Japan: Land of quirks and a thousand conveniences

TOKYO - Heated toilets that spray users clean, train seats that revolve so passengers can admire the scenery and a convenience store on every corner: welcome to Japan, where hospitality and customer service form part of the country's DNA.

Lawsuit settled in monkey selfie case

SAN FRANCISCO - Attorneys representing a macaque monkey have agreed to a compromise in a case where they asserted the animal owned the copyright to selfie photos it had shot with a photographer's camera.

Rhetoric, hatred can't help Trump win 'war on terror'

Since his days on the campaign trail, defeating terrorism and destroying the Islamic State have been on US President Donald Trump's agenda as an outstanding foreign policy imperative. He attempted to push through a controversial, and widely resisted anti-Muslim travel ban. And he has been working on a new counter-terrorism strategy to put an end to what he deems a Barack Obama-era failure.

Merkel's offer a ray of hope

Today even the most sanguine geopolitical analyst would have to concede the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis has reached the most critical, if not the most dangerous, stage. Despite years of international efforts to put a brake on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ambitious nuclear program - through the Six-Party Talks or the many rounds of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and some countries - the country's nuclear and missile program seems close to completion.

To truly reduce air pollution, Beijing needs to take some innovative steps

WERE IT NOT for the shower on Sunday afternoon, the suffocating smog shrouding Beijing from Thursday would have lasted longer. In the past, rarely has Beijing been covered by smog during the most anticipated yet extremely short fall. Beijing News comments:

Scientific research helps public good

THREE SCIENTISTS won $1 million each for their research in basic sciences and their applications at the 2017 Future Science Prize award ceremony in Beijing on Saturday. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:

Good Samaritans deserve respect for their deeds

LI XIUGUO, a farmer from Central China's Henan province, disappeared while trying to save five people from drowning in the Yellow River in neighboring Shandong province. Yet when his family applied for the honorary title of Good Samaritan for him, officials from both provinces rejected their plea. Huashang Daily comments:

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Chinese solutions to governance problems

The Western model, represented by the Washington Consensus and characterized by exclusionism and global dominance, has been endangering global governance since the global financial crisis. On the international front, the United States has overruled, or has been trying to overrule the United Nations - the Afghan war and Iraq war, and most recently the Paris climate change agreement come readily to mind as examples.

UN can help make poverty past tense

With its efforts and achievements, China will have many successful stories to share, taking it one step closer to making poverty history. Between 2013 and last year, a total of 55.64 million people were lifted out of poverty - an average of 13.91 million per year, resulting in a reduction of poverty incidence from 10.2 percent in 2012 to 4.5 percent last year, which is a big achievement in the past five years under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.

Document to boost TV drama industry

President Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of people-oriented art, saying art should be of the people and for the people. Chinese TV dramas would do good to follow Xi's advice and create works that enrich Chinese culture as well as benefit the producers.

Merkel set to win the polls, boost ties with China

With Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union in Bavaria consistently leading the opinion polls, the German chancellor seems set to win her fourth federal parliamentary election on Sept 24.