Facebook is Zimbabwe’s top website. According to Google, Facebook was the most popular web search term among Zimbabweans in 2011, replacing “Zimbabwe,” which led the list in 2010 and 2009. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s (ZBC) Power FM, despite its antiquated broadcasting studios, fills its popular music programming with trendy young DJs enthusiastically pushing listeners to follow them on the social networking site while quoting recent FB comments.

The United States intends to use its public diplomacy efforts in Pakistan to bridge the differences between the people of the two countries, newly-appointed US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine said on Friday. She was speaking to a gathering at Kinnaird College University during her day-long visit of the city.

With tension mounting over a confusing visa directive concerning Chinese language teachers in the US, the two sides had quickly reached out for dialogue and successfully found a solution within a couple of days to avoid any further misunderstanding. On May 17, without consulting the Chinese side, Lerner signed a controversial visa policy directive and sent it to US universities that sponsor Confucius Institutes, through which the Chinese government promotes Chinese language and culture overseas.

The U.S. Department of State has overstepped its authority in issuing a policy against the use of paid recruiters for overseas students. That was the charge made during a panel discussion on Friday, the final day of the annual meeting of Nafsa: Association of International Educators. Mitch Leventhal is a founder of the American International Recruitment Council, or Airc, a group that develops standards of ethical practices and a system for certifying overseas recruiters.

Jon Carson, the White House Director of the Office of Public Engagement, will deliver keynote remarks during the opening session of the Uncommon Alliances Forum on June 4 in Washington, D.C. The event is a one-day interactive workshop about public-private partnerships and is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at the George Washington University School of Business.

American diplomats are making progress in heading off possible international proposals to increase Internet regulation by the United Nations, a top State Department official told a House subcommittee on Thursday. A range of American lawmakers, businesses, and nonprofit organizations fear that some countries will try to use negotiations over international telecommunications treaties in December to expand the authority of the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. organization that has historically overseen international telecom policies.

Most of the YES Academy took place at Chulalongkorn University in central Bangkok including strings and orchestra, piano, dance, hip hop and the Broadway program. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of State is still budgeting for this kind of cultural diplomacy to demonstrate what we all have in common and how we can all learn to work together.

During her visit, Under Secretary Sonenshine will engage with civil society and emphasize people-to-people ties shared between the United States and Pakistan. She will meet with young Pakistani entrepreneurs and female students to discuss the shared goal of empowerment and to discuss ways to unlock their full potential.