SOUTH KOREA

Shipping giant declared bankrupt

The axe finally fell on South Korea's once-mighty Hanjin Shipping on Friday as a Seoul court declared the company bankrupt after struggling for years under the weight of billions of dollars of debt. Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection in August owing $5.37 billion and creditors refused to bail it out, with dozens of its vessels stranded around the world after being refused entry to ports. Hanjin was once South Korea's largest shipping firm and the seventh-largest in the world.

YEMEN

Airstrike leaves 9 dead at funeral

An air raid killed eight women and a child at a funeral reception near the Yemeni capital, witnesses said on Thursday, adding to the conflict's mounting civilian death toll. At least 10 other women were wounded in the overnight raid on the district of Arhab. A Saudi-backed Arab coalition statement said the group was "investigating the reports".

INDIA

Children injured in bus rollover

At least 25 children were injured when their school bus overturned and rolled into a ditch in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Friday. Along with the driver and a helper, 30 children were on board the bus traveling to a school in Dehar. The state government announced financial relief of $75 for each child, along with free medical treatment for their injuries.

SOMALIA

Mortar attack claims two lives

Somalia's Shabaab extremists claimed responsibility for a mortar attack that left two children dead near the presidential palace on Thursday. The attack came during a handover ceremony at which new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed officially took office. Several explosions were heard near the palace during the ceremony, which was held several days before Mohamed - better known by his nickname Farmajo - is officially sworn in.

UNITED KINGDOM

London drivers facing new tax

Motorists in London who own old polluting vehicles will be hit with a new charge starting in October, Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday, two days after the EU ordered the country to cut air pollution. "The context is this: over 9,000 Londoners die each year because of low quality air," Khan said after announcing the new "toxic tax".

THAILAND

First jungle cats seen in 40 years

Jungle cats have been seen in northern Thailand four decades after they were declared extinct in the country, local media reported on Thursday. According to The Daily News, pictures of jungle cats in the Chiang Mai forest were taken by an unmanned camera that ran continuously for a month in the wildlife sanctuary.

Xinhua - Afp - Ap