Mogherini urges EU to do more on migrant mission

VIENNA - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Thursday urged member states to "take more responsibility" and ensure the bloc's migrant rescue operation continues to fight human trafficking in the Mediterranean.

Bag maker's scrap idea turns rags to riches

VIENTIANE, Laos - Tailors and dress-makers often throw numerous small pieces of fabric in the trash every day. Sometimes, these rags are destroyed by burning them, which creates carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

Company 'ghosts' must be exorcised with deterrents to prevent data theft

HUAZHU, China's largest chain hotel group with more than 3,700 hotels nationwide, recently reported to the Shanghai police that the personal information of its 130 million customers, including their names, identity card numbers, cellphone numbers and boarding details, are being sold online at a price of 320,000 yuan ($46,957). ThePaper.cn comments:

US must cooperate with DPRK to restore peace

Talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States have not progressed as expected after the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12. Relations between the two sides took a different turn recently with Pyongyang accusing Washington of "double-dealing" after Trump abruptly called off Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the DPRK.

China steps up to the plate in global fight against drugs

In a move to counter the sharp increases in the abuse and production of synthetic drugs, the Chinese government has added another 32 new psychoactive substances including 4-chlorophenyl to a national control list, bringing the total number of such substances under strict government control to 170, the Office of the National Narcotics Control Committee said on Wednesday.

Tax changes will ease dependency burden

IN THE SECOND DRAFT of the Personal Income Tax Amendment published on Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, included expenditure on care for the elderly as a deductible item. Beijing News comments:

Mom's bid to falsify birth certificates lays bare anxiety

A WOMAN SURNAMED Jiang in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province, has been detained because she made fake birth certificates for her children, changing their birth months from September and November to August. Gmw.cn comments:

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Confucius Institute victim of US policy shift

Sharing economy, not money diplomacy

Lately, China has been blamed for extending its economic outreach, with some critical voices calling China's foreign investment "money diplomacy". With such a biased view, China's external economic programs are viewed as being "mercantilism" or even "neocolonialism". Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative has also come in for criticism, with claims that it burdens the recipient countries with debt.

US kicks itself in teeth with trade aggression

Although the longer-term trade balances of the United States remain unknown, the July data at least should caution the Donald Trump administration that its hawkish trade policy may be backfiring.

Heed the call of students for safe drinking water, hygienic toilets

The number of children lacking access to safe drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities in schools ranges from 500 million to 900 million across the world, says a joint study by the UN Children's Fund and the World Health Organization. The stark findings in the first ever global assessment of water and sanitation in schools should set alarm bells ringing for authorities and educators.