The artisanal knowledge surrounding France's iconic daily bread loaf, the baguette and traditional tea-making in China have been awarded special protected status by the UN's cultural body.  They were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during a meeting this week in Morocco's Rabat. Read more: Vietnam keen to work for development of Sylhet tea industry Also, the culture of Ukrainian borscht cooking was placed on a list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The inscription of the baguette, one of the quintessential staples of French life, on the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Intangible Cultural Heritage list honours the artisanal know-how and culture surrounding the loaf. A real baguette has just four ingredients – flour, water, yeast and salt. France's long, crusty and delicious loaf bread requires specific knowledge and techniques. It is baked throughout the day in small batches and the outcomes vary according to the temperature and humidity.

On the occasion of World Hindi Day on January 10, the Director of World Heritage Centre has informed the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, Paris that UNESCO's World Heritage Centre has agreed to publish Hindi descriptions of India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites on WHC website. Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, Paris organized the virtual celebration of World Hindi Day on January 10, 2022, reports ANI. READ: 7pc Bangladesh families have to borrow to send children to school: UNESCO Minister of State of External Affairs and culture, Meenakshi Lekhi gave a video message on World Hindi Day and emphasized the importance of Hindi. India's ambassador/permanent representative to UNESCO, Vishal V. Sharma also highlighted the key points that Hindi attained during the last 75 years of India's independence. For the celebrations, the delegation has received short videos on this occasion from Assistant-Director Generals for Education, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, Communication and Information and Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic. READ: Doleshwar Hanafia Jame Mosque wins UNESCO award The Ambassadors/ permanent Delegates to UNESCO from Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Greece, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, Palestine, Republic of Korea, Palestine, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, Vietnam also sent the video message on World Hindi Day. Embassies / High commissions, Consulate Generals of India in Canberra, Wellington Georgetown, Doha, London, Riyadh, Washington D.C., Male, Kathmandu, Colombo, Kuwait, Windhoek, Suriname, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Dushanbe, Port Luis, Johannesburg and Gaborone also celebrated the occasion by sending the videos.

Turkey has finally announced the reconversion of Istanbul’s sixth-century Hagia Sophia into a mosque and opened it for worship, drawing huge outcry across the world.