I've been wracking my brain for days trying to come up with the perfect topic for this piece. Something that would offer insight and wit, with just the right amount of humor. But alas, nothing came. And as the deadline drew near, I had no other choice but to review each and every detail of my trip in the most methodical manner I knew how. But once again, to no avail.

The 9-3 result of last Monday's Senate elections proclaims a no-change outcome. It locks the country into the iron grip of a status quo — continuity of political sterility in the second half of President Benigno Aquino III's administration, which has been hamstrung from delivering economic benefits to the Filipino masses by slogans on good governance.

He may have been the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He may have written a book extolling constitutional values in a democracy. And he may have run for president on a civil liberties banner, pledging to reverse the legacy of George W. Bush.

With its disaster-strewn garment industry in turmoil and strikes paralyzing the country on a near weekly basis, Bangladesh is in danger of unraveling hard-won progress in a one-time “basket case” economy.

A string of serious cyberattacks and cyberterrorism incidents have occurred around the world. The government should promote extensive cooperation with the United States and reinforce its countermeasures against such attacks.

The questioning of Japanese sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, by Chinese scholars appears to reflect a new Beijing approach towards antagonistic foreign governments.

U.S. President Barack Obama learned on Monday what can happen to presidents caught up in allegations of scandal: they have to address them instead of anything else.

Occasionally a public opinion survey surfaces that signals a seismic event. That is the case with a new report from the Pew Research Center that measures the widening tremors of a political earthquake now shaking Europe.

It's not your average cross-town city bus: the new Papa Tour of Buenos Aires is packing them in for a nostalgic swing past local landmarks in the life of the man who became Pope Francis.

The day before the start of the official campaign period, we proposed the following reading of the 2013 elections: “The fate of reform hangs in the balance.” The mandate from 2010 was clear: Clean up the mess left behind by the previous administration.