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.

As with other major Chinese festivals, Dragon Boat Festival is a palimpsest on which layers upon layers of origin stories, meanings, and customs were written over time.

The two-day summit in California between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been hailed on the Chinese side as having “blazed a new trail” and for having “set the tone” for Sino-American relations in the coming decade.

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.

And so with this the U.S. President Barack Obama sought to defend the policy: “This does not apply to U.S. citizens. And it does not apply to people living in the United States.”

They are very much alike. Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea and Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan were born four years apart in the former Japanese colonies. Roh and Chen both studied law, were defense lawyers before turning to politics, and got elected president of their respective countries with an anti-corruption agenda almost at the same time.

North Korea is back in the headlines following a surprise offer to restart official negotiations with South Korea on reopening a joint commercial project which many hope could end recent hostilities between the two neighbors.

I just enjoyed the play “Mama Mia” on the stage of the Bai Lien Theater on my campus. Only moments ago, I walked from the hugs that followed the show (can't help but be proud of those students) directly to my computer.

After three years of delay, the military trial of U.S. Army soldier Bradley Manning for stealing and supplying to WikiLeaks masses of classified documents has finally begun. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange once boasted his mission was to “crushing bastards,” and that he enjoyed the work.