One of the most memorable shows singer/songwriter Mary McBride performed on her worldwide tour as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State was at a senior center in Iraq.

The State Dept.’s public diplomacy corps will be glued to the TV on Oscar Night, rooting for the success of “The Bushkazi Boys” a 29-minute film that is nominated in the short film live action category.

Newly confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry is now the face of America to the world -- a pervasively religious world. With more than 80 percent of the global population affiliated with a religion, Kerry's ability to engage religious issues and actors will be vital to the success of his diplomacy.

American director Sam French helped make history this year when his film "Buzkashi Boys" became the first movie shot in Afghanistan to receive an Oscar nomination. But the 29-minute film holds another unusual distinction: It was funded almost entirely out of a $150 million State Department campaign to combat extremism, support Afghan media and burnish the U.S. image in Afghanistan.

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke for nearly 30 minutes Sunday about the civil war in Syria and North Korea's recent nuclear test, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. The two agreed to look for a date in the next several weeks for their first meeting since Kerry took over as the top U.S. diplomat, Nuland added.

The round table discussion with US Under Secretary of State Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine got underway at 10.30 a.m on February 7th at the American Centre. The theme of the discussion was the role of youth in India's growth taking into account the demographic dividend with special emphasis on role of women. Naturally, the panel consisted of student leaders, youth bloggers, LSR journalism students and representatives of college student unions.