Reuters

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States and several of its allies, including Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan, issued a joint statement on Friday calling on Taiwan to be allowed to take part in a key meeting of the World Health Organisation this month.

Taiwan is excluded from most international organisations because of objections by China, which considers the democratically governed island its territory.

Taiwan attended the... (continue reading...)

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Friday, while the dollar advanced as strong U.S. economic data bolstered the prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer and the Federal Reserve taking its time in cutting rates, keeping investors away from risky assets.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5% and was on course for a 1% weekly decline, snapping its four-week winning streak.... (continue reading...)

HANOI (Reuters) - At least 14 people were killed and three injured in a fire that broke out at a densely populated residential area in Hanoi early on Friday, police said.

Firefighters managed to rescue seven people from the fire at a five-story building in a small alley in Vietnam's capital city, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

The ministry said it is investigating the cause of the fire, whose victims are yet to be... (continue reading...)

By Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Judges at the U.N.'s top court will rule on Friday on South Africa's request to order Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and withdraw from Gaza, part of a wider case accusing Israel of genocide.

South Africa's lawyers asked the court last week to impose emergency measures, and said Israel's attacks on the southern Gaza city "must be stopped" to ensure the survival of the... (continue reading...)

By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Russia joined Moldova's leftist opposition on Thursday in denouncing Romania's prime minister for remarks saying ex-Soviet Moldova's population was made up strictly of Romanians who spoke Romanian.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told a Romanian television interviewer this week: "There are no Moldovans, there is no Moldovan language. There are Romanians and the Romanian language."