The extraordinary scene playing out in Manila

This episode of As It Happens delivers a global mosaic of urgent, human-centered stories. In Manila, a dramatic standoff unfolds inside the Philippine Senate as Senator Ronald De La Rosa barricades himself to avoid arrest on an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity tied to the brutal drug war under former President Duterte. The government claims troops entered to protect him, but live footage shows armed forces and confusion reigns, raising questions about democratic integrity and institutional accountability. Meanwhile, a groundbreaking medical shift is underway: after over a decade of advocacy, the condition once known as PCOS is being renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) to reflect its true endocrine nature and improve patient care. Dr. Helena Teed, a leading endocrinologist, explains how patient-led global consensus drove this change, marking a turning point in how women’s health conditions are understood and treated. In a lighter but equally powerful note, comedy legend Mel Brooks turns 100, and his vast personal archive—5,000 photos and 15,000 documents—is being donated to the National Comedy Center in New York, preserving his legacy of fearless satire and collaboration with icons like Carl Reiner. On the picket lines of Nova Scotia, long-term care workers strike for a living wage, revealing the human cost of underfunded care systems. And in Gaza, teenage sisters Tala and Farah Musa transform war rubble into sustainable building blocks, winning the Youth-Focused Earth Prize and offering a vision of hope through innovation. Finally, a study reveals that fetuses exposed to vegetable flavors in the womb are more likely to prefer those tastes after birth, suggesting early nutrition shapes lifelong eating habits. The episode weaves together crisis, courage, and quiet revolution across continents.