The central banks of Indonesia and Malaysia here on Friday renewed their local currency bilateral swap agreement, also known for its abbreviation as LCBSA, of up to $5.42 billion.

According to a joint statement released by Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on Friday, the agreement renewal is effective for five years, news agency reported.

The renewal reinforces the ongoing cooperation between the central banks.

The banks' first agreement was signed in 2019 and was extended in 2022.

"Bank Indonesia views the enhancement of cooperation in the LCBSA agreement with BNM as representing an important role of international cooperation as part of Bank Indonesia's policy mix that supports key policies in the monetary, macroprudential, and payment systems sectors, while at the same time contributing to the development of local currency-based transactions in both countries," BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said in a statement.

Tokyo stocks continued their upward trend on Friday as the country's ruling party held an election for a new leader to succeed outgoing Fumio Kishida.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, jumped 2.32 per cent, or 903.93 points, to close at 39,829.56, marking the first time in almost two months to surpass the 39,000 threshold, news agency reported.

Lawmakers from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) started voting for a new leader on Friday afternoon and the market has betted on female hopeful Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi to win, expecting her to adopt pro-growth economic policies if chosen.

Japan's former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who won the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) presidential election on Friday, is all set to become the country's next Prime Minister with the official parliamentary appointment scheduled for Tuesday.

Ishiba, 67, won the presidential runoff with 215 votes against Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who garnered 194 votes. He will replace PM Fumio Kishida who had decided to step down following a slush funds scandal that rocked the ruling party.

This was Ishiba's fifth bid for the LDP leadership. Over the years, he had cemented his reputation as a seasoned policy expert with deep knowledge in defence, agriculture, and regional revitalization.

Following his victory in the highly-competitive race that saw a record nine contenders, Ishiba called for unity within the party while addressing the supporters at the LDP headquarters.

At least 15 workers were killed and 25 others injured after an unlicensed gold mine collapsed in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra, a local disaster mitigation agency reported on Friday.

The incident reportedly occurred in Nagari Sungai Abu in the province's Solok regency, news agency reported, citing the local disaster mitigation agency.

Solok Disaster Mitigation Agency Chief Irwan Efendi told local media that 15 miners were killed in the disaster, with three others suffering injuries and 25 others missing, he added.

According to him, more rescuers with heavy equipment have been deployed to evacuate victims in the location.

Twenty-three Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, were killed in an airstrike on Lebanon's Younine area, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry on Thursday said that the airstrike was launched just hours before Israeli forces struck the Matrabah border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, injuring several refugees fleeing the violence.

The statement accused Israel of deliberately targeting innocent civilians, including refugees seeking safety, news agency reported.

South Korea had "constructive" talks with the United States this week to advance the negotiations for determining Seoul's share of the cost for the upkeep of American troops here, a Seoul official said Friday.

The allies wrapped up the three-day defence cost-sharing talks in Seoul, amid growing speculation that the two sides might be nearing an end to renew the multi-year deal for stationing 28,500-strong US soldiers in South Korea, news agency reported.

"South Korea and the United States held constructive discussions aimed at narrowing their differences on key issues of mutual interest," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

North Korea has increased the number of criminal charges subject to the death penalty to 16 from 11 by revising the penal code several times between 2022 and 2023, as per a report on Friday.

According to the report by Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), since revising the criminal law in May 2022, North Korea has further amended it three times, including the latest revision in December 2023, news agency reported.

North Korea newly added five criminal charges that could lead to the death penalty as a maximum sentence, when compared with the revisions in the penal code between May 2022 and December 2023, according to the report.

Two people have been killed and another critically injured after a sedan crashed into a motorcycle in Palawan province, Philippine police said on Friday.

According to the police, the accident happened on Thursday at 11:25 p.m. local time along a highway in Puerto Princesa City, news agency reported.

Police rushed to the scene and said that the 19-year-old male sedan driver lost control of the speeding vehicle, swerved to the opposite side of the road, and collided with the motorcycle.

The motorcycle riders were thrown onto the road, resulting in the deaths of the 21-year-old male motorcycle driver and one of his two passengers, a 68-year-old female.

The driver's 20-year-old partner was also critically injured.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country and the European signatories to a 2015 nuclear deal have discussed the agreement's revival and removal of sanctions on Tehran.

He made the remarks upon arrival in the Iranian capital Tehran from his trip to New York, where he attended the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly and held several bilateral meetings, including with his foreign counterparts, news agency reported quoting the official news agency IRNA.

"Talks were held about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). We shared our concerns with the European states, and it was decided that (our) foreign ministers follow up on the issue," Pezeshkian said.

As many as 16 people were taken to hospital on Friday after a toxic chemical leak at a plant in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan, officials said.

Firefighters received a report that a burning smell and white smoke were coming from a synthetic resin production plant in Ulju County in Ulsan, some 300 kms southeast of Seoul, at 10:15 A.M.,news agency reported.

The smoke began while testing a reactor containing some 50 kgs of epoxy, a chemical compound, when its temperature suddenly shot up to 200 C, officials said.