Inclusive political dialogue needed

In less than two weeks, armed rebels led by an al-Qaida splinter group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, have taken over a large part of northern Iraq.

Pressures of forex excess

China's enormous foreign exchange reserves are directly related to the fact that the yuan is not yet used as an international currency

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London has the edge as renminbi hub

Top bankers and policymakers who met in London earlier this week at the UK-China Financial Forum are highly likely to have reflected on how far the city had come as a main offshore trading hub for the renminbi, supporting a rapidly growing number of British and other European companies trading with China.

The Cup brimmeth over in Brazil

Spain return home hammered, humbled and humiliated. If only Coach Vicente Del Bosque had stuck to his strategy, if only he had not told his immensely talented bunch to feed the ball to the invisible figure of Diego Costa (brilliant as he is as a striker) near the rival penalty box, if only Spain had played to their potential, if only Robin van Persie's header had not turned into a nightmare for the defending champions, if only ... the ifs can go on, and that is the beauty of the game of soccer.

Connecting to the Arab world

China should tap cooperation potential in the Middle East and continue to build trust through more exchanges

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War money could have been better spent

The Iraq War, which has come back to haunt Americans, Iraqis and the world these days, cost people in the United States some $2 trillion. It has been the worst reflection of US might. Yet a journalism fellowship that has won enormous hearts and minds for the US has for years been struggling to raise several hundred thousand US dollars a year.

A matter of moral principle

TO WHAT EXTENT THE FAIRNESS OF THE national college entrance examinations has been undermined is a question that needs to be answered, when more than 100 college entrance examinees in Central China's Henan province have been found to have hired substitutes to sit the just concluded exams for them.

Abe must honor statement

The Republic of Korea is bracing for the worst in its ties with Japan, as the Abe administration is set to disclose the results of its controversial scrutiny into the background of the Kono Statement, one of Japan's key apologies for its wartime atrocities.

Trade binds China and India

China and India both are developing countries, both have huge populations (largest two in the world) and both are fast growing economies. China has enjoyed an average annual growth of about 10 percent during the past three decades, while India's growth rate was 7 percent in the decade and half preceding the global financial crisis. The two countries' continuous economic growth, therefore, will not only benefit their 2.5 billion people, but also play a significant role in economic development across the globe.

Treat delinquents with kid gloves

Six members of the "Church of the Almighty God", a cult organization, recently beat a woman to death in Zhaoyuan, Shandong province, because she refused to join their order. Although five of the six suspects have been arrested, the sixth cannot be taken into police custody because he is less than 14 years old.