India has the highest number of environmental conflicts in Asia and the world, mainly in the areas of nuclear, water management, biomass and land. On the other hand, Bhutan records no conflicts. 　Despite opposition against coal mining, hydropower projects and waste management plants, India has relentlessly pursued these projects. The country has 271conflicts. 　China is second in Asia in terms of the number of conflicts, which include those related to copper mining, waste incarceration, chemical

　According to a survey, Japan and Australia are the only Asia-Pacific countries that feature among the top 10 best countries in the world.　The ranking of countries is ascribed with measuring factors like entrepreneurship, openness to business, adventure, citizenship and overall quality of life. The rankings evaluated 80 countries across 24 categories drawn from a survey of more than 21,000 global citizens measuring 75 dimensions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment.  　Ja

　South Korea's portside city of Busan has been named the best destination in Asia 2018 by the travel experts at Lonely Planet, who describe the bustling city as a confluence of culture and cuisine. 　For the third edition of LP's "Best in Asia" list, editors rounded up 10 destinations worth visiting over the next 12 months, which span East, South and Western Asia. 　In May, Busan hosted an opening ceremony celebrating its title as East Asia's Culture City 2018, as part of a joint agreement between

　Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Italian champions Juventus from Real Madrid for 100 million euros ($117.34 million).  　The 33-year-old striker secured a second entry in the world’s top 10 largest transfers in history.　Brazil star Neymar became the most expensive player when he moved to PSG from Barcelona last summer for 222 million euros.　Philippe Coutinho and Paul Pogba ranked second and third respectively.

　The Korean soju brand Jinro, owned by Hite Jinro was the world’s best-selling distilled liquor company for a second straight year, according to a market research firm in London.　The IWSR, a provider of market data, said that Hite Jinro sold 75.9 million cases of soju in 2017, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier.　Ruang Khao of Thai Beverage came in second with sales of 31.75 million cases, followed by Indian whiskey maker ADB’s Officer’s Choice with sales of 31.51 million cases.

　South Korea tops Asian countries in terms of smartphone ownership, with 94 percent of its citizens owning smartphones, according to the PEW Research Center. The corresponding figure for China stands at 68 percent and Japan 59 percent.　“Despite the increasing levels of smartphone use, ownership still lags in India, Indonesia and Africa,” said the research center in a report. 　PEW also found that 64 percent of South Koreans are active on social media. China follows closely behind with 60 percent,

　Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Warren Buffett as the world’s third-richest person, further solidifying technology as the most robust creator of wealth　Above Zuckerberg were Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in the No. 1 spot, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.　It’s the first time that the three wealthiest people on the ranking made their fortunes from technology.　Zuckerberg, 34, is now worth $81.6 billion, about $373 million more than Buf

　Among the countries surveyed, South Korea stands out as the most heavily connected society, with 96 percent of adults reporting that they use the internet. 　The Pew Research Center's newest study says that while the gap in internet usage between emerging and advanced economies is narrowing, there are still large swaths of the world where significant numbers of citizens do not use the internet.　South Korea is in the same league as the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, the US, Israel, the United Kingd

　A new study of small arms estimates there are over 1 billion legal and illicit firearms in the world today, including 857 million in civilian hands - with American men and women being the dominant owners.　The report by the Small Arms Survey released Monday says 393 million of the civilian-held firearms - or 46 percent - are in the US That‘s “more than those held by civilians in the other top 25 countries combined.”　The estimate of over 1 billion firearms worldwide in December 2017 also includes

　Chinese banks won top 4 places in The Banker's latest global ranking of the top 1,000 banks this year.　The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China remains No. 1 in terms of tier 1 capital, followed by China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, which together make nearly one third of global profits. 　US banks did well in the ranking, with JPMorgan placing 5th, Bank of America 6th, Wells Fargo 7th and Citigroup 8th.

　Seoul is the world's fifth most expensive city for expatriates, according to an annual cost of living report by consultancy Mercer.　Asia dominates the list, with Hong Kong at the top and Tokyo in second, followed by Singapore in fourth, Shanghai in seventh and Beijing in ninth. Outside of Asia, European and African cities were among the priciest cities for expatriates. Zurich ranked third and Luanda came in sixth.　The survey ranked 209 cities across five continents and compared the cost of more

　The number of people claiming asylum in Germany fell to 222,560 last year, according to European Union figures. The data could provide some relief for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she fights to save her coalition.　The EU's asylum office received 728,470 applications in 2017 compared to 1.3 million applications in 2016. The office also received 108,020 applications from Syria in 2017, a number that had decreased by 68.4 percent from 2016.　Italy, France, Greece and the United Kingdom followed Germ

　The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country grew in May, reflecting the country’s moving season, government data showed.　The number of people who changed their residence rose 3.7 percent in May from a year earlier to 600,000, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.　The population mobility rate - the number of those relocating per 10,000 people - increased on-year by 2.2.　Last year, the figure was the lowest in 43 years due largely to a rise in housing pri

　India is the world’s most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labor, according to a poll of global experts. 　War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women’s issues, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.  　The only Western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual

　Harvard University was ranked best university, followed by Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the Center for World University Rankings.　The list ranks universities based on seven factors, without relying on surveys or university data submissions: quality of teaching, alumni employment, quality of faculty, research output, quality of publications, influence and citations. 　South Korea’s Seoul National University dropped to 60th place, from 23rd. The Unive