Valentina Simeone hails from the city of Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia, but has spent the past six months a world away — in Iran. The 21-year-old became the first ever European Union exchange student to the Middle Eastern country, studying Farsi at Tehran University under the Erasmus Program, a EU student exchange program established in 1987. 

More than 30 young musical talents (ages 10 to 17) from the UK are in Abu Dhabi this week for a first-of-its-kind music student exchange programme between Cranleigh Abu Dhabi and its British parent school. Both students and teachers from the UK’s 150-year-old Cranleigh School will work with students in the Saadiyat Island-based Abu Dhabi school during the week-long Cranleigh Festival that will feature workshops and public performances.

The Korean Foundation, affiliated with the South Korean Foreign Ministry, and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) signed a pact on Monday to establish the first endowed professorship in Korean studies, the foundation said. The pact [...] calls for the establishment of the post of professor in Korean studies and a course on contemporary Korean society starting in next year's fall semester at the earliest.

Both countries will collaborate in the areas of cultural, sports exchange, media, science, technology, and health care. The government of China will increase the number of Chinese government scholarships [...] China's pledges its commitment to The Bahamas Climate change and environmental protection. 

The marathon in the world’s most isolated country is a rare chance for foreigners to interact en masse with North Koreans. It has been open to amateur foreign runners since 2014.

The United States is incredibly divided at the moment. Republicans and Democrats despise one another. There is no substantial effort to come to a consensus on any number of issues. Instead of working to find common ground, Americans are seemingly content to continue bickering like siblings on a family vacation. [...] But what if the solution to many of our problems was as simple as a train journey across the country?

Sweden has launched a tourism campaign encouraging people all over the world to call Swedes at random. The country has set up a phone number for the calls.

Originally given to the United States as a goodwill gesture from China during the restoration of relations between the two nations in the early 1970s, the current family of giant pandas remain here on long-term loan.