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What makes a country “polite”—and which ones stand out globally?

A new survey of over 4,600 respondents by Remitly reveals a clear frontrunner.

Japan alone captured more than 35% of all votes, far ahead of every other country on the list.

As Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen shows in the chart below, the ranking highlights how perceptions of politeness vary worldwide, while also revealing strong regional patterns across Europe and Asia.

Perceptions of politeness can shape everything from tourism experiences to international business relationships.

For travelers, these rankings often influence expectations around etiquette, hospitality, and day-to-day interactions abroad.

Japan: The World’s Clear Favorite

Japan stands far ahead of every other country, capturing 35.2% of all votes—nearly three times more than second-place Canada. No other country breaks even 15%, underscoring just how dominant Japan’s reputation is globally.

Japanese culture is famous for its high emphasis on respect, etiquette, and social harmony. The country’s blend of tradition and recognizable cultural exports has helped it become well-regarded nearly everywhere.

Certain traits associated with local culture no doubt contribute to the Japanese people’s reputation of politeness, including the value placed on cleanliness and punctuality.

Beyond this, citizens of other countries may be surprised when encountering Japanese bowing, a way of conveying respect, as well as other unique elements such as relative silence on public transit within the country.

Canada’s High Respect Premium

Canada ranks second with 13.4% of the vote—less than half of Japan’s total, highlighting the gap between first place and the rest of the field.

The sprawling North American country has been deemed the most respected country worldwide by one measure, while Canadians have long been known as some of the friendliest people on the globe.

Canada’s hospitality and civility has boosted the country’s reputation for politeness, both in dealings with each other and with people from other countries. This has been reinforced in some corners by the country’s relative contrasts with its southern neighbor, the United States, which obtained just over a tenth of the share of votes (1.6%) of Canada.

Europe’s High Prevalence of Politeness

After Canada, the United Kingdom ranks third at 6.2%, leading a strong European showing. In total, European countries make up more than half of the top 25—suggesting that politeness, as perceived globally, is strongly associated with the region.

Northern Europeans appear to fare better than their peers across the Old Continent, with the UK joined in the top 10 by Germany (2.8%) and Nordic countries like Sweden (2.3%), Denmark (2.1%), and Finland (1.9%).

In contrast, Asian countries nabbed a fifth of the spots on the list, while Africa was home to only one country in the top 25: South Africa, which at 1.8% of all votes cast landed at the 10th position worldwide.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Best Countries For Culture & Heritage, As Determined by the People on Voronoi.

Authored by Luis Cornelio via HeadlineUSA,

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies spent weeks boasting that his book, Young Man in a Hurry, became a “best-seller” within hours of its March release. However, a new report found those sales were largely driven by Newsom’s own super PAC using donor funds.

The book, published March 10 and centered on Newsom’s upbringing in California, has reportedly sold 97,400 copies since its release. Of those, 67,000 were purchased by Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy Committee through a donation-for-book scheme,

The leftist New York Times reported Friday that the PAC urged supporters to make donations in exchange for a copy of the book, effectively turning each contribution into a guaranteed sale.

Critics described the setup as a potential money-laundering scheme, with the super PAC purchasing copies from its publisher Porchlight Book Company for every donation, regardless of the amount.

“Make a contribution of ANY AMOUNT today and I will send you a copy,” Newsom reportedly wrote in an email pitch.

In total, Newsom’s PAC spent $1,561,875 on the effort.

This might not be the book people expected me to write.

It's about something universal — the messiness of becoming who we are.

Young Man in a Hurry is out February 2026.

Pre-order it here: https://t.co/WMGKrREIre pic.twitter.com/OtB0MlcFSf

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) December 9, 2025

Defending the arrangement, Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click said the governor did not receive royalties from those purchases.

“Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for Governor Newsom’s work. And as it turns out, the tactic more than paid for itself,” Click claimed.

Critics questioned the ethics of the program, with some suggesting it may have influenced Porchlight Book Company’s advance for Newsom’s 2026 book.

It remains unclear how much Newsom received as part of that advance. In 2019, however, he was paid $125,000 by Penguin Random House for Ben and Emma’s Big Hit, a children’s book.

A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to Headline USA’s request for comment regarding the advance for his latest book.

Steve Hilton’s on it! This is basically money laundering. Newsom writes a book, his PAC uses campaign donations to buy his books. He makes money on the royalties he gets back. His book sales are artificially inflated making him look more legitimate on the presidential stage. So,… https://t.co/iswaAlFo8a

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) April 17, 2026

Andreessen Horowitz's a16z New Media published the most popular charts of the week on financial markets, but the most revealing one came at the end of the note: a comparison suggesting that New York City's first grocery store, which will soon be run by unhinged socialists, will be structurally less efficient than private-sector supermarkets. 

But who cares when it's not taxpayer monies?

