The Islamic holy month of Ramadan began on Saturday and with it, followers of the world’s second most popular religion will start their period of fasting and prayer. In keeping with the teachings of the Quran, Muslims across the globe abstain from intercourse, drinking, eating and any kind of activities which are deemed worldly. The world’s Muslims observe Ramadan, their month of spiritual discipline, by fasting, abstinence and prayer during daylight hours.

Whatever the US and the international community have said or done, they have done little to dissuade North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from pursuing deadly weapons of mass destruction, in particular missiles. Since taking power upon the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011, the third-generation tyrant has fired a total of 53 missiles, with nine of them this year. The latest launch was Monday involving a Scud-class ballistic missile capable of striking land- and sea-based targets, according to a

South Korea, which saw 28.7 suicides per 100,000 people in 2014, ranks No. 2 in suicide rate, if compared to European Union counties, data showed Monday. According to a Eurostat survey based on 2014 data, only Lithuania had a higher suicide rate, with 32 suicides per 100,000 people. Latvia, Hungary and Slovenia came in third with 19 suicides, while the UK saw seven; Italia six and Greece the lowest at five. The EU’s average stood at 11. Among countries in the Organization for Economic Developmen

Taiwan becomes 1st in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.Taiwan has become the first Asian country to order its parliament to legalize same-sex marriage. 　Gay and lesbian couples are allowed to marry in only 23 of the world’s nearly 200 countries. More than 70 countries continue to criminalize homosexual activity. South Africa is the only country in Africa to allow them.Globally, the pace of civil rights victories has slowed against the background of a steady stream of reports of anti-gay viole

South Koreans drank a total of 377 cups of coffee per person on average last year, according to government data. Average coffee consumption, based on South Koreans aged over 20, has grown at an annual rate of 7 percent since 2012, according to the report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. The size of the domestic coffee market reached 6.4 trillion won ($5.71 billion) as of 2016, up 30.6 percent from 4.9 trillion won in 2014. Cof

The South Korean government has injected almost 22 trillion won ($19.6 billion) into a massive rivers development project since its launch in 2008, data showed Wednesday.According to government data, 11.85 trillion won, about half of the cost poured into the project, was spent on works on the Nakdong River, the longest river in Korea. About 3.67 trillion won was used on the Han River, while 3.4 trillion won was spent on the Geum River and 3.36 trillion won on the Youngsan River. The money was sp

South Koreans are the second thinnest people among those from other developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The OECD’s annual Obesity Update 2017 report looked at the obesity rate of people aged 15 years and over. Korea ranked 34th out of 35 member countries, with an obesity rate of 5.3 percent, followed by Japan (3.7 percent). The United States has the highest obesity rate at 38.2 percent.In South Korea, there are more obese men than women. Th

Neither Canada nor Japan cracked the top 10 and the United States finished a dismal 35th, according to a much anticipated ranking of health care quality in 195 countries, released Friday.Among nations with more than a million people, top honors for 2015 went to Switzerland, followed by Sweden and Norway, though the health care gold standard remains tiny Andorra, a postage stamp of a country nestled between Spain (No. 8) and France (No. 15).Iceland (No. 2), Australia (No. 6), Finland (No. 7), the

According to Ministry of Strategy and Finance, sales of cigarettes in South Korea rose despite the government‘s push to print graphic health warnings on the outside of packages.About 305 million 20-pack cigarettes were sold in April. Monthly sales had been on a decline in the beginning of the year, with 280 million packs sold in January and 238 million packs in February, as the South Korean government intensified its anti-smoking campaign in late 2016.

The number of foreigners residing in South Korea has been rising at a fast clip over the past decade, with their tax payments increasing more than fourfold, government data showed Tuesday.Foreign residents in the country numbered 1.89 million in 2015, 2.5 times the 747,000 recorded 10 years earlier, according to the data from the Justice Ministry. Income tax payments by foreign residents more than quadrupled to 694.7 billion won ($616.9 million) during the period, according to data from the Nati

Digital currency bitcoin is worth more than an ounce of gold right now. It’s completely digital and it’s the currency of choice for the cyberattackers who crippled computer networks around the world in recent days.When the attackers’ “ransomware” sprang into action, it held victims hostage by encrypting their data and demanding they send payments in bitcoins to regain access to their computers. One bitcoin recently traded for $1,734.65, according to Coinbase, a company that helps users exchange

South Korea will shut down eight of 10 coal-fired power plants aged 30 years or more for the month of June, as part of the new Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to tackle the nation’s worsening air pollution. President Moon ordered the temporary halt of the outdated plants as a step to reduce fine dust.During his campaign, Moon pledged to lower fine dust concentration levels by 30 percent by reducing the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and moving to cleaner energy alternatives.

The completion date for the world‘s tallest tower has been pushed back to 2019, a Saudi Arabian billionaire said, almost six years after launching the record-breaking project.Saudi‘s Jeddah Tower is to rise more than a kilometer, placing it above Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.The world‘s tallest artificial structure is the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The second-tallest self-supporting structure and the tallest tower is the Tokyo Skytree.　

The Defense Ministry has embarked on its review on the military reform plan from President Moon Jae-in, who pledged during the election campaign to shorten the period of conscription from the current 21 months to 18 months.After peaking at 36 months during the Park Chung-hee regime, the military service term -- based on the army -- has continued to reduce over the past few decades. It was 26 months between 1993 and 2003 and 24 months between 2003 and 2010.

President Moon Jae-in spent about 50 billion won ($44.1 million) for Tuesday’s election victory, while two runner-ups – Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Cheol-soo --spent 42 billion won and 46 billion won each in campaign expenses, their respective parties said Wednesday. The legal limit set by the National Election Commission was 50.9 billion won. All three parties -- Moon’s Democratic Party of Korea, Hong’s Liberty Korea Party and Ahn’s People’s Party -- are likely to get much of the money recovered. The