Sunday night, Argo—the Ben Affleck film portraying the rescue of U.S. Embassy staffers from Iran—won best picture at the Oscars. Iran may have boycotted this years’ Academy Awards by pulling its film submission, but it certainly didn’t ignore Argo’s Oscar win. The biggest winner may have been U.S. public diplomacy efforts, given Argo’s recent underground popularity in Iran.

Set aside some funds that the Government of Sri Lanka is wasting on a lobbying firm in Washington to install a person to represent the media to engage in public diplomacy and strategic communication to raise issues connected to the U.S. foreign policy, 'Global War on Terrorism' and national defense-related issues.

The Saharawi case represents a unique example of women's inclusion in state-building for an Islamic government-in-exile. Palestinian activist Randa Farah suggests that Saharawi women have traditionally possessed great autonomy despite being Muslim:

Upstate New York jazz combo the Arch Stanton Quartet will be touring Egypt in late March, performing at the 5th Cairo International Jazz Festival, the American University in Cairo (AUC), and in Alexandria as part of a jazz diplomacy program cosponsored by AMIDEAST/Egypt, the U.S. Embassy in Egypt, and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at AUC.

The conference, which is to be held from June 16 to 19 at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in St. James, seeks to bring together members of the Jamaican Diaspora for discussions, aimed at forming alliances which will stimulate investment in various sectors.

Aid will remain nonlethal, but for the first time, it will be sent to Free Syrian Army fighters battling the government, reports Reuters. In the past, aid has only gone to unarmed groups and local councils. Secretary of State John Kerry also announced the US government will more than double aid for Syrian civilians, pledging $60 million

The Indian embassy in Cairo was quick to spot the rising fame and popularity of Gandhi among young Egyptians during and after the Egyptian revolution that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak's long-time rule in 2011.

America has two distinguishable Muslim allies, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. These two Muslim allies can play a pivotal role in helping eliminate Al-Shabaab through soft and hard power, respectively...Saudi Arabia can flex is soft-power muscle in Somalia by doing two things: (1) using their Ulama to discredit the religious sway of Al-Shabaab, and (2) use its extensive experience in de-radicalizing its youth.