Members of the International Whaling Commission have defeated a Japanese proposal to reinstate commercial whaling.　The commission suspended commercial whaling in the 1980s. But Japan argues that stocks have recovered sufficiently for the ban to be lifted. 　Countries that support the ban argue that many populations are still vulnerable and whaling is unacceptable. 　Twenty-seven countries backed Japan’s proposal at the meeting in Florianopolis, Brazil; 41 opposed. 

　Singapore has the fastest 4G network in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by South Korea and Australia.　Singapore is also the fastest 4G, also known as Long Term Evolution, country in the world, according to a report by Open Signal, a UK-based wireless technology company. The report compares 4G performance across 88 countries worldwide.　South Korea has the second-fastest network in Asia, followed by Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Vodafone has jumped ahead of Telstra in the 4G speed me

　A new study finds gun deaths worldwide total about 250,000 yearly. And the United States is among just six countries that make up half of those fatalities.　The findings are from an analysis of global data from 1990 to 2016.　Two-thirds of the gun deaths in 2016 were homicides, although the US is among wealthy countries where suicides by gun outnumber gun killings.　The US had the second-highest suicide rate in 2016, but ranked 20th in overall gun death rates. 　Gun deaths worldwide increased over

　Yanolja was identified as the most popular South Korean accommodation and flight-booking application among Android smartphone users, recent data showed.　According to data compiled by industry tracker WiseApp, around 1.98 million users are estimated to have used the accommodation-booking service in July, up 33 percent from a month prior.　The figure was calculated based on a sample survey of 23,000 Android smartphone users in Korea. It did not include users of other operating systems.　Good Choice

　Thai Airways took the top spot as the best economy-class airline in the world, according to the Skytrax’s annual “Best Airlines in the World” ranking for 2018.　Airlines based in Asia dominated the ranking, taking nine of the top 10 spots.　The UK-based consumer aviation agency’s survey based its ratings on more than 20 million customer satisfaction surveys. 

　George Clooney topped an annual list of the world’s highest-paid actors, mainly due to the sale of his tequila company. 　The 57-year-old earned an estimated $239 million between June 2017 and June 2018, the highest earnings of his 35-year career in film and television, according to Forbes. 　Clooney sold the Casamigos tequila company he co-founded to British spirits company Diageo in June 2017. He has not starred in a Hollywood movie since the 2016 crime thriller “Money Monster.” 　His on-and off

　The number of South Koreans treated for depression last year rose 15.8 percent from five years before, government data showed.　Some 681,000 patients were treated for depression last year, up from 588,000 tallied in 2012, according to the data compiled by the National Health Insurance Service. 　While the number for women grew 12.1 percent from 406,000 to 455,000, the comparable figure for men jumped 24 percent from 182,000 to 226,000, the data showed. 

　New York is no longer home to the biggest number of ultrarich people, as it has been overtaken by the rising tide of wealth in Asia.　Hong Kong has surpassed the Big Apple as the city with the highest population of people worth at least $30 million, according to a new report. 　Research firm Wealth-X found that the number of ultrarich people in the former British colony increased 31 percent last year to reach about 10,000, higher than the nearly 9,000-strong ultrarich population of the US’ larges

　South Korea's fruit imports reached record-high levels last year on the strength of growing demand for greater variety in food choices, customs data showed.　The country imported 834,000 tons of fruit, worth $1.24 billion, last year. In terms of value, last year's figure marks the highest tally ever, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.　In the first seven months of the year, fruit imports stood at $1 billion, also up 7.6 percent from a year earlier.　The popularity of avoc

　South Korea reported 98,391 voice-phishing incidents between 2014 and June of this year, according to data submitted to Rep. Lee Jae-jung by the National Police Agency.　The number of voice-phishing incidents, which had dwindled to 18,549 in 2015 and 17,040 in 2016 from 22,205 in 2014, soared to 24,259 last year.　In the January-June period of this year, victims throughout the country reported 16,338 such incidents and 179.60 billion won in resulting damages - on-year increases of 53.7 percent an

　Rice paddies in South Korea declined 2.2 percent this year compared to last year, as farmers opted to grow other crops, according to data.　Data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that the rice cultivation area nationwide stood at 737,000 hectares this year, compared to 754,000 hectares in 2017.　The government has been encouraging farmers to cultivate other crops instead of rice as part of efforts to deal with a chronic supply glut.　The country has been suffering from an oversupply of rice for

　The number of student victims of school violence in Seoul increased 24.5 percent from a year earlier to 11,425 this year, according to a survey. 　More than 92 percent of 700,343 students, ranging from fourth graders to high schoolers, took part in the online survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in May.　It found that 1.8 percent of the respondents experienced school violence between the second semester of last year and May this year, up 0.5 percentage point from a year

　About 94 percent of Korean adults have used YouTube directly or indirectly via other routes, a survey showed.　A media research center of the Korea Press Foundation canvassed online 1,218 adults across the country from Aug. 20-24, and 77.8 percent, or 948, of the respondents answered they are YouTube users.　But 74.1 percent of the 270 respondents who identified themselves as non-users said they have experienced using the global video streaming site through other Internet sites, social media or m

　Vietnam's city of Danang was the most popular summer vacation destination among Koreans this year, a shift from last year's preference for cities in Japan, according to an online shopping mall.　Flight ticket sales in the July-August period showed Danang as the top foreign travel location, TMON said, up three places from last year. The cost of traveling in the city is relatively cheap at about 100,000 won ($90.33) per day. 　TMON said its sales data showed a growing preference for places that off