COLOMBO -- The death toll rose to eight on Monday in an attempted prison break from a maximum-security prison in Mahara, on the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, while 45 were injured, police said.

Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana told Xinhua that all those who have died were inmates, while the injured included prison guards, with some of them in critical condition. (Sri Lanka-Prison Break)

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LONDON -- British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday expressed concern over the situation in Iran and the wider region after the assassination of one of Iran's top nuclear scientists.

"We do want to see de-escalation of tensions," said Raab when he was speaking on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday program. (Britain-Iran-Assassination)

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PYONGYANG -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un presided over a Politburo meeting on Sunday to discuss plans and preparations for the upcoming eighth Party Congress slated for January next year, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Monday.

The enlarged meeting of the 21st Political Bureau of the seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) also "examined relevant issues for improving and strengthening the Party ideological work as required by the developing revolution, and approved the organization mechanism issue." (DPRK-Politburo-Kim)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's corporate financing posted a double-digit growth in October owing to a record-low policy rate, financial watchdog data showed Monday.

Corporate financing through the issuance of stocks and bonds totaled 20.68 trillion won (18.7 billion U.S. dollars) in October, up 19.7 percent from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

It was attributable to the record-low policy rate that led to ample liquidity in the financial market. (South Korea-Corporate Financing)