The ninth edition of the Delhi International Arts Festival opened with enchanting dance and cultural performances by national and international artistes.  [...] DIAF is seen as India’s signature arts and cultural festival which also provides a significant platform for cultural diplomacy, projecting India as a cultural powerhouse and enhancing diplomatic relations with other countries. 

The economic development agencies of Paris and New York City have launched a trans-Atlantic business exchange program intended to provide emerging companies in both cities with access to opportunities internationally. The NYC-Paris Business Exchange will help tech, clean tech, fashion and design, tourism, food and beverage, and arts companies overcome barriers that inhibit entry to foreign markets, with the goal of allowing these local companies to grow and Parisian companies to expand within New York City.

Lucy Morrow and Manon Clavel may live an ocean apart, but the two 14-year-olds have formed a bond that transcends international borders. The two -- one Canadian and the other French -- met while taking part in a student exchange program and have developed a friendship that will last long after the program is over. 

The world famous street artist Banksy announced Monday that the materials used to construct his dystopian “Dismaland” theme park will be donated to a refugee camp in Calais, France. The park’s timber and fixtures will be repurposed for shelters, the artist wrote on Dismaland’s official website.

French President Francois Hollande is arriving in Morocco for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening cooperation against terrorism and boosting economic partnership with the former colony that counts France as its leading foreign investor.

Perhaps most importantly, a less male representation projects a less fusty national image at a time when “soft” power counts for ever more. Indeed, feminisation seems to be part of a broader French effort to “renew our global diplomacy for the 21st century”, in the words of Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister, whose predecessor but one was a woman, Michèle Alliot-Marie.

Although plenty of Americans figure into the picture, some of the brightest stars come from as far as Trinidad, France and Azerbaijan. The groups cover a wide gamut of subgenres, but what they all have in common is a critical element of jazz swing at their core.