Cold snap fuels calls for heating

The cold spell in the past couple of months has stirred heated debate in Shanghai and neighboring regions on district heating such as that found in northern cities.

US' dangerous stance

The United States is sending a dangerous message on the territorial dispute between China and Japan, which may lead the tension in the East China Sea to spin out of control.

Heating for the south

Whether households in China's southern regions are provided with heat in winter should not be an issue. How they are should be.

What election means to Israel

If opinion polls are to believed and going by the right-leaning Israeli society, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should register a comfortable win in the election to the 19th Knesset on Jan 22. And since there is little doubt over the outcome of the election, the question to answer is what kind of foreign policy Israel will adopt after the election.

Time to defeat poverty in Mali

For historical but also geographic reasons, France considers the crisis in Mali one of its top external priorities, and facing the risk of seeing Mopti captured by jihadists, President Francois Hollande ordered the French military to intervene in the Sahelian country.

What's the buzz

We will soon welcome a busy Spring Festival, starting with the shopping season in the 12th lunar month and ending with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the New Year. Homes are being cleaned. Windows and doors are being decorated with papercuts and couplets. Generous meals and sacrifices to the Kitchen God are in the making. However, within China, regional customs and traditions celebrating Chinese New Year vary widely. What are the special customs and taboos in your home town? China Daily's mobile phone news readers share their views:

Letters

Most filmmakers fail to inspire

Time to return to talks table

Talks between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran concluded on Thursday in Teheran without reaching a much-hoped-for deal. But the two sides have agreed to meet again on Feb 12.

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Getting a taxi is now a taxing problem

Responding to the difficulties faced by people in getting a taxi in Beijing, the city's traffic administration issued a notice on Jan 16 warning cabbies that they would be penalized for not operating during peak traffic hours.

A beautiful China must start with clean air

I live close to Beijing's Olympic Village where some posters and billboards with inspirational slogans are still visible on walls or atop buildings, evoking memories of a determined city to make the 2008 Olympic Games a success.

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