TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top medical experts warned on Friday that holding the Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase infections, and said banning all spectators was the least risky option, setting up a possible collision with organisers.

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country should prepare for both dialogue and confrontation with the United States, particularly confrontation, state media KCNA reported on Friday, in his first direct comment on the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide passed a grim milestone of 4 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as many countries struggle to procure enough vaccines to inoculate their populations.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranians began voting on Friday in a presidential election likely to be won by a judge fiercely loyal to the religious establishment, although many people are expected to ignore the vote due to discontent with economic hardship and hardline rule.

The number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution and human rights abuses has doubled in the past decade to reach 82.4 million at the end of last year, the United Nations said on Friday.

U.S. authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect some 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the United States as refugees, and they are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters.  

Women make up fewer than 10% of managers at most Japanese companies and a big majority of firms say it will be impossible to boost this to a target of 30% this decade, a Reuters poll found.

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong democracy supporters flocked to buy copies of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily on Friday, citing anger over a police raid of its newsroom as part of an inquiry into whether some articles threatened China's national security.

Asian shares inched higher on Friday but were set for a weekly loss, while the U.S. dollar hovered near two-month highs as investors continued to digest comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve projecting interest rate hikes in 2023.

For Chinese brain researcher Song Chen, a visiting scholar at Stanford University when she was arrested last July on a visa fraud charge, a court hearing last month in San Francisco brought some hope.