South Korea confirmed its fifth case of African swine fever on Tuesday, even as 15,000 pigs have been culled since the first case was reported on Sept 17. 　The ASF epidemic has led to millions of pigs being culled since last year in Asia. 　In May, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said pork prices had risen by up to 50 percent both in China and on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a result of the outbreak of ASF which was first detected in Asia in August last year.　Last month, it said

　The number of drug offenders in South Korea has been increasing gradually, data showed. 　According to data obtained from the National Police Agency by Rep. Kim Young-ho for a parliamentary inspection, 40,182 people were arrested for drug offences between 2015 and the first half of this year. 　This consisted of 7,302 arrested in 2015, 8,853 in 2016, 8,887 in 2017, 8,107 last year and 7,033 in the first half of this year. (Yonhap)

　When people think about the inter-Korean DMZ, North Korea comes to mind first, according to a survey. 　Of the 500 South Koreans, 150 Chinese and 150 German respondents, 7.5 percent of respondents replied “North Korea” when asked what first comes to mind in relation to the 4-kilometer-wide area that separates the two Koreas. 　The “truce line” came next with 6.8 percent, followed by “inter-Korean division,” “mines” and “peace.” The surve

　Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group last week attacked two plants at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in a strike that could impact about 5 million barrels per day of crude production - close to half of the kingdom’s output, or 5 percent of global oil supply.    　The Saudis are the world‘s biggest oil exporters, sending more than 7 million barrels of crude to numerous destinations around the globe every day - equal to nearly one-third of exports by t

　South Korean imports of Japanese beer slumped almost to zero last month in the face of a consumer boycott sparked by a bitter trade and historical dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, data showed.　Japanese companies shipped $223,000 worth of beer to South Korea in August, figures from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute showed - down 97 percent from $7.57 million last year.　Before the trade spat Japanese beer had long been South Koreans' favorite alternative to their country’s own

　Drones attacked the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oilfield operated by Saudi Aramco last weekend. 　　Aramco is the biggest energy company in the world. It produces and exports more than 9.5 million barrels of Saudi Arabia’s oil per day to consumers around the world, primarily in Asia. 

　North Korea is the world’s second-most censored country, an international press freedom group said in a recent report, calling Pyongyang’s media a state “mouthpiece.”　Access to the internet is restricted to the political elite, with some schools and state institutions having access to a tightly controlled intranet, according to the report. The African country of Eritrea topped the list. 　The evaluation was based on a number of benchmarks, including the absence of private

　South Korean individuals and corporations held a combined 61.5 trillion won ($51.5 billion) worth of wealth in overseas accounts this year, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the country’s tax agency said.　The National Tax Service said 696 corporate entities held 55.1 trillion won in June, compared with 551 companies with 59.5 trillion won in overseas accounts a year earlier.　The corporations held the largest amount, 14.81 trillion won, in their accounts in Japan, with their accounts i

　South Korea’s capital Seoul has ranked as the world’s ninth safest city, according to a recent report.　Tokyo took the No. 1 spot in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking for the third time running, while Singapore and Osaka maintained their respective footholds in second and third. 　The index ranks 60 cities across five continents, examining digital, health, infrastructure and personal security factors to assess overall urban safety. (Bloomberg)

　Bangkok was the world’s most-visited city in 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, ahead of Paris and London, according to a ranking compiled by Mastercard.　Thailand’s capital hosted more than 22 million international overnight travelers, Mastercard’s latest Global Destination Cities Index shows. 　Seoul ranked No. 11 with 11.25 million visitors.　Rankings are based on the number of overnight visitors. The average Bangkok stay was 4.8 nights. (Bloomberg)

　South Korea’s credit card firms saw their combined earnings fall in the first half, hit by a decline in credit card processing fees, data showed. 　The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card, Samsung Card and KB Kookmin Card, came to 940.5 billion won ($789 million) in the January-June period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.　Earlier this year, the government cut credit card processing fees to

　The proportion of people in South Korea aged 65 years or older could increase sharply amid a rapidly aging population, the country’s statistics agency said.　Statistics Korea forecast that the country’s population is likely to fall to 39 million in 2067, sharply down from 51.7 million in 2019. It said people aged 65 years or older could account for 46.5 percent of the country’s population, which marks a sharp rise from the current 14.9 percent.　In comparison, the world’s

　A state copyright agency found a total of 8,833 YouTube videos so far this year to be illegally copied content that violates copyrights here, marking a sharp rise from last year, data from the agency showed.　The number of pirated videos, detected through Aug. 14, is similar to 8,880 cases found for the whole of last year, according to data that the Korea Copyright Protection Agency submitted to Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the ruling Democratic Party, chairman of the parliamentary committee on science

　More than 2,300 endangered tigers have been killed and illegally trafficked since the turn of the century, according to a recent report, urging more action to protect the giant cats.　With an average of more than 120 illegally trafficked tigers seized each year -- which amounts to over two each week since 2000 -- conservation group Traffic warned there was little sign of respite for the species.   　In 1900, more than 100,000 tigers were estimated to roam the planet. But that fell to a

　Forty-two percent of North Korea’s population is expected to remain food insecure even 10 years later, a recent US Department of Agriculture report said, as the impoverished country grapples with worsening food shortages. 　Referring to North Korea as one of Asia’s “most food-insecure” countries, along with Yemen, the International Food Security Assessment, 2019-2029 by USDA’s Economic Research Service showed an estimated 57.3 percent of North Korea’s populati

What is a Category 5 storm?　Hurricane Dorian has slammed into the northern Bahamas, one of the strongest storms to make landfall in history. It’s also the fifth Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic in the past four years. 　Here are some facts about what makes a Category 5 storm and what to expect as climate change supercharges our weather.What is a Category 5 storm? 　Scientists rank hurricanes from one to five on what is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Categor

　Nearly a quarter of the world’s population lives in 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, close to “day zero” conditions when the taps run dry, according to a recent report.　The World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas ranked water stress, drought risk and riverine flood risk using a peer-reviewed methodology.　Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, UAE, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman a

　The South Korean market for ready-to-eat products increased 14 percent in 2018 on the back of rising demand from single-member households, seniors and others who seek convenience, data showed.　Sales of ready-to-eat meals reached 3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) in 2018, up from 2.6 trillion won posted a year earlier, according to the annual report released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, as more customers sought hassle-free food items. (Yonhap)

　The Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of forest fires this year, according to Brazil’s space research center.　　The official figures show that more than 75,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in 2019 -- the highest number since 2013. That compares with 41,404 in the same period in 2018.　The Group of Seven nations on Monday pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fight raging wildfires in the Amazon and protect its rainforest.　

　The US public’s view of China has plummeted amid a surge in strategic and trade tensions in recent years, the Pew Research Center reported.　The group said 60 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of China, the greatest percentage in the 14 years since the survey began and up from 47 percent a year ago.　But more Americans saw China as a military threat than an economic threat, despite the showdown over trade launched by President Donald Trump after he took office in 2017.　A majorit