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

　The US received more requests for asylum than any other developed nation in 2017, overtaking Germany, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 　Requests for asylum went up 26 percent in the US to reach 330,000 last year, the OECD said in its annual International Migration Outlook.　Meanwhile, Germany, which had topped the ranking since 2013, saw a 73 percent drop in applications to 198,000, as the massive influx to Europe has slowed, the report said.　Last year, Sou

　Cashless payments are rapidly becoming more commonplace, raising hopes for innovations linked to various new services. Japan, however, has fallen behind the cashless wave that is sweeping the world. 　In stark contrast to South Korea and China, where cashless payment rates were nearly 90 percent for South Korea in 2015 and 60 percent in China, Japan’s rate was less than 20 percent.

　Three South Korean vehicle brands, all belonging to Hyundai Motor Group, surpassed their Japanese and German rivals in a United States quality ranking. 　Hyundai luxury brand Genesis, Kia and Hyundai ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the J.D. Power 2018 US Initial Quality Study, for the fewest glitches and design flaws per 100 new vehicles. 　J.D. Power said Genesis ranked highest in overall initial quality with a score of 68 problems per 100 cars. Kia (72) ranked second and Hyunda

　The number of seniors being abused has increased in recent years, with most perpetrators being their own family members, a government report showed.　According to the annual report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 4,622 cases of abuse carried out against seniors in 2017, up 8 percent from a year earlier. The findings showed that most of the assaults were committed at home.　The number has steadily increased from 3,502 in 2013, 3,532 in 2014, 3,818 in 2015 to 4,280 in 2016, the mi

　The number of people killed in bicycle accidents here last year rose 11.5 percent from a year ago, apparently due to an increasing number of elderly cyclists and riders not wearing protective gear.　From 2013 to 2017, the number of accidents involving bicycles came to 28,739, while 540 bicycle riders died in accidents and 30,357 others sustained injuries. The number jumped from 4,249 in 2013 to 6,920 in 2015, then dropped to 5,659 in 2017.　However, the number of bicycle accident deaths decreased

　Sales of books on North Korea so far this year have jumped by nearly 700 percent from the previous year, possibly as a result of the North’s dialogue with Seoul and Washington, according to Yes 24, a leading online bookstore. 　The company said it sold 29,950 books on North Korea between Jan. 1 and June 10 this year. Sales picked up in May, totaling 22,620, or 75.5 percent of overall sales of North Korea-related books this year.　The number of books on the subject published this year increased to

　Here is a look at the top soccer players in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.