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.

The election of the moderate Hassan Rowhani as Iran's new president is a game-changer which could set a new tone and soothe tensions with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, analysts said.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, in severing ties with Damascus, aims to show solidarity with Western and fellow Arab states opposed to Syria's regime and also boost his under-fire image at home, analysts said.

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.

Knowing full well that I would not settle for a rather rigid means of education in France, my quest to learn Chinese — and to locate my true calling in the process — took me to Taiwan nine months ago.

Thucydides was a Greek historian and Athenian general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the fifth century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C. He is known as the father of scientific history, whose Melian Dialogue remains a seminal work of international relations theory still studied at advanced military colleges worldwide.

News of a massive surveillance effort led by the secretive National Security Agency has sent Web users scrambling to find new ways to avoid tracking.

Hassan Rowhani's election as Iran's new president, backed by both moderates and reformists, gives a shot in the arm to a reform movement long sidelined by regime pressure.

Tax evasion and banking secrecy, hot topics and top targets because of the financial crises and austerity, could be the focus of strong statements at the G-8 meeting this week.

It's that time of the year again, and a special time it truly is. I mean, of course, graduation time.