Brilliance must be respected, but not at the cost of kids

ZHANG YIWEN, a 10-year-old girl from Central China's Henan province, who took the college entrance examination, or gaokao, this year, has been admitted as a formal student to Shangqiu Institute of Technology. Thepaper.cn comments:

Cartoon

DPRK seeks security the wrong way

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea vowed on Wednesday to accelerate its weapons' program in a tit-for-tat reaction to the "evil" sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Monday. The DPRK's response is a step in the wrong direction and will further isolate it from the international community.

Could Iran deal be model for DPRK?

The international community has been struggling to respond to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's steadily expanding nuclear program. US President Donald Trump has oscillated between massive threats to devastate the DPRK and holding out the prospect of talks.

China's rise an opportunity, not threat, for Japan

Editor's Note: This year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. Three scholars share their views on the current state of Beijing-Tokyo ties with China Daily's Cui Shoufeng. Excerpts follow:

Cleaning up kitchen mess for better hygiene

The recent spate of news about low standards of hygiene in hotels didn't come as a surprise to those of us who travel around China regularly. But the news has also exposed that the problem pervades almost all strata of the hospitality industry, as even some five-star hotels in Beijing were found to be sloppy when it comes to maintaining hygiene and sanitation.

European welfare a faded glory

HELSINKI - Europe was once proud of its welfare states, especially those in western and northern countries.

App is back and still puts children at risk

SEOUL - A South Korean child-monitoring smartphone app that was removed from the market in 2015 after it was found to be riddled with security flaws has been reissued under a new name and still puts children at risk, researchers said on Monday.

No sand, no problem: Beach soccer in landlocked Afghanistan

KABUL - At a makeshift beach in landlocked Afghanistan, children as young as eight, wearing baggy Real Madrid and Barcelona shirts with "Ronaldo" and "Messi" printed on the back, joyfully kick and chase the ball.

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.