It is considered one of the best shop windows for Scotland to showcase its wares, and now the country's biggest and hottest new internet export, the Kilted Yoga duo, are to boost this year's Tartan Day in New York by turning up as ambassadors. The pair – who appear topless in Perthshire forests in their Kilted Yoga videos, which have had more than 50 millions views – will represent Dundee marketing firm Scot Street Style at the flagship event in the Big Apple on Thursday where up to 30,000 are expected to take to the streets to celebrate all things Scottish.

Egyptian-Lebanese visual artist Bahia Shehab has become the first Arab woman to ever receive the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture for her innovative use of Arabic calligraphy in street art. [...] As an artist, designer and art historian, Shehab has worked for many years on integrating ancient Arabic script into the modern context for use in graphic design and Arab visual culture. 

"Film co-productions can help foster greater cultural exchange and understanding between two different countries, such as China and the United States," Hollywoord film director Julia Pierrepont III said at her home in Sunland, Los Angeles.

Vietnam and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries. [...] Under the MoU, both nations will work together to promote tourism initiatives, introducing attractive destinations, encouraging visitor exchanges, and sharing experience and information in areas of mutual concern.

The National Symphony Orchestra had just finished its first performance in Russia in nearly a quarter of a century. It arrived at a time when official relations between the United States and Russia are, to put it mildly, fraught. And it demonstrated that, at a time when political rhetoric is heated, music may be offering the real language of diplomacy, formalized and couched in centuries of tradition. Indeed, it wasn’t even clear whether people were clapping for what they had just heard or for what this visit represented.c

During the meeting, the two ministers stressed on all-out expansion of ties in areas like politics, economy, and culture. “We are ready to cooperate in areas like cinema, music, culture, and art,” reassured the Iranian minister. “The areas of extensive cooperation are ready however it may be labeled badly or sabotaged.” Mr. Salehi Amiri boasted the success of Iranian cinema in the world and called for close cooperation for producing joint cinematic works.

This year's cultural exchange at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival promises to be special. As festival producer Quint Davis put it, Cuba comes to Jazz Fest! Davis says it's a project that has taken time and resources. "We been working on this for two years," he explained. "We went to Senator Landrieu's office in Washington to say we want to do this. [...] We're bringing 150 people from Cuba. That means 150 visas and interviews, which has never been done."