Russia is undergoing a gastronomic revolution. The gastro-boom involves the growth in the number of mid-market restaurants, a trend towards eating locally sourced produce, and the imminent expansion of "new Russian" cuisine into the west.

Chef Jose Andres joins the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as “Culinary Ambassador,” helping to raise awareness of an issue that causes nearly two million deaths each year: toxic smoke from traditional cooking stoves.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) launched the “Dance With Us: Motion Across Cultures” Photo Contest on its ExchangesConnect online community today. ECA asks that participants capture the way people express themselves through movement around the world.

The Chinese martial artist-turned-movie star is starting a taichi school...Mr. Li said he wants it to one day be as cool to practice taichi as it is to watch American movies. The actor’s new venture could indeed give a boost to China’s efforts to export its culture, which have involved investments in the billions of dollars but have been criticized as unimaginative.

A collection of rare vintage Bollywood showcards is taking top billing at one of Toronto’s biggest museums. “We think of Bollywood as such a localized phenomenon, but in fact it has been part of the global film industry from its inception..."

Officials said they would spend $4.7 million to boost tourism on the back of the Games and restore the Olympic host city’s tarnished image. Culture, media and sport secretary Jeremy Hunt says the publicity campaign aims to “set the record straight” and show the world that the riots do not “stand for what the U.K. is all about.”

Tehran has hosted a two-day international conference on dialogue among religions and cultures in Asia. The aim of the conference was to review cultural relations among Asian nations and promote respect for cultural and religious diversity.

To the long list of public diplomacy efforts the U.S. State Department has launched in Afghanistan, add the TV show "Eagle Four," a "24"-style cop thriller that has proven, in early analyses, to be the most popular of several TV programs financed by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The shows are all meant to serve some public policy function.