Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year running, in an annual UN-sponsored index that ranked Afghanistan as the unhappiest, closely followed by Lebanon. The latest list was completed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The World Happiness Report, now in its 10th year, is based on people’s own assessment of their happiness, as well as economic and social dat...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn positive ratings from Americans for his handling of international affairs after Russia invaded his country last month, according to a survey released March 30. The Pew Research Center poll found that 72 percent of Americans have “a lot” or “some” confidence in Zelenskyy, higher than any other world leader included in the survey, while only 6 pe...

Many Americans have taken significant steps back from once-routine coronavirus precautions, with less than half now saying they regularly wear face masks, avoid crowds and skip nonessential travel. Americans are letting down their guard even as experts warn a new wave of COVID-19 cases is coming. A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows fewer people ta...

The proportion of US adults identifying as LGBT has increased to a high of 7.1 percent, double the figure from 2012 when Gallup first started measuring it, reflecting a generational shift, the polling firm said. Gallup asks Americans whether they personally identified as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, as part of the demographic information it ...

US President Joe Biden’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency over concern for his handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising inflation, an NBC poll found. Just 40 percent of those who responded to the survey said they approved of Biden’s job performance overall, the poll results show. His job approval rating has gradually fallen since April 2021 when 5...

PARIS (AFP) -- Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time, warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs. The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil and food chain. A Dutch study published in the...

MOSCOW (AFP) -- President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Russia will only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries", which include all EU members, after Moscow was hit by unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine. "I have decided to implement a set of measures to transfer payment for our gas supplies to unfriendly countries into Russian rubles," Putin said during a televis...

The world has changed overnight with the war in Ukraine. As European nations and the US are expected to make respective gigantic shifts in re-armaments and foreign policies –- Asian countries are on high alert to assess the situation and interpret what these mean to them. The Korea Herald has co-organized a webinar with some of the members of the Asia News Network on the topic of “Europe’s Geopo...

From waking up to sirens, to their 3 day escape from Ukraine, Olha and Tetiana share their heartbreaking journey of leaving their husbands and how they are supporting their country from Poland as refugees.

Fremont, California, is the happiest city in the United States, according to a new survey from WalletHub based on some 30 key indicators for happiness, ranging from depression rates to income growth and average use of leisure time each day. WalletHub said the coronavirus pandemic has left one-third of US residents so stressed that it‘s difficult to make basic decisions. WalletHub said it dep...

South Korea ranked fifth in terms of global vehicle production last year, retaining the spot for the second consecutive year, amid efforts to minimize the fallout from the pandemic-caused global chip shortage, a report showed. The combined vehicle output by South Korean carmakers, including Hyundai Motor and Kia, reached 3.46 million units as of end-2021, down 1.3 percent from the previous yea...

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will ask Congress for $2.6 billion for foreign aid programs that promote gender equality worldwide, more than double the size of last year's request. Biden announced his intentions on International Women's Day, which is set aside to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. Biden created the first-ever...

China is considering buying or increasing stakes in Russian energy and commodities companies, such as gas giant Gazprom PJSC and aluminum producer United Co. Rusal International PJSC, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing is in talks with its state-owned firms, including China National Petroleum Corp., China Petrochemical Corp., Aluminum Corp. of China and China Minmetals Corp., ...

Google agreed to acquire cybersecurity company Mandiant Inc. for $5.4 billion, its second-biggest deal ever. With Mandiant, Alphabet Inc.’s Google gets more tools to protect its cloud clients by responding quickly to online threats. The company is working to recruit and support cloud customers amid stiff competition from Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Google will purchase Mandiant for $23 ...

Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine. The company said in a statement that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas a...