Urbanization has already declared itself the mega-trend of the 21st century, with half the world’s population now living in cities for the first time in human history. While the implications for economic growth have been widely discussed, urbanization’s impact on diplomacy and sovereignty will be equally profound.

New York State is now the yogurt capital of the nation. The state’s chief yogurt promoter, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, claimed victory on Thursday in the battle for national yogurt supremacy, citing state data that showed New York topping California in production for 2012. Hoping to milk the announcement for all it’s worth, Mr. Cuomo’s office issued a nearly 2,100-word statement celebrating New York’s triumph.

Educators Overseas (EO), one of North America's premier international teacher recruiting companies, is expanding its commitment to fostering international cultural exchanges and opportunities to interact with other civilizations.EO has partnered with the Shenzhen Institute of Continuing Education and China's Shenzhen Ministry of Education, to sponsor an exciting new cultural immersion program for U.S. high school students to study in China for just 4 weeks.

Table tennis has helped connect China and the United States since 1971, when the US team's visit to Beijing sparked a thaw in relations. The sport is poised to play a similar role again, as Dubai announced on Monday it will sponsor the Chinese national team as part of an effort to promote exchange and growth between the two nations."This will be the first time the Chinese national table tennis team has cooperated with a foreign partner."

Since 1999, the sister cities of Worthington and Sayama, Japan — a suburb of Tokyo — have participated in a cultural exchange involving visits from city officials, resident delegations, school groups and other representatives of each area. For the latest phase in the relationship, the long journey has been made not by contingents of people but by works of art.