Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

Rail services disrupted as train drivers walk out

Rail services were hit to large parts of the United Kingdom, including key tourist routes, as train drivers launched a new strike amid cost-of-living pressures and decades-high inflation. Members of the Aslef union representing train drivers are taking part in a three-day rolling strike that will also affect express services to London's Gatwick, Stansted and Heathrow airports.

SOUTH KOREA

Yoon casts early vote for general election

South Korean President Yoon Sukyeol cast his ballot in Busan on Friday as early voting got underway ahead of next week's general election. Yoon's approval ratings have fallen below 40 percent in recent weeks, polls showed, driven by a litany of scandals and voter dissatisfaction with rising inflation. But experts said the poll is crucial for Yoon's People Power Party because his authority could be significantly weakened for the final three years of his term if the opposition wins a supermajority.

Agencies Via Xinhua