On the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Sri Lanka to take part as the chief guest in International Vesak Day celebrations — the most significant day in Buddhist calendar — Chinese President Xi Jinping was giving final touches to the first Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a super-massive infrastructure project connecting China with Europe and Middle East. 30 world leaders have flown to Beijing to take part in Sunday's maiden forum.

The Chinese Embassy held a cultural show (Chinese cuisine-class), popularizing authentic Chinese food to promote bonds of friendship between the two countries. Chinese culinary art was displayed on the occasion. It was the part cultural diplomacy, promoting people-to-people’s contacts, said Mrs. Diana Bao, wife of Chinese ambassador while speaking at the show as a chief guest. 

Sunday’s election in France made most people breathe a little easier but the worldwide trend is still troublesome. Nations are turning inward and if not building physical walls, as President Trump has proposed, they are erecting rules and new regulations [...] Last month at a Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, called “The Creative Mind of the Connected World: Culture as a Change Agent in the Digital Age,”

A new generation of African photographers are redreaming the medium again. Look, for example, at the Africans among the 25 young shooting stars chosen for the short list of the sixth prize for contemporary African photography – the CAP Prize – which awards depictions of life on the continent and the diaspora. [...] The themes are personal and political, and there’s a fierce social justice edge in the work of many of the finalists, which includes two South Africans: Tsoku Maela and Lebohang Kganye.

The UAE's Al Ayalla group has held its first performance for the Saharan Bedouin festival, Tan Tan Moussem, taking place from 5th to 10th May in the southern region of Morocco. A 200-strong Emirati delegation, headed by the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi, has returned for the fourth year as a special guest at the annual festival celebrating the heritage of Sahrawi tribes.

For more than 300 years, Spain and Philippines shared a deep history in food. Colonizing the Philippines from 1521 to 1898, the Spaniards brought to the country not only Catholicism but also its cuisine and meticulous cooking methods, something that is still evident in Filipino kitchens, especially during feasts. It’s not surprising to see lechon, paella, [...] during birthdays and Christmases—all of which are adaptations of dishes passed down from Spain to its former colony.

A delegation from China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has made a four-day visit to Britain to promote Tibetan culture and the achievements reached during the region’s recent development. [...] Speaking at a media briefing in London, Mr Baimachilin, the chairman of the delegation, said: “The purpose of our visit is to strengthen the exchange and communications between the National People’s Congress of China with the UK Parliament, as well as the exchanges with the local legislatures.