millions of Americans douse their french fries, hamburgers, hot dogs and other favorite foods with it every day. The ubiquitous tomato-based sauce has been a staple in American cuisine for over a century, with surveys finding that 97% of kitchens in the United States contain a bottle. Given those facts, many Americans may be surprised to learn that ketchup's origins aren't American at all and that tomatoes were introduced to the mix relatively late in the sauce's history.