Britain's National Crime Agency is probing the activities of UK-based companies linked to a money laundering scandal at Denmark's Danske Bank, it said Friday.

Asian markets enjoyed more gains on Friday, putting them on course to end the week with a flourish as investors looked past the China-US trade row to focus on the booming American economy.

The United Nations Global Compact announced this week ten SDG Pioneers for 2018. Each year, the UN Global Compact celebrates a group of SDG Pioneers —individuals from around the world as who are championing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their own companies and inspiring others to join the movement. Among the SDG Pioneers selected this year is Khalil Daoud, Chairman & Managing Director of LibanPost.

Turkey, which was last month buffeted by its worst currency crisis in recent years, on Thursday forecast sharply lower growth coupled with persistently high inflation in its new medium-term economic programme.

Norway raised its key interest rate for the first time in seven years on Thursday, as its economy recovers from years of weak oil prices and the ramifications of the 2008 financial crisis.

The central bank raised its key rate by 0.25 points to 0.75 percent, and said a second hike was due again soon.

Bitcoin and other digital currency worth around 6.7 billion yen ($60 million) has been stolen in Japan following a hacking attack, a virtual exchange operator said on Thursday.

Cyprus and Egypt on Wednesday signed an agreement paving the way for the Mediterranean’s first subsea pipeline to carry Cypriot natural gas to the Arab country for re-export to Europe.

"Today’s signing is an important milestone, not only for Cyprus but also the entire eastern Mediterranean region," said Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis after he signed alongside visiting Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla.

Qatar Airways suffered a $69 million loss this fiscal year, an over $800 million swing from the year before that the long-haul carrier blamed on the ongoing boycott of Doha by four Arab nations.

The loss by the flagship carrier shows the challenges still facing Qatar, a small, energy-rich nation that juts out like a thumb on the Arabian Peninsula. However, the airline struck a defiant tone while releasing its results for the fiscal year that ended March 31.

The central bank of war-torn Yemen has raised interest rates on deposits to an all-time high of 27 percent in a bid to stabilise the plunging riyal that caused food prices to soar.

Asian markets rose Wednesday as new tit-for-tat tariffs by China and the United States were seen as lighter than feared, while there are hopes the two sides will eventually avert a damaging trade war.