Op Rana is a senior editor with China Daily’s opinion department. He has a particular focus on international politics and environmental protection.
Many of people will be unaware of the sacrifices their laboring forefathers made to give us the International Workers' Day and make working life what it is today.
For almost a month now, the world has been besieged with news of the ongoing consequences of the natural disasters in Japan and the man-made crisis in Libya. They deserve our attention, for they will have far-reaching repercussions. But there is something that has not received the attention it deserves.
What did you learn in school today / Dear little boy of mine? / I learned that war is not so bad / I learned of the great ones we have had / We fought in Germany and in France / And some day I might get my chance / That's what I learned in school today / That's what I learned in school.
Nature has time and again reminded humans of their vulnerability and fragile existence, and the physically insignificant place they occupy in the order of things natural. But we turn the blind eye to nature's warnings.
Here comes the latest on China and India. This one's from American financial services company Citi. It says India, thanks to its robust growth, is expected to surpass China - and the United States - by 2050 to become the largest economy in the world. Of course, China is expected to overtake the US to become the largest economy by 2020.
Even a worm will turn. In fact, it had been turning for millions of years before the Bard of Avon recognized it.
The year to which we bid goodbye just hours ago will be remembered for more things bad than good. But let those of us who look forward to the proverbial silver lining in the dark clouds of last year to herald a more rosy beginning to the new be forewarned.
The patchwork deal reached at the climate change conference at the Mayan Riviera of Cancun in Mexico saved the UN negotiating process from collapsing rather than agreeing to take measures to keep the Earth from boiling out of control.
The world media will be focused on Cancun, Mexico, from Nov 29 to Dec 10. It is that time of the year when most of the world leaders appear worried about the fate of planet Earth, while during the rest of the 50 weeks it is mostly business as usual. Not that business as usual ceases for the two weeks.
Asia's economy is the fastest growing in the world. It has led (and is still leading) the world economic recovery. These are undeniable facts.
The world has to increase food production by 50 percent by 2030 and double it by 2050 to meet future demand. This seems to be the consensus among economists, scientists, politicians and representatives of the agricultural industry. But does the world really have to do so?
Asia is home to the half the world's population yet it has the least volume of freshwater of any other continent, except Antarctica if we discount its ice sheets.