Cambodia earned $394 million in revenue from exports of natural rubber latex in the first nine months of 2024, up 18 per cent from 332.6 million dollars over the same period last year, official data showed on Friday.

The kingdom exported 248,535 tonnes of the commodity during the January-September period this year, up 2.4 per cent from 242,654 tonnes over the same period last year, according to a report by the General Directorate of Rubber.

"A tonne of rubber latex averagely cost $1,586 during the first nine months of 2024, about 215 dollars higher than that of the same period last year," Khun Kakada, acting director general of the government office, said in the report.

The Southeast Asian country exports natural rubber products mainly to Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and China.

Amid growing geopolitical tensions and FII selling, India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves dropped $10.746 billion to $690.43 billion for the week ended October 11, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.

The forex had hit an all-time high of $704.885 billion at the end of September.

In the previous reporting week, the forex had dropped by $3.709 billion to $701.176 billion.

Meanwhile, gold reserves decreased by $98 million to $65.658 billion during the week, according to the Central Bank. For the week ended October 11, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $86 million to $18.339 billion. The country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was down by $20 million to $4.333 billion.

South Korea's finance ministry saw a continued economic recovery for the sixth straight month on Friday thanks to robust export and manufacturing production.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly report, called Green Book, that the South Korean economy recently maintained a trend of recovery on the back of solid export and manufacturing production as well as a modest recovery in domestic demand and facility investment amid the stable inflation.

The ministry noted that the global economy showed an overall recovery in trade improvement and the changed monetary policy stance in major economies, but it cautioned that uncertainties remained over economic slowdown in major economies, volatility in raw materials price, and geopolitical risks in Europe and the Middle East, news agency reported.

Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan smashed counter-attacking fifties before the former got out on last ball of day three as India reached 231/3 in 49 overs at stumps and trail New Zealand by 125 runs in the first Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

After Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 72 runs for the first wicket, Sarfaraz came out all guns blazing to be unbeaten on 70 off 78 balls – laced with seven fours and three sixes. Kohli was at his usual best – driving, lofting and sweeping with ease - and became the fourth India to reach the 9000 Test run milestone during the course of his 70 off 102 balls.

But him being taken out by Glenn Phillips just before the day’s play ended capped off a sensational day of Test cricket which began with Rachin Ravindra’s excellent 134 giving New Zealand a 356-run first-innings lead.

The final session began with three boundaries, before the 72-run opening ended when Jaiswal stepped out against Ajaz Patel, got beaten and was easily stumped. Rohit then hit a hat-trick of flurry boundaries off Matt Henry – last of which got him his 18th Test fifty. But in the next over, Rohit defended on the front foot off Patel, but the ball bounced off the inner half of the bat and rolled onto the stumps.

A train transporting fuel derailed in Sri Lanka's North Central Province after colliding with a herd of wild elephants on the railway track, the Department of Railways reported Friday.

The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. local time on Friday while the train was en route from the Kolonnawa Petroleum Storage Terminal in Colombo to Batticaloa in the Eastern Province, news agency reported.

India batter Virat Kohli has added another feather to his highly illustrious cap as he completed 9,000 Test runs in the ongoing match against New Zealand at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He reached the milestone during India's second innings.

Kohli became the fourth Indian batter to reach the feat after Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Rahul Dravid (13,265) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122). Among them, Kohli is the slowest to reach the milestone in terms of innings taken (197).

The 35-year-old batter, who has not hit a Test fifty in 2024, smashed his 31st Test half-century as India were put under pressure by New Zealand after posting 402 in the first innings.

Uzbekistan's economy has grown by 6.6 per cent over the past nine months, according to a report from the press service of the Uzbek President.

During a meeting on Thursday, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed the expected economic performance for the current year and the main macroeconomic indicators for 2025, news agency reported.

"Despite the difficult situation in the world, our country's economy has grown by 6.6 per cent and industry by 7 per cent over the past nine months by utilising domestic opportunities," the statement said.

A 19-year-old woman, who was set afire by her molester's son, succumbed to her injuries at a hospital early on Friday in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district.

The woman with over 70 per cent burns was being treated at Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore.

Detailing the sequence of the events, police said that on October 7, the victim complained to the police against Mangilal Balai alleging that he molested her.

Acting on her police complaint, Mangilal was arrested, but he secured bail the next day, October 8.

Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue (NBR) Thursday drastically cut import duty on eggs from 25 per cent to 5 per cent to help rein in prices.

The egg import duty cut would reduce import costs of eggs by 13.8 takas per dozen, making the country's cheapest source of protein affordable for the commoners, the NBR said in a statement after issuing an order in this regard.

The reduced import tax for eggs will be valid until December 31 this year, reports news agency.

At least seven people were killed and 33 others injured on Friday after a passenger bus overturned in the central Aksaray province of Turkey, the local IHA news agency reported.

While some of the injured are in serious condition, authorities are still working to identify those who lost their lives, the report said.

Aksaray Provincial Governor Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu told reporters that the tourist bus overturned 25 km from the city of Aksaray, news agency reported.