Cultural Diplomacy

An exhibition of Peranakan art and artifacts such as porcelain and beadwork has gone on display at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, as part of cross-cultural exchange between Singapore and Korea. 'The Peranakan World: Cross-Cultural Art from Singapore and the Straits' was developed by the Asian Civilisations Museum here, and will be on show at the Korean national museum till May 19.

On Thursday [Mar 21], the U.S. Consulate will once again welcome Harvard’s finest a cappella groups to perform a free charity concert in aid of the Bermuda-registered charity, the Family Centre. The Harvard Krokodiloes and the Radcliffe Pitches are in Bermuda for their annual spring break and will sing popular, toe-tapping music from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, including jazz, swing, ballads, and rock from America’s Golden Age.

In his first 48 hours in the Bronx, Omar al-Mashhadani caught a few echoes of the life that he and his family had left behind in Baghdad. Thousands of people were swarming along 161st Street, toward the hulking stadium on the other side of the El on River Avenue.

March 18, 2013

For more than a half-century, relationships with “sister cities” abroad have fostered diplomacy, educational opportunities and cultural growth. Now, however, cities in Washington state — and the South Sound in particular — are using them for economic expansion as well.

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now.” “Now every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.” The statements made by Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods, respectively, were attempts to mitigate the damage caused by scandal.

The Spanish institution Casa Africa and SAMRO Foundation has announced the 'Johannesburgo Vis a Vis' initiative, the first music contest and business meeting between Spanish music producers and South African musicians. From Thursday, 11 to Saturday, 13 April, Johannesburg will be the City for a new edition of 'Vis-a-Vis' to promote a greater presence of African music on Spanish stages.

Pope Francis' diplomatic skills were put to the test Monday as his political nemesis, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, asked him to intervene in the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican as to whether the Argentine-born Francis would accept her request, which was made during his inaugural audience with a visiting head of state on the eve of his installation as pope.

Supermodel Bar Refaeli was recently hired by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to appear in a pro-Israel PR campaign to boost the country’s image around the world. Refaeli’s international modeling success, recent Superbowl commercial, and appointment as Maxim’s Sexiest Woman in the World make the gorgeous Israeli a smart choice as the face of her native Holy Land… except the Israeli Defense Forces argue that she’s not a true Israeli.

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