The men’s titleholder, Viswanathan Anand of India, successfully defended the championship in May in a grueling match against Boris Gelfand, an Israeli grandmaster. Still, there are signs that Anand’s time at the top is coming to an end. Magnus Carlsen, 22, is now the world’s top-ranked player, and he will have a record high rating when the next rankings are released on Tuesday.

Steven Lee Adams will soon be receiving a large crate at his studio in Mapleton containing a painting he loaned to the U.S. ambassador to South Africa three years ago. His painting has been hanging in the embassy there as part of the Art in Embassies Program.

Israel's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Yaakov Levy, is envied among Israeli diplomats in other European Union countries. Compared to the stiff criticism and harsh denunciations many Israeli ambassadors face, Levy's life in Prague is paradise. Today the Czech Republic is Israel's closest friend in the EU. Indeed, it was the only one of 27 EU member states to vote against the recent Palestinian statehood initiative at the United Nations.

Career diplomat Patrick Suckling has been appointed high commissioner to India, a country the Gillard government considers critical to Australia's interests. Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Mr Suckling will replace Peter Varghese, who is returning to Australia to head the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Music is a universal language and it is one of the ways to learn about another culture. To spread the teaching of Chinese music to the world, the Confucius Institute has set up the first Music Confucius Institute in Copenhagen.

Japan was once an Asian bowling powerhouse, but its reputation has declined in recent times. So it's now looking to strike up a partnership with Singapore to lift the sport, especially at the junior level. Twelve Japanese students, age between 12 and 17 years old, arrived in Singapore as part of a Japan International Exchange programme.

From Dec 2 to 4, Wudang Mountain Tourism Area held a Wudang photography and calligraphy exhibition in Erfurt, Germany. The exhibition served as a prelude to the Sino-German culture exchange in Hubei province. This year is the 40th anniversary of China-German diplomatic ties. Hubei province organized a delegation to go to Germany and preside over the Hubei Culture Exhibition Week.

India and Pakistan have used "cricket diplomacy" to improve relations in the past, and over the next little while they will do it again. Pakistan's national cricket team is in India for the first series of games between the two countries in five years. The matches will take place from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6. For this very reason, the Indian government has issued a number of visas to Pakistan cricket fans, allowing them to enjoy the matches live.