For the first time, the ancient past of Saudi Arabia is at the heart of an exhibition at Paris’ iconic Louvre museum, which is showing works that have never left their country before.

Special squatting toilets have been installed in a Greater Manchester shopping centre after its bosses went on a cultural awareness course.

A Chinese Cultural troupe is set to participate in the week-long Pan-Africa's festival of dance (FESPAD) in Kigali, capital of Rwanda scheduled to kick off on July 24. Managing Director of FESPAD Emmanuel Bugingo told Xinhua in Kigali on Wednesday that the Chinese Cultural troupe will join other dance troupes from 31 Africa countries, and will have several concerts and exhibitions till July 31 in Kigali, Butare, Rubavu and Rusizi.

The recently opened Tushanwan Museum features a contrast that is pure Shanghai: a 1930s advertising poster of a sultry, qipao-clad siren next to an austere painting of Jesus. Both are legacies of the city's Jesuit Tushanwan Orphanage and its attached arts and crafts academy, which helped to introduce Western art into China.

Young Vietnamese artist Hoang Duong Cam will join his Japanese colleague Takayuki Yamamoto in an exhibition of their joint works in Hanoi from July 23 to August 5. The exhibition entitled “On each kilometre” is part of the arts cooperation assistance project of the Japan Culture Exchange Centre in Vietnam.

The founder of Morocco's first contemporary dance group takes a taboo-breaking look at the world of Morocco's wedding dancers. Her work is part of a German festival that aims to cross national boundaries on stage.

Education and inter-faith dialogue is the best way to remove Islamophobia, Professor Liyakat Takim has said. “Until today, many Americans think that Allah is a moon god and Muslims are required to kill non-Muslims, these misconceptions have to be corrected through proper education and Muslims need to reach out to non-Muslims,” McMaster University professor told the Mehr news agency.

Tomorrows Youth Organization is living proof of the effectiveness of smart power. American initiatives around the Middle East, and especially in Palestine’s poorest areas offer American youth the chance to teach disadvantaged children drama, arts, athletics, music, computers and earn the love and trust of the Middle East one country at a time.