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.

Today, Google is arguably one of the most influential nonstate actors in international affairs, operating in security domains long the purview of nation-states: It tracks the global arms trade, spends millions creating crisis-alert tools to inform the public about looming natural disasters, monitors the spread of the flu, and acts as a global censor to protect American interests abroad.

As I cruised down the Huangpu River past glimmering Shanghai high-rises with California Governor Jerry Brown and Chinese former NBA player Yao Ming, I could not help thinking that they may have at first blush appeared an odd couple. But their meeting marked not only another chapter in sports diplomacy, but also the culmination of one of the largest U.S.-China trade and investment delegations in history.

Most Americans, says Blackstone Group LP founder Stephen Schwarzman, "know next to nothing about China." His solution for that: a $100 million donation from his personal fortune to fund a scholarship program to bring 200 mainly U.S. students to China every year.

China's Cultural Minister Cai Wu has urged the government to manage the cultural realm with adequate space and freedom given to the commercial market. "Traditional culture is essential in our cultural exchange with the overseas, but modern and pop arts should also be high on the agenda in cultural export efforts in order to strengthen foreign people's understanding of the current China," Cai said.

The public appeal came in response to a message written by Issawi and posted on Facebook, in which he asked Israelis to intervene on his behalf. The security prisoner has refused solid food for eight months and is now in Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot because of his deteriorating medical condition.

Julian Assange today announced the launch of the Public Library of US Diplomacy, or PLUSD, the publication of more than 1.7 million US diplomatic and intelligence documents from the 1970s. PLUSD includes diplomatic cables, intel reports, congressional correspondence, and other formerly restricted material, now all online in searchable text form.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Ambassador Kolinda Grabar–Kitarović who has arrived to Armenia to participate at the inauguration of the President of Armenia, President’s Press Office reported. Welcoming the guest in our country, the President of Armenia spoke with her about the Armenia-NATO cooperation and programs to be implemented in the framework of that cooperation.