According to the New York Post, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposed city-owned grocery store in East Harlem would require roughly $30 million in taxpayer funding.

At just 9,000 square feet, the project implies a construction cost of about $3,000 per square foot - an exceptionally and alarmingly high number by grocery industry standards. 

From an economic standpoint, the "Mamdani Mart" underscores a familiar pattern: state-directed supermarkets often fail to achieve the cost discipline, operational efficiency, and scale seen in private-sector chains.

This story has played out time and again in the U.S., as unhinged left-wingers have experimented with socialism:

• "There's No Nothing": Empty Shelves, Rotten Odors Plague Gov't-Funded Supermarket In Missouri

The end result is Cuba.

When taxpayer-funded stores fail, socialists will never blame themselves but will merely say they didn't experiment hard enough.

Related:

• Is There A "Cuba Connection" Behind The Radicalization Of America's Nonprofit Left

Socialism is inherently parasitic, abusing productive taxpayers to subsidize left-wing experiments. It always tend to fail. Let's not forget CNBC's Sara Eisen blasted the far-left mayor after he filmed a promotional video touting a proposed new tax on luxury properties.

Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act (NEIDA) on April 14th, presenting what could be one of the most significant regulatory shifts for U.S. nuclear power in decades. 

The legislation would expand the DOE’s authority to license and regulate commercial reactors and fuel-cycle facilities when sited on federal land or built for federal purposes, including electricity supplied to federal power marketing agencies. 

The United States should lead the nuclear energy renaissance, not watch it from the sidelines.

My Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act with @SenMcCormickPA will help power America’s future. https://t.co/X8mOPRlMIT

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) April 14, 2026

It would also create a permanent Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program to streamline demonstration projects on DOE and National Lab sites, with a built-in path to commercial operations under DOE oversight rather than the traditional NRC bottleneck.

Under current rules, even projects on federal property like Idaho National Laboratory (INL) typically require full NRC licensing if they want to be used for commercial purposes. NEIDA flips that script. Commercial reactors and related fuel facilities on qualifying federal sites could operate under DOE authority, complete with Price-Anderson liability protections. 

The bill also repurposes surplus plutonium as reactor fuel through a milestone-driven program, turning a liability into domestic supply while federal power marketing administrations gain explicit authority to purchase and transmit nuclear-generated electricity.

The centerpiece is the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, which would designate secure federal zones (primarily on DOE and National Lab land) for private companies to test and demonstrate advanced nuclear technologies. Private entities pay the bill, but gain infrastructure support and regulatory certainty. After demonstration, projects could transition seamlessly to commercial operation under DOE licensing. 

As we have covered in recent reporting on surging nuclear interest, this framework directly addresses the “valley of death” between pilot and full deployment that has stalled U.S. progress while China and Russia build out capacity at pace.

Take Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse already under construction at INL. The company received DOE approval for its Nuclear Safety Design Agreement (NSDA) in March 2026 under the existing Reactor Pilot Program. If NEIDA made that pathway permanent and explicit, Oklo could complete testing and iteration under DOE oversight, then secure a commercial operations license directly from the agency without restarting with the NRC. The shift would provide exactly the certainty developers have long sought.

The bill could also create a natural bridge to the Genesis Mission, DOE’s flagship AI and energy-dominance initiative. Genesis is already pushing co-location of data centers on federal land with advanced nuclear power to meet exploding AI-driven power demand. Under NEIDA, reactors licensed and operated by DOE on those same sites could enter straightforward commercial offtake agreements to supply Genesis-linked data centers. 

The Launch Pad’s streamlined DOE process, combined with existing experience, could compress timelines dramatically. Consider an AP1000 reactor announced for a federal site: from initial filing to full commercial license, the bill’s framework suggests a matter of months rather than the multi-year NRC odyssey that has become standard. 

If enacted, NEIDA does not overhaul the entire NRC system. It would simply carve out a fast lane on federal real estate. In an era of record electricity demand from AI and manufacturing, that lane may prove decisive.

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

The Trump administration renewed a key sanctions waiver on April 17, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea, responding to urgent pressure from Asian nations battered by skyrocketing energy costs.

The move also reverses a position Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had stated two days earlier.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 134B on Friday, authorizing transactions tied to Russian crude and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of that date. 

The waiver runs through May 16 and replaces a previous license that expired on April 11.

The move comes after Bessent told reporters on Wednesday the administration would not extend the earlier waiver, signaling what appeared to be a firmer stance on Russian energy exports. 

“As negotiations [with Iran] accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a Treasury spokesperson said.

The Russia-related license waiver excludes transactions to Iran, Cuba, and North Korea.

Global oil prices tumbled 9 percent on Friday to about $90 a barrel after Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point in the Gulf.

Trump also discussed oil on a call on Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a major purchaser of Russian crude.

The ongoing war in Iran has cost New Delhi access to approximately 3 million barrels per day that previously transited the Strait of Hormuz.

