Actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie was in Libya on Tuesday for a visit to help agencies bringing aid to Libyans in Tripoli and Misrata..."I will be meeting with officials from all sides but above all, listening to the local people in the street. I am here to express solidarity with them."

For years, Hawaii has been a popular destination for tourists, but now it’s making a name for itself as a TV and film production hub. A reboot of the 1960s police drama "Hawaii Five-O," which helped develop the state’s movie industry decades ago, is once again boosting its economy. Hawaii has also been getting good publicity from several recent movies which were made here.

...popular anger against entrenching power elites is spreading around the world...In the U.S. movement, Arab nations see echoes of this year's Arab Spring uprisings. Spaniards and Italians see parallels with Indignados (indignant) activists...

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and U.S. Soccer announced today that former U.S. Women’s National Team players Shannon MacMillan and Tracy Noonan will travel to Guatemala as Sports Envoys...where they will lead soccer clinics for young girls and boys...and reach out to underprivileged youth with the National Soccer Teams.

The U.S. Department of State...announced today a new partnership with the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts to engage international audiences through American film...this people-to-people exchange will send American filmmakers and film experts overseas to present independent documentaries, feature films, and animated shorts.

Japan has enlisted celebrities to reassure timid travelers that it’s safe to visit after the March 11 disasters triggered the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But...with few visitors biting, the national tourism agency is looking to try a different tact that perhaps outshines the biggest of star power: Come to Japan…for free.

The problem is, the proposal India’s Parliament is now batting around isn’t going to help attract U.S. universities...and might actually scare them away, because it imposes too many restrictions on their entry.

As a public diplomacy exercise, we hope that the “India Is…” contest will encourage people to think of India in creative, interesting and hopefully positive ways. With an eye on drawing participation of young people into the contest, we have planned a marketing campaign across social media including Facebook and Twitter in particular.