Can a police state exist in a democracy? Edward Snowden says absolutely. The whistle-blower credited for what is dubbed the biggest intelligence leak in a generation has made claims that could make George Orwell's “1984” seem like a children's book. Americans, he insists, are living in a real-life nightmare without knowing it.

Only a year and a half ago, the world crossed a historic threshold: Global population breached the 7-billion mark. The United Nations named Danica May, born at the Jose Fabella hospital in Manila, as the symbolic 7th-billion baby; there was no lack of other “claimants” around the world, but it was the United Nations which chose to name the baby born to parents Camille and Florante as Human No. 7,000,000,000.

Edward Snowden, a former employee of a contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), has whipped up a blizzard with his leak of secret surveillance programs being enforced in the United States as an antiterrorist effort.

North Korea's aberrant behavior defying international norms has led to an increasingly tight and systematic cooperation among all concerned countries including its only major ally China.

U.S. President Barack Obama has defended his administration's surveillance programs, so it's more than likely that the “spying” activities being conducted by America's National Security Agency, reported by The Washington Post and Britain's The Guardian, will continue. Obama has admitted to a change in his attitude toward secret surveillance programs since his election to the presidency.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying would be grateful for Beijing's endorsement, as mounting governance issues call into question his administrative skills.

For stability in the Asia-Pacific region, it is essential that the United States and China — the world's sole superpower and the second-largest military and economic power — take confidence-building measures.

For the past two weeks, Myanmar national Muhammad Sadek, 41, has not stepped out of his house, for fear of losing his life. However, on Monday, the Rohing-ya Arakanese Refugee Committee (RARC) program coordinator took a chance and went back to work at a Myanmarese restaurant near Kotaraya.

No doubt the senior officials' meeting between North and South Korea in the truce village of Panmunjom on Sunday was the most immediate and significant outcome of the two-day summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in California over the weekend. It was a big relief for major players in the Korean Peninsula although the Panmunjon contact was merely technical in nature.

Next month marks the 60th anniversary of an end to the three-year Korean War. The United States signed an armistice agreement with North Korea and China on July 27, 1953. South Korea refused to sign it though it promised not to obstruct its implementation.