It will be the first of the BBC's news channels to air from New Broadcasting House, the corporation's central London headquarters extensively refurbished at a cost of £1bn, and will feature new presenters including Jon Sopel in a new show and Afghanistan-born Australian Yalda Hakim.

Proving that art transcends conflicts and boundaries, dancers from Turkey, Egypt and Jordan will participate in the annual International Belly Dance Festival taking place January 16-19 in the Israeli city of Eilat, on the Red Sea.

Speaking to FNA, Iran's Ambassador to Oman Ali Akbar Sibouyeh said Iran has always sought strengthening of stability and tranquility in the region in line with its "policy of confidence-building and détente".

A little more than a week after journalists at Southern Weekly, one of China’s most daring newspapers, clashed with propaganda authorities in southern China’s Guangdong province over alleged censorship of a New Year’s editorial, China watchers are still trying to suss out what the conflict — which inspired anti-censorship protests both online and in the streets — means for the future of media in China.

Over the past two years, the Obama administration has focused greater diplomatic attention and military resources on East Asia as part of a policy described as a "pivot" or "rebalancing." While American leaders are loath to admit it publicly, this is a response to China's growing influence, particularly Beijing's territorial claims around its borders.

His Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has indicated there might be a review of the decision in 1993 to apologise for direct Japanese coercion of 200,000 women from Korea, China, the Philippines and other Asian countries into brothels to serve Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. The so-called "comfort women" issue is not completely settled. In particular, it continues to hang over Japan's relations with South Korea.

“It is a big step for the future and building people-to-people relationships between Myanmar and the United States,” said Min San, another player of the 12-member junior Burmese basketball team that is visiting the US on the invitation of the State Department.

Art may not provide all the answers for cultural understanding, but it can provide a platform for dialogue. Jeff Badger, in his studio on the SMCC campus in South Portland, has put together an exchange of work by American and Spanish artists that he hopes will foster “meaningful, real-life connections toward a more peaceful world.” Badger, who lives in South Portland and teaches art at Southern Maine Community College, wanted to send art from Portland over to Spain. McCreight, who lives in Madrid, envisioned enlisting Spanish artists to make work and shipping it to Maine.