The Dalai Lama is both the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and, historically, the political leader of the Tibetan people. Since his exile in 1959, he has led the Tibetan cause from India, advocating for greater autonomy from China through a nonviolent "Middle Way" approach. In 2011, the Dalai Lama formally relinquished his political role, transferring authority to a democratically elected Sikyong (president) of the Central Tibetan Administration. However, he remains the most prominent figurehead of the Tibetan independence/autonomy movement.

"Transitional justice eras refer to specific historical and political moments in which a society is reckoning with a legacy of mass injustice, violence, or authoritarian rule—often following dictatorships, civil wars, state-sponsored repression, or colonial regimes. These periods, occurring during or shortly after political transition, are characterized by the involvement of processes such as truth commissions, war crimes trials, reparations for victims, memorialization through museums or art, and institutional reform (e.g., judiciary, police, or military). Examples include post-apartheid South Africa, post-World War II Europe, and post-Marcos Philippines. 

Art that offers no closure seeks to reflect the unresolved, complex, and emotionally ambiguous terrain of a society still grappling with its past. These works often reject neat moral binaries or redemptive arcs. Examples include Dekada ‘70, Santa Evita, and Country of my Skull.

Art that offers closure on the other hand, aims to heal, redeem, or resolve historical trauma, often providing a sense of catharsis, or restored moral order. Examples include the Diary of Anne Frank, Schindler’s List, Sometimes in April, and Ubu and the Truth Commission."

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional political and economic union of 15 West African countries. ECOWAS has historically promoted regional integration, democracy, and peace, and has previously intervened in member states during political or security crises. 

The Sahel region—stretching across countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—is currently experiencing a surge in jihadist insurgencies led by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS. However since 2021, military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have led to the suspension or withdrawal of these countries from ECOWAS. The new juntas have increasingly relied on Russian paramilitary support (such as the Wagner Group), while traditional foreign partners like France and the United Nations have withdrawn troops from the region.

AAA games are high-budget, high-profile games that are typically produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers (Bethesda, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, etc.).

As part of the Philippines’ commitment to rely on renewable sources for 35% of electricity by 2030, 99 hydropower projects have been greenlit in the Cordillera region. The approved projects span all major rivers from Apayao all the way to Benguet with a total combined generating capacity of more than 4000 megawatts. Both local and national government units have backed the development of the projects with the goal of increasing energy accessibility and jobs in the region while local Igorot communities are divided due to threats of militarization and potential damage to land and water resources.

Ilocos Norte is home to three of Southeast Asia’s largest wind farms: the Bangui, Burgos, and Caparispisan (North Luzon Renewables) wind farms. All were developed through foreign partnerships (primarily with a Danish company called Vestas) and are now majority- or fully-owned by major private corporations—primarily AC Energy (Ayala Group), which owns the Bangui and Pagudpud wind farms, and the Lopez Group's EDC, which owns the Burgos wind farm. These supply power to the Luzon grid, cover nearly half of Ilocos Norte’s electricity needs, and are major tourist destinations.

A new project, the Buhawind Offshore Wind Farm, is a joint venture between Copenhagen Energy (Denmark) and PetroGreen Energy (a Southeast Asian MNC). It plans to install large floating turbines off the coasts of Bangui, Burgos, and Pagudpud, potentially becoming the largest of its kind in the country.

Local fisherfolk have expressed strong opposition, citing threats to fishing access, damage to marine ecosystems, and a lack of direct community benefit—especially amid ongoing high electricity rates and frequent outages under private energy control.

Hopeless romanticism refers to an idealistic, eternal, and fairy-tail like view of love. Hopeless romantics focus on the positive aspects even in the face of experiencing red-flags in a partner and other romantic struggles.

Reshoring is the trend where countries and companies move manufacturing and critical supply chains back home. This trend has been accelerated in the past few years due to COVID-19’s disruption of the global supply chain, rising geopolitical tensions, and Industrial Policy in the US – which has led companies and countries to believe that the risk in having manufacturing away from home is too large and that, thus, a reliance on a global supply chain is too risky – pushing them to move for a stronger domestic supply chain.

In language, a hedging device is a word or phrase used to express uncertainty, soften claims, or show politeness. (e.g., "I believe", "might", "likely", "seem", "suggest")