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.

Macron presses case for Europe defense

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron pushed on Monday for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense, saying the continent's security shouldn't rely so much on the United States and could even include discussions with Russia.

May visits Africa to forge trade ties for post-Brexit UK

UK's prime minister is visiting Africa for the first time as national leader in a bid to boost trade ties ahead of the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

Iran and Syria sign cooperation deal as summit is scheduled to discuss Idlib

TEHERAN - The defense ministers of Iran and Syria have signed an agreement on military cooperation and reconstruction in the war-torn country, Iranian media reported on Monday.

States act as #MeToo sexual misconduct claims mount

WASHINGTON - As the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct began snaring politicians, state legislatures across the United States vowed to re-examine their policies to prevent harassment and beef up investigations into complaints of sexual wrongdoing.