SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Friday, pulled down by a technical sell-off following two sessions of strong rises and on caution ahead of a gathering of OPEC ministers next week in Algeria to discuss possible production cooperation to rein in global oversupply.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Communist-ruled Cuba, called for a strong and unified international response to North Korea's nuclear program in rare talks with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Thursday, a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se accused North Korea on Thursday of "totally ridiculing" the authority of the United Nations through its nuclear and missile tests and said it was time to reconsider whether it was qualified for U.N. membership.

MANILA (Reuters) - Diplomats in the Philippines are in talks with counterparts in Japan and China to try and arrange visits for President Rodrigo Duterte at the end of next month, foreign ministry officials in Manila said on Friday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged closer to 14-month highs on Friday while the dollar was on the defensive as investors grew more convinced that the Federal Reserve is settling into a phase of very gradual interest rate hikes.

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The United States and Russia failed to agree on how to revive a short-lived ceasefire in Syria during what the U.N. Syria mediator called a "long, painful, difficult and disappointing" meeting on Thursday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar gained in Asian trading on Friday but was on track to end a tumultuous week with losses after the Federal Reserve trimmed its long-term interest rate expectations and the Bank of Japan rebooted its monetary policy framework.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck southeast of Tokyo on Friday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.