Indonesia was not on US President Barack Obama’s Southeast Asian itinerary as he made his first trip abroad since winning reelection. But like many visitors to Southeast Asia, he might have enjoyed a brief respite from worries back home when he was in our region.

The capital city is set to host Art Connection 2012, a cultural exchange between artistes of Odisha and Japan, from November 25. The eight-day festival will feature dance performances, workshops and exhibitions on traditional and contemporary art.

Eight Japanese lifeguards from Kanagawa Prefecture have begun a week-long exchange program that sees them training with Australian counterparts in Greenmount Beach, Coolangatta. Going on for the past 12 years, the program is a chance for the two countries to share their beach safety strategies.

Latin dancer, choreographer and teacher Becky Fleming has been encouraging the children at Garran Primary School to learn more about Cuba's musical traditions. "Their learning about the music and the rhythm and the timing and how to be little gentlemen and ladies," she said. "It is teaching them respect for each other.

President Barack Obama is underscoring the administration’s ‘strategic pivot’ to Asia with his current trip to the Pacific. This column has criticised this pivot and the botched public diplomacy campaign that managed to irritate friends, allies and, of course, China. The Pentagon attempted to minimise the PR damage, renaming the pivot “rebalancing”.

It is wrong to suggest Australia has to choose between the US alliance and collaborating with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. We can do both, but the trick lies in how we manage that. Greater engagement with Southeast Asia would augment our relationship with the US and China.

The Royal Opera House Muscat has completed a successful inaugural year, featuring top operas and concerts and local Omani cultural events as well. The one-year old Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM), continues to wow audiences with an impressive line-up of performances.

Fifty Muslim students from the Social and Political School of University of Muhammadiyah Malang, East Java, visited the Indian Cultural Center in Denpasar on Tuesday as part of their study tour themed “Cultural Diplomacy for Peace”.