For many, Shakespeare is synonymous for all things English, yet Germany has a history of claiming the bard as "ganz unser" - their "very own." This season, the Globe Theatre pays homage to this special relationship.

It's the latest attempt at cultural diplomacy for two long-estranged neighbors with similar tastes in arts and entertainment. For two consecutive nights, Cubans packed Havana's Karl Marx Theater to watch more than 50 American dancers leap, twirl and float across the stage.

George Clooney is the most persuasive voice for the independence of South Sudan. Last month he visited southern Sudan to draw attention to the dangers that the area could return to war over the issue of the independence of southern Sudan from the north.

“I hope that the Spanish people will be able to garner a great interest in traditional Korean culture through the creative, embroidered works of Korean women,” said collector Huh Dong-hwa, director of the local museum, in a statement.

These new investments are a significant vote of confidence in the continent’s future. Looking beyond Africa’s image as a poverty-stricken, war-torn continent, Walmart and Coca-Cola are making substantial investments to capture the business of Africa’s rapidly growing middle class.

A female tribal leader working to get more girls into classrooms, in a rural society that places boys first. A former civil servant running a website to battle corruption. Schoolchildren who got the first couple dancing for the Hindu festival Diwali. These were some of the Indians whom President Obama met Sunday on the second day of his four-nation Asia tour.

Cuban President Raul Castro joined an American archbishop and other Roman Catholic leaders Wednesday to open a national seminary on the outskirts Havana, the first religious construction on the communist-run island in more than a half century.

Films and art are not designed to be a substitute for political strategies but can instead be used to challenge stereotypes and emphasise on the human experience even with a critical approach; thus they become a major cultural export in transcending prejudice, xenophobia and differences.