Japan has the most open government system in Asia, according to the recently released World Justice Project. The report measures whether a country’s basic laws and information on legal rights are publicly available, presented in simple language and if there is civic participation and complaint mechanisms. It also measures if the processes by which the laws are enacted and administered are accessible, fair, and efficient.　Japan is ranked 20th globally followed by South Korea which is ranked 22nd

World April 12, 2018

　Moroccans ranked as the top nationals who have obtained the nationality of a European country, followed by Albanians and Indians, according to Eurostat data.　A total of 820 people from North Korea acquired citizenship of member countries of the European Union in the 2007-2016 period, with nearly 90 percent of them living in Germany and Britain, the EU‘s statistics office showed in a report.　Most are believed to have defected to and settled in Europe after escaping from North Korea, given that t

World April 11, 2018

　Several million Facebook users in the EU who installed the Cambridge Analytica app and their friends may have been affected by the data leak involving the political consultancy. 　Facebook said last week that as many as 87 million people might have had their data accessed -- an increase from the 50 million disclosed in previous reports. Facebook is basing the estimate in part on the number of friends each user might have had. Cambridge Analytica said in a statement that it had data for only 30 m

World Business April 10, 2018

　Russia lost a bid last week at the global chemical weapons watchdog to launch a joint probe with Britain into the spy poisoning scandal. It has sought to press its case at the highest level, calling for urgent UN Security Council talks.　Founded in 1997, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague oversees the application of the Chemical Weapons Convention aimed at ridding the world of toxic arms.　Chemical weapons, such as mustard gas, were first used on the battl

World April 9, 2018

　Tit-for-tat trade penalties have escalated between the world’s two-largest economies as they inch closer to the brink of a damaging international economic conflict.　The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed 1,300 Chinese items, mainly in the advanced technology and heavy industry sectors, to be hit by US tariffs that will target $50 billion of goods.

World Business April 8, 2018

　Samsung Electronics has overtaken IBM as the holder of the most US patents as of the start of this year, data showed.　The South Korean tech firm held 75,596 US patents, outdoing No. 2 IBM by nearly 1.6 times, as of Jan. 1, according to the top 100 list drawn up jointly by the journal IAM and intellectual property big data analysis company ktMINE.  　IBM, which had ranked top for the past 25 years, held 46,443 patents.　Another South Korean tech firm, LG Electronics, was at seventh place with 28,2

World Business April 5, 2018

　Austrian capital Vienna once again defended its position as the city offering the best quality of life in the world, while Iraqi capital Baghdad remained the worst, in an annual survey from consulting firm Mercer. 　Mercer's survey of 231 cities helps companies and organizations determine compensation and hardship allowances for international staff. Its criteria include political stability, health care, education, crime, recreation and transport. 　Europe has eight of the world’s top 10 most plea

World April 4, 2018

　The number of active Facebook users worldwide rose from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2017. 　Around 1.4 billion users visited the social network daily in the fourth quarter of last year. Facebook was also the most popular social app in terms of users, with around 2 billion monthly users in June last year. YouTube saw 1.5 billion monthly users in the same month, while Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, both owned by Facebook, each had 1.2 billion users in April and February l

World Business April 3, 2018

　According to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, a total of $2.11 billion worth of foreign goods was directly bought by Korean shoppers via overseas internet shopping malls last year. The number of overseas direct purchases soared 35.6 percent a record 23.59 million.　The customs office said the strengthening of the Korean won versus the US dollar and the Japanese yen, combined with massive promotion events, helped fuel South Koreans’ purchases from international shopping sites.

Business April 2, 2018

　According to a survey from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of men who smoke came to 39.3 percent in 2017, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The survey was conducted with 228,381 adults here.　The smoking rate has steadily fallen from 47.8 percent in 2008 to 40.3 percent in 2015, with exceptions in 2009 and 2016, the survey showed.　The smoking rate temporarily moved up to 40.6 percent in 2016 following a huge drop a year earlier due to an increas

Technology April 1, 2018

　Hawaii was the most popular destination for honeymooners last year, trailed by the Thai resort island of Phuket, a travel agency said.　About 18.6 percent of 19,000 honeymooners, who bought group tour programs offered by Hana Tour last year, chose the US resort destination, according to the biggest travel agency in South Korea.　Hana Tour attributed the popularity of Hawaii to the fact newlyweds can enjoy a variety of sightseeing, shopping and aquatic sport options in Honolulu on Oahu and several

National March 29, 2018

　The eye-watering cost of owning a car in space-starved Singapore means the city-state is the world’s most expensive place to live - for a fifth year in a row - according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 survey.　The Asian financial hub - where owning a no-frills sedan can set you back $76,000 - beat global capitals to the dubious title, despite stiff competition from resurgent European cities.　Pricey perennials Tokyo and New York did not even make the top 10 in

World Business March 28, 2018

　Mongolia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines have the highest unemployment rates in Asia. By contrast, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos have posted the lowest unemployment rates.　Mongolia has the highest employment rate in Asia at 7.3 percent. The country has seen a poor labor market with dipping employment. Even during the economic boom from 2010-2014, employment rates only remained steady in the country. 　Pakistan has the second highest unemployment rate in Asia at 5.9 percent. Political unrest i

World Business March 27, 2018

　Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named the world’s best airport at the 2018 World Airport Awards in Sweden, according to London-based research firm Skytrax.　The airport has held the top spot since 2013, making it the first airport to take the title for the sixth consecutive year.　Airports in Asia dominated the top spots, with Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Hong Kong International Airport taking second, third and fourth spots respectively. 　The ranking was b

World March 26, 2018

　According to the World Justice Project, Singapore has the most accessible and affordable civil justice system in Asia while Cambodia has the worst civil justice system in the region. It ranks second-lowest in an index of 113 countries.　Korea was ranked 15th in the world and third in Asia.　The World Justice Project measures the access of people to civil justice system of their countries on the basis of how people perceive their access to the system free of discrimination. It measures the access

World March 25, 2018