AN American musician, Leon Mobley says cultural exchange programmes are vital among artistes because they enrich culture. Mobley, who was in the country to hold workshops with Zambian musicians, said sharing experiences helps musicians learn from each other and develop their mind with new ideas.

Viet Nam and Bulgaria will boost their burgeoning friendship with a cultural exchange programme in 2013, which will see each country host culture weeks devoted to the other. Viet Nam‘s culture minister Hoang Tuan Anh confirmed the plans following a meeting with Bulgaria's visiting Deputy Prime Minister, Simeon Djankov, on Thursday.

...the film is more than a string of cute cross-cultural anecdotes. The documentary was shot in 2009, the year President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected amid mass suspicions of fraud. Protests spread throughout the country and were met with brutal force, particularly in Tehran.

ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) youth leaders'symposium was held on Thursday, aiming at strengthening and broadening friendly relations between the two sides. Addressing the two-day meeting, Pit Chamnan, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, praised the close cooperation between ASEAN and Plus 3 countries.

Marines with Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji invited Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members with Fuji Schools to participate in a fall social Sept. 29. Activities throughout the day included a three-legged race, tug-of-war, soccer and softball, and finished with a barbecued meal that provided an opportunity for everyone to interact.

A five-member delegation from Taiwan met the vice chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Dr Lalji Singh on Wednesday. According to BHU spokesperson, the visiting Taiwanese experts discussed various issues related to science and technology and biology in particular for academic exchange between the two countries.

Dr Borg welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Maltese community in Luxembourg and referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to reach out to all Maltese communities around the world. He also spoke about the amendments made to the citizenship law of Malta, which allowed second and third generations to obtain Maltese citizenship.

The statement said intellectuals are the soft power that strengthens Egypt in the Arab and international arenas. The draft gives the president the power to appoint a quarter of the members of the Senate from officials, ministers and former ambassadors, but did not mention writers, thinkers and artists and intellectuals, the statement added, who are the nation's conscience and mind.