Four years ago, Kenneth Ndua quit his job at a local charity and spent his savings designing a cooking stove. Through his job, he saw many people suffering from waterborne diseases and thought of a possible answer. "Fuel is very costly and they cannot even boil water," explained Kenneth. "I thought, 'Why not come up with an idea that can solve all this?'"

Embassies perform a crucial role in maintaining diplomatic ties with foreign governments, but their function is to maintain economic, political and cultural engagement with people living in distant lands. There have been a few experiments with virtual embassies -- the United States has one for Iran.

During the recent crisis in Libya and the events surrounding the online dissemination of a hateful video, many asked: what tools does the State Department have to respond to audiences and engage people around the world in real time?

Fox International Channels (FIC) plans to launch a cloud service for its subscribers in Taiwan by early next year that will allow users to watch FIC shows at their convenience. The cloud service, called “Fox Play,” will store movies, documentaries and television series broadcast by FIC for up to one month so that subscribers can download the shows via apps on their laptops, cellphones or other electronic devices..."

Iran, which already has a firewall blocking many Western websites, says it's restricting access to Google's email service and search engine. A government deputy minister announced the ban Sunday on state television, the BBC reported. The restriction follow protests in the Muslim world, including some in Iran, against an anti-Islamic film posted on Google's video-sharing site YouTube.

The issue of striking a balance between security and accessibility is one that has been a constant struggle for United States’ diplomatic missions worldwide. How do diplomats meet the competing demands of interacting with foreign populations and keeping safe in a world filled with anti-American extremism?

APDS Blogger: Marissa Cruz-Enriquez