Every day, in rural areas across Africa, millions of women and girls walk for hours to fetch water. An American woman is also walking for the same reason. Amy Russell hopes her 12,000-kilometer, two-year long trek across Africa will raise money for and awareness of the need for clean water.

The Department of State is pleased to announce “Ask Alan,” a new effort to engage with the Iranian people through our Persian language social media brand, USAdarFarsi. Every month on Facebook and Twitter, we will be asking our fans for questions on a topic that we set in advance. Our Persian language spokesman, Alan Eyre, will then provide answers to the most popular questions in Persian.

Hein Min Aung is a former Burmese child soldier, a young man brave enough to fly halfway around the world at the invitation of Human Rights Action Center to speak in Congress about his experience in the government army of the country of Burma. He hopes that his testimony will raise awareness about the plight of the nearly 70,000 other child soldiers still fighting in Burma today.

It is important that we speak about Islam...Most of what we see and read about Islam is composed of horror stories that appall. What we don't receive is positive images of everyday people going about their everyday business who just happen to be Muslim. The "Holy Kitchens" films have it as their goal to foster a greater understanding and fellowship among followers of different faiths.

Muslim Americans are now more optimistic about their lives than any other major American faith group... Authors of the study said they attributed the change in outlook to improved economic conditions and a sense of more political enfranchisement since the election of President Barack Obama, a Christian with Muslim family roots who has reached out to Muslim communities worldwide.

Teaching biblical texts can contribute toward making the US more competitive in the global marketplace. We need to educate students who can read critically and make coherent arguments. The Bible is not easy to read, and it does not provide easy answers. Studying the Bible helps students to formulate questions about themselves, their communities, and the texts that they read.

Xinhua, the news agency run by Chinese government, joined Time Square’s glowing pantheon of corporate iconography Monday, taking the second-highest position in a tower of flashing displays for Prudential, Coca-Cola, Samsung and Hyundai.For Xinhua, the billboard highlights its shift into more visible position in New York’s media landscape.

Some governments are using advanced technologies to chill free expression, to stifle dissent, to identify and arrest dissidents," Deputy Assistant Secretary Baer said. "Through our diplomacy and through direct support for embattled activists worldwide, we are helping people stay one step ahead of the censors, the hackers, and the brutes who beat them up or imprison them for what they say online.