A heat wave in South Korea had killed at least 27 people, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday.　A total 2,042 people were medically treated for heatstroke and other heat-related symptoms from May 20 to July 28, government officials said.　Sixty percent of patients were older than 50, however those 20-40 have also been at risk of illness as the record heat wave continues.

Almost 3 in 5 people infected with HIV, or 21.7 million globally, took antiretroviral therapy in 2017 -- a new record for anti-AIDS drug access, the UN‘s AIDS agency said last week.There were 36.9 million people living with the immune system-attacking virus in 2017, of whom 15.2 million were not getting the drugs they need -- the lowest number since the epidemic exploded, UNAIDS reported. (AFP)

　Samsung Electronics placed 12th on the list of the top 500 global companies, US business magazine Fortune showed, marking the highest standing ever posted by the tech giant.　The Korean tech giant first entered Fortune's top 500 list by ranking No. 221 in 1995. Since then, Samsung has gradually expanded its presence around the globe, reaching No. 15 last year. 　Samsung was the only Korean company that made the top 20, Fortune showed. The company's archrival, Apple, placed 11th.　Fortune said whil

　Google was hit with a record-breaking 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine, topping the 2.4 billion euros it was ordered to pay in another case last year.　EU antitrust regulators accused the company of abusing the dominance of its Android smartphone operating system by blocking rivals.　Qualcomm was also fined 997 million euros this year after the European Commission said it breached EU rules by paying Apple to use only its chips in iPhones, in an effort to block rivals such as Intel.

　Singapore Airlines was named the best carrier in the world, according to SkyTrax, which surveys more than 20 million fliers every year. It was also named the best in first-class.　This is the fourth time the Asian company has won the honors since the annual award was established in 1999.　East and Southeast Asian carriers dominated the list with seven among the world's top 10 airlines this year, including All Nippon Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways. Gulf-based Qatar Airways and Emirates took th

　 The South Korean central bank spent 32.4 billion won to replace the damaged banknotes over the first half of 2018, up from 31.2 billion won recorded six months earlier.　 That news comes despite both the volume and face value of damaged banknotes falling slightly over the same period, the central bank said.　 In the January-June period, the face value of damaged banknotes discarded by the Bank of Korea came to 2.02 trillion won ($1.79 billion), down 1.9 percent, or 40.2 billion won, from the sec

　American boxer Floyd Mayweather was named the world’s highest-paid entertainer on a list that saw actor George Clooney take the No. 2 spot with the highest annual pay of his career.　Reality star Kylie Jenner, 20, came in third on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list, largely thanks to her booming cosmetics line that Forbes said put her on track to become the youngest self-made billionaire in the United States.　Forbes compiled its 2018 list estimating pretax earnings from June 2017-June 2018, be

　Sales of cigarettes in Korea declined 1.6 percent in the first six months of the year compared to a year earlier, due to a government-led anti-smoking campaign and higher prices, data showed.　Korean smokers purchased 1.68 billion 20-cigarette packs in the first half of the year, compared with the previous year’s 1.71 billion packs, according to data compiled by the Finance Ministry.　Starting in January 2015, Korea increased the price of cigarettes by 80 percent, from 2,500 won ($2.20) per pack

　India has the highest number of environmental conflicts in Asia and the world, mainly in the areas of nuclear, water management, biomass and land. On the other hand, Bhutan records no conflicts. 　Despite opposition against coal mining, hydropower projects and waste management plants, India has relentlessly pursued these projects. The country has 271conflicts. 　China is second in Asia in terms of the number of conflicts, which include those related to copper mining, waste incarceration, chemical

　According to a survey, Japan and Australia are the only Asia-Pacific countries that feature among the top 10 best countries in the world.　The ranking of countries is ascribed with measuring factors like entrepreneurship, openness to business, adventure, citizenship and overall quality of life. The rankings evaluated 80 countries across 24 categories drawn from a survey of more than 21,000 global citizens measuring 75 dimensions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment.  　Ja

　South Korea's portside city of Busan has been named the best destination in Asia 2018 by the travel experts at Lonely Planet, who describe the bustling city as a confluence of culture and cuisine. 　For the third edition of LP's "Best in Asia" list, editors rounded up 10 destinations worth visiting over the next 12 months, which span East, South and Western Asia. 　In May, Busan hosted an opening ceremony celebrating its title as East Asia's Culture City 2018, as part of a joint agreement between

　Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Italian champions Juventus from Real Madrid for 100 million euros ($117.34 million).  　The 33-year-old striker secured a second entry in the world’s top 10 largest transfers in history.　Brazil star Neymar became the most expensive player when he moved to PSG from Barcelona last summer for 222 million euros.　Philippe Coutinho and Paul Pogba ranked second and third respectively.

　The Korean soju brand Jinro, owned by Hite Jinro was the world’s best-selling distilled liquor company for a second straight year, according to a market research firm in London.　The IWSR, a provider of market data, said that Hite Jinro sold 75.9 million cases of soju in 2017, up 0.8 percent from a year earlier.　Ruang Khao of Thai Beverage came in second with sales of 31.75 million cases, followed by Indian whiskey maker ADB’s Officer’s Choice with sales of 31.51 million cases.

　South Korea tops Asian countries in terms of smartphone ownership, with 94 percent of its citizens owning smartphones, according to the PEW Research Center. The corresponding figure for China stands at 68 percent and Japan 59 percent.　“Despite the increasing levels of smartphone use, ownership still lags in India, Indonesia and Africa,” said the research center in a report. 　PEW also found that 64 percent of South Koreans are active on social media. China follows closely behind with 60 percent,

　Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Warren Buffett as the world’s third-richest person, further solidifying technology as the most robust creator of wealth　Above Zuckerberg were Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in the No. 1 spot, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.　It’s the first time that the three wealthiest people on the ranking made their fortunes from technology.　Zuckerberg, 34, is now worth $81.6 billion, about $373 million more than Buf

　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