Singer, makeup entrepreneur, lingerie designer and now the first black woman to head a top luxury fashion house - Rihanna has racked up a $600 million fortune to become the world’s richest female musician, Forbes said.　The 31-year-old - born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Barbados - has amassed wealth exceeding that of Madonna ($570 million), Celine Dion ($450 million) and Beyonce ($400 million), whose husband Jay-Z was just named the world’s first billionaire rap star. (AFP)　

　The combined time spent on the photo and video-sharing platform Instagram by South Korean Android users surged by 73 percent on-year in May, industry data showed.　They spent a total of 26 billion minutes using Instagram last month, compared with 15 billion minutes during the same period a year earlier, according to the data compiled by industry tracker WiseApp.　Instagram was the most favored SNS platform among Android users in their 30s and teens, with users in their 30s spending the longest am

　Voice phishing has turned out to be the biggest reason that people change their resident registration numbers, a government commission in charge of the matter said. 　According to the Interior Ministry’s Resident Registration Number Change Commission, 955 of the total 1,582 applicants have been allowed to change their national ID numbers since the government introduced the measure in May, 2017, to prevent possible harm accruing from ID number leakage. 　Of the reasons for ID number change a

　North Korea, along with China, Syria and other countries, has been rated as the worst in terms of press freedom, a recent report by a US freedom watchdog showed.　US-based Freedom House released the annual report for 2019, titled “Freedom and Media: A Downward Spiral,” in which the North got zero on a scale of zero to four points.　Dozens of other countries also received zero in the report.　Norway had the best score for press freedom, followed by Finland and Sweden. Eritrea, North Kor

　Millions of pigs have been culled as African swine fever cuts through China and beyond, devastating global food chains, with pork prices expected to soar from the food markets of Hong Kong to American dinner tables.　Since its first case in February, Vietnam has culled an estimated 1.7 million pigs - over 6 percent of the total population - and has set up screening stations along some borders.

　Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ryu Hyun-jin is lately showing off outstanding performances in each and every measure. He has capped it off by winning the National League Pitcher of the Month for May.　Ryu is the second Korean, after then-Dodger Park Chan-ho. Park was the NL’s top pitcher in July 1998, when he was 4-0 in six starts with a 1.05 ERA.

　Brazil is the largest coffee producing country in the world, having produced more than 51 million bags of beans in 2017-2018. 　The world’s second largest producer is Vietnam, with production of 29.5 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee. 　Colombia now comes third, followed by Indonesia and Honduras.

　By 2050, China will not only have overtaken the United States, but its economy will be much, much bigger than the US. 　According to a PwC report, its gross domestic product will stand at around $58.5 trillion compared to the US’ $34.1 trillion (on a purchasing power parity basis). 　The Asian giant will account for 20 percent of the world’s economy, higher than India at 15 percent and the US at 12 percent.　In 2050, the global economy will be led by China, with India in second, follow

　The proportion of female workers at South Korea’s 600 leading firms has increased in the past five years, according to a local think tank. 　The Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed the top 600 listed companies in the nonfinancial sector and found that the proportion of female employees out of their overall workforce increased from 23 percent in 2014 to 23.8 percent in 2018. 　Educational service companies as well as wholesale and retail businesses hired more female workers in the pas

　China produces more than 95 percent of the world’s rare earths, and the US relies on China for more than 80 percent of its imports.　In 2018, Beijing increased rare earths mining by 15,000 tons, while the US produced just 15,000 tons in total. China holds 44 million tons of the elements in its reserves, while the US has just 1.4 million tons.　Rare earth elements are used in a wide range of consumer products, such as iPhones, electric car motors, military jet engines, satellites and lasers.

　A traffic jam of climbers in Everest’s “death zone” was blamed for two of four new deaths reported Friday, heightening concerns that the drive for profits is trumping safety on the world’s highest peak.　Nepal has issued a record 381 permits costing $11,000 each for the current spring climbing season, bringing in much-needed money for the Himalayan country.　At least four of the deaths this season - the deadliest since 2015, when massive earthquakes triggered avalanches th

　The number of South Korean companies raising or processing insects for foodstuffs, pets and other purposes grew threefold in 2018 from three years earlier. 　According to data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of such companies here came to 2,318 as of last year, up from 726 in 2015.　The figure increased sharply on-year in 2016 and 2017, after the government officially recognized seven species of insects as food ingredients. The number edged up 8.3 perce

　The Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was awarded Saturday to “Parasite,” a social satire and critical favorite from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. It is the first time a Korean director has received the coveted award in the festival’s 72-year history.　The Cannes Film Festival is an annual event held in France. It previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world. 

　Singapore has the best road infrastructure alongside Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, according to the opinion survey by World Economic Forum.　Road infrastructure is a marker of a country’s development and is significant for safety and satisfaction of the citizens. 　Singapore is ranked at the top in Asia and second globally in terms of road infrastructure in the country. It is followed by Japan and Taiwan which have equally well maintained roads ranked No. 5 and No. 11 respectively. South K

　More than 20 million newborns in 2015 - one in seven - came into the world weighing too little, latest data showed.　Over 90 percent of babies tipping the scale at less than 2.5 kilograms when born were in low - and middle-income countries, researchers reported in Lancet Global Health.　Worldwide, just under 15 percent of 2015 newborns in the 148 countries canvassed had low birthweight, varying between 2.4 percent in Sweden and nearly 28 percent in Bangladesh. 　In sub-Saharan Africa, the number o