TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Defence Ministry said it was asking Google to blur satellite images showing what experts say appear to be new military installations on Itu Aba, Taipei's sole holding in the hotly disputed South China Sea.

Sept 23 (Gracenote) - Results from the MLB games on Thursday (home team in CAPS)

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.

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua on Thursday criticized a proposal by U.S. lawmakers that would require the Central American country, which will hold elections in November, to make political changes in order to receive international loans.

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.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday as a sweeping corruption investigation struck further at the heart of the Workers Party (PT) that ran the country for 13 years.

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.