Cultural Diplomacy

Britain's government has suspended the distribution of an animated film designed to stop young Muslims from becoming Islamic extremists. The short movie, called "Wish You Waziristan", is a cautionary tale about two British brothers who travel to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region in order to become jihadi fighters after seeing a racist beating.

The link between the pomp and glory of Hampton Court, a cellar in Liverpool and a copper works in Wales may be obscure. But according to the nation’s foremost historians, they are among the 100 places which define Britain.

Sarajevo announced plans to open a museum of its brutal siege by Bosnian Serb forces, saying the approaching trial of their commander Ratko Mladic made it all the more important to display the evidence. The collection includes an encyclopedia on the siege and 1,400 filmed accounts of witnesses.

A Chinese film festival will be launched in both Myanmar's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw and the former capital of Yangon next month under the culture exchange program of Myanmar and China. The Chinese film week, which will last from June 11 to 17, will be the first since 2006.

India's version of the X factor has launched with performances ranging from the amazing to the downright atrocious. What marks out the Indian version of the show is the country's rich and diverse musical heritage, which saw performers try their hand at everything from Bollywood to Bhangra.

Obama's morale-boosting stop-off, together with Queen Elizabeth's historic state visit just days earlier, have given Irish tourism a boost it desperately needed after three years of recession saw revenues and visitors drop by about a third.

Korea, China and Japan will establish tourism routes linking the countries, as agreed in a trilateral tourism ministers' meeting. They also agreed to cooperate in minimizing the effects of natural disasters and terrorism, and develop a crisis management manual and tourism promotion programs.

A World War II submarine, a bridge, a seaside pier, a castle conservatory and a cathedral are to share £11m of funding for heritage projects. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grants will allow the sites to undertake restoration and repair work, and make them more accessible to visitors.

Pages