The war, which enters its eighth week on Saturday, has damaged more than 80 oil and gas facilities in the Middle East, and Tehran has warned it could close the strait again if the recent U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports continues. 

Just before Friday’s reversal, the Treasury had declared it was moving aggressively to maintain “maximum pressure” on Iran under its “Economic Fury” campaign, and would not renew a separate waiver on Iranian oil sales.

The juxtaposition of tightening Iranian sanctions while loosening Russian oil relief underscores the competing pressures bearing on the administration’s energy policy.

Friday’s decision follows a series of energy-related policy adjustments Washington has made since U.S.–Israeli military operations against Iran began in late February.

On March 6, Bessent said the United States may consider easing sanctions on more Russian oil after granting India a 30-day waiver to purchase Russian crude. 

Days later, on March 9, Trump said Washington would waive oil-related sanctions on some countries.

“We’re looking to keep the oil prices down,” he said during a press conference in Miami, adding that prices had risen artificially due to the conflict.

On March 18, the Treasury eased sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company, allowing U.S. companies to do business with the firm amid tightening oil supplies during the Iran war. The following day, Bessent said the United States may lift sanctions on Iranian oil currently in transit to bolster supply and stabilize energy prices. An Iranian oil waiver, issued March 20, ultimately allowed some 140 million barrels to reach global markets.

India has summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi in a rare moment of inter-BRICS discord after its tanker was attacked earlier Saturday while trying to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed once again.

"During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary conveyed India's deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement from India said. The full statement, which is still somewhat tame in its rhetoric in light of the fact that what the Indian vessel thought was an "approved" transit came under direct attack:

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reports that a tanker was "approached by 2 IRGC gunboats, with no VHF challenge, and then fired upon."

The official Indian government statement continues: "He noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India."

It adds, "Reiterating his concern at this serious incident of firing on merchant ships,  the Foreign Secretary urged the Ambassador to convey India's views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait."

The ship has since been identified as the SANMAR HERALD:

It is likely that the tanker in involved is the Indian-flagged VLCC Sanmar Herald (IMO 9330563) which as changed its name to INDIANSHIPINDIANCREW on AIS. In a recording of a purported VHF radio message circulating in the industry a crew member says it is the Sanmar Herald and “you gave me clearance to go, you are firing now, let me turn back”.

An AIS track for the tanker from Pole Star Global also matches the timing and location given in the UKMTO warning.

Clearly the audio, released by TankerTrackers, strongly suggests the captain and crew had prior permission from Tehran/IRGC authorities, which the dramatic exchange demonstrates: 

Audio of the Indian oil tanker Sanmar Herald pleading with Iranian forces to stop shooting at it in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. pic.twitter.com/7Y5n7Jb7o0

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 18, 2026

According to two Channel 16 audio recordings captured today, two Indian vessels were forced back west out of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran's Sepah (IRGC) Navy. Firing was involved. One of the vessels is an Indian-flagged VLCC supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.… pic.twitter.com/c1uOvmKDNO

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) April 18, 2026

A second Indian-flagged vessel seems to have been subject to inbound projectiles. More from the first Indian tanker's audio exchange with the Iranian side:

Captain in dramatic audio: "You gave me clearance to go... you are firing now!"

Meanwhile, President Trump reacted at the White House on Saturday: "We're talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again — you know, as they've been doing for years — and they can't blackmail us."

Subsequently there are reports that the US Navy could begin intercepting and boarding Iran-linked vessels anywhere in the world, as Washington tries to reassert leverage over the dicey Hormuz Strait situation.

Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance

Congratulations, you made it through the panic…and now the market has decided none of it ever mattered and things are 5% better than they’ve ever been in history. Prices have not only recovered from the Iran war scare, they’ve pushed comfortably beyond where they were before it even started.

The NASDAQ is logging a batshit insane 13-day winning streak, marking its longest consecutive green run since July 2009.

That’s impressive, if your definition of impressive includes a complete disregard for unresolved risk and/or any type of valuation or fundamentals. Because despite what price action is implying, nothing has really been definitively fixed, guaranteed, or even clarified. Only time will solidify that, in my opinion.

Yet here we are, higher anyway.

What’s driving this move isn’t exactly a groundswell of improving fundamentals. It’s positioning. It’s call buying forcing dealers to chase the market higher. It’s short squeezes lighting a fire under anyone who dared to hedge. It’s CTAs and systematic strategies piling in as momentum signals flip. This is a feedback loop, not a sober reassessment of long-term value. These loops can run longer than expected, but they are not stable by nature. They are self-reinforcing until they are suddenly not.

Don’t get it twisted. Valuations are stretched to the point where even the usually forgiving models are starting to sound like skeptics. The Shiller P/E is back near 40, a level that has historically been less a launchpad and more a warning sign.