The number of multicultural students in South Korea has risen by more than tenfold in the past decade, data showed Sunday.According to data from the Ministry of Education, 99,186 multicultural children are currently studying at elementary, middle and high schools in the country, accounting for 1.68 percent of the overall student population.In 2006, there were 9,389 multicultural students who accounted for 0.12 percent of the total.Of the multicultural students, 24.2 percent had a Vietnamese pare

The world‘s population grew slightly to 7.4 billion in 2016, the UN said, with a substantial youth bulge challenging political and social systems across the planet.The United Nations Population Fund released its 2016 State of the World Population report Thursday in Amman, Jordan. Daniel Baker, regional humanitarian coordinator and head of the fund’s Jordan country office, highlighted the potential fallout -- and gains -- to be had by overcoming the world‘s clear gender inequality in the half of

A record number of migrants reached Italy by boat from North Africa in 2016, according to official data, as pressure on Italy’s shelter and asylum systems grows. Italy has borne the brunt of the arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece. As of Monday, 171,000 migrants had reached Italy’s shores by boat, the Interior Ministry said, compared to the previous record of 170,100 for all of 2014.

Ten- and 14-year-old students in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan outperformed their counterparts in other countries in mathematics, according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2015, which compares the mathematics and science abilities of 10- and 14-year-old students. The East Asian countries also proved strong in science education, but the results were varied.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has cut its 2017 growth forecast for the South Korean economy to 2.6 percent from an earlier projection of 3 percent, citing slower government spending next year.In its latest global economic outlook, the OECD said Asia’s fourth-largest economy would slightly recover its growth momentum in 2018 with 3 percent growth. The global economy is expected to attain 3.3 percent growth in 2017 and 3.6 percent growth in 2018.OECD’s 2017 growth proje

Despite the government’s stepped up quarantine measures to contain the outbreak of bird flu, a highly pathogenic aviation influenza virus appeared to be spreading rapidly throughout the nation.Following new reported cases in Yangju in Gyeonggi Province and Sejong in South Chungcheong Province over the weekend, some 200 chickens were found dead on Monday morning in Eumseong, South Chungcheong Province, quarantine authories said.So far, a total of 15 poultry farms were confirmed with AI cases, whi

The number of HIV patients receiving anti-retroviral medicine has doubled in five years, the UN said.A new report by UNAIDS said it was on course to hit a target of 30 million people on ARV treatment by 2020.In just the last two years the number of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy has increased by about a third, reaching 17.0 million people -- 2 million more than the 15 million by 2015 target set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011. Since the first global treatment tar

Under the General Security of Military Information Agreement that came into effect Wednesday, South Korea and Japan are to share military information classified as second-degree or less.

Terrorism deaths fell last year thanks to a weakening of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Boko Haram in Nigeria, but both groups expanded their geographic reach, a new index revealed Wednesday.Some 29,376 people died from terrorism in 2015, down 3,389 on the previous year and the first fall since 2010, according to the Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace.The Global Terrorism Index is a study that accounts for the direct and indirect impact of terrorism in

Only two in 10 employees in management positions at South Korean companies are women, highlighting the continued gender disparity at work, government data released Monday showed. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, women account for 37.79 percent of the total workforce in the country, with 20.9 percent of management posts being held by women at the 2,040 state-run and private firms that were surveyed. Firms with more than 1,000 staff members had a higher level of female managers,

China is the largest gold-producing country in the world, with 91 percent of gold in Asia produced by six countries.China became the top producer of gold in 2012. The production rose from 12 tons in 2004 to 397 tons in 2013. In 2015, according to GFMS Gold Survey 2016, China produced 458.1 metric tons of gold. The survey says China recorded a 14 percent on-year gain to reach the record high. China is followed by Indonesia. The archipelago in Southeast Asia, according to GFMS Gold Survey 2016, pr

The quality of life for South Koreans ranks 47th in the world, as the country’s economic conditions are undercut by long working hours and unemployment, a local report said Friday.The annual report from the Institute for International Trade, a research arm of the Korea International Trade Association, said South Korea scored 4.95 on a scale of 1 to 10 in quality of life in 2015. The score placed South Korea 47th, down seven notches from the previous year. IIT releases the report annually based o

Though the US maintains an edge in global military force, it continues to face threats from not only member states of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, like China and Russi, but also non-members such as North Korea which is developing its own arsenal. In its latest index of US military strength, the Heritage Foundation assessed threats to US interests.While Russia and China remain “most worrisome” given their ongoing modernization of their respective arsenals and defiant beh

The number of convenience stores nationwide surpassed 30,000 as of the end of last month, with their offerings becoming more diversified to include prepackaged meals, brewed coffee as well as financial and delivery services.There are currently 10,634 CU branches, followed by GS25 with 10,486, 7-Eleven with 8,486, Ministop with 2,326 and Withme, operated by Shinsegae, with 1,615.Convenience stores have been seeing soaring popularity in line with the rise of one-person households and the aging pop

The number of people in South Korea with multicultural backgrounds has more than tripled in the past decade to reach 1.71 million as of November 2015, latest government data showed Tuesday. This marks 3.4 percent of the county’s total population of 51 million. The multicultural population has risen steadily, moving from 540,000 in 2006, to 1.57 million in 2014 and 1.71 million last year. The tally includes foreign nationals, naturalized Koreans as well as their children. Fifty-seven municipaliti