Trump again disregards international consensus

Despite the calls of the overwhelming majority of the international community for the United States to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will withdraw the US from the pact and reimpose sanctions against Teheran. His decision is not only a blow to the agreement itself, it also renounces the multilateral efforts that secured the compact.

Three neighbors give added impetus to regional progress

Although ties have been strained in recent times by their territorial and historical disputes, leaders of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea struck a more harmonious note in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Universities' budget rankings not an indicator of how good they are

FOLLOWING THE REQUIREMENT of the Education Ministry, 75 universities directly under its administration have disclosed their budgets for this year. Beijing-based Tsinghua University tops the list with an annual budget of 26.95 billion yuan ($4.23 billion), 10 billion yuan more than Zhejiang University (15.47 billion yuan), which ranks second on the list. China Education Daily comments:

Dating sites offer easy pickings for scammers

REPORTEDLY, it only costs 30 yuan ($4.71) to buy everything you need to register with someone else's identity for use on matchmaking websites. People's Daily commented on Wednesday:

Age rating cartoons could stop copycat acts by youngsters

ON APRIL 15, a 6-year-old girl jumped off the sixth floor of a building with an umbrella in hand in Wuhu city, East China's Anhui province. Fortunately, she was only lightly injured. Procuratorate Daily comments:

Cartoon

Xi's thought a development of Marxism

At a conference to mark the 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 4, President Xi Jinping said Marx's theories shine with the brilliance of truth even after the profound changes in human society. The most valuable and influential asset that Marx has left us with is Marxism, which "illuminated the path of humanity's exploration of the law of history, and humanity's search for their own liberation".

Many lessons learnt from Wenchuan quake

Editor's note: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Wenchuan and other areas in Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. Among other things, the Wenchuan earthquake taught China to take more precautionary measures to deal with natural disasters. In fact, the country has made remarkable progress in this regard over the past decade. Three experts share their views with China Daily's Yao Yuxin on the earthquake and its aftermath. Excerpts follow:

US leaving Iran nuclear deal a reckless act

US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday and reimposed sanctions on Teheran. Trump's unilateral action and some other developments suggest the Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and signed by the Barack Obama administration in 2015, has been all but scrapped. The deal's future became uncertain also because the seven countries (Iran and the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) that signed it had become increasingly divided.

More women taking part in economy means higher returns

There is a lucrative charm in advancing women's equality: countries in the Asia-Pacific region could add $4.5 trillion to their combined annual GDP by 2025, a 12 percent increase over the business-as-usual trajectory. In particular, China's economy could increase by $2.6 trillion - 13 percent above the business-as-usual course - if it pursues gender parity, according to a McKinsey research report issued last month.

Xi's meeting with Kim boosts peace process

There is no reason to doubt the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's sincerity in wanting to put an end to the long-standing hostility that has made it feel continually threatened. That enmity really should have been consigned to history a long time ago. However, past detentes were aborted due to perceptions on both sides that commitments were not being honored.

Negotiating in good faith can stop trade war shots

That China and the United States are to have more trade talks is welcome news. That the two sides are to continue their discussions in Washington next week suggests they believe they can bridge their differences. And it is to be hoped that proves to be the case.