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Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks edged up Friday after an overnight rally on Wall Street and the US dollar's advance against the yen.

US employment and manufacturing data that pushed US markets up overnight encouraged Tokyo investors to buy mainly insurance, mining and real estate issues on hopes for brighter economic prospects.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 29.41 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 9,733.13.

The broader-based Topix index was also up 3.49 points or 0.38 per cent, to 914.7.

Taipei  - Taiwan's EVA Air has fired a pilot after he was caught videotaping air hostesses in a plane toilet, the airline said Friday.

"This incident has happened and he has resigned," an EVA Air press officer told German Press Agency dpa without elaborating.

The Apple Daily reported Friday that the incident occurred Monday on flight to Taiwan from the United States via Japan.

Sofia  - Several people with criminal indictments have joined the race in Bulgaria's first parliamentary election since it joined the European Union, scheduled for July 5. In doing so, they have conspicuously staved off their rendezvous with justice.

A candidate for a legislative seat must have the same conditions as his rival, the law says. So, those being processed are released from prison and trials are interrupted.

Taipei  - Taiwan plans to build its third-generation warplane with Russian technology as the United States has refused to sell Taiwan F-16C/Ds, a newspaper reported Friday.

The Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), which sent personnel to Russia for instruction from Russian experts, has finished designing the third-generation warplane, the China Times quoted an unnamed military official as saying.

Wellington  - A 30-year-old New Zealand woman was reported to be critically ill with swine flu on Friday as the Health Ministry officially accepted that the disease had spread so widely that it could not contain it.

The patient was the first New Zealander to be put into intensive care with the illness. She was admitted Thursday evening to Wellington Hospital, and officials said she was morbidly obese and had a history of respiratory problems.

Brussels  - European Union leaders on Thursday backed Portuguese politician Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission.

"What can I say to you, except that I'm extremely proud of the unanimous support - more than proud, I'm moved," a visibly elated Barroso told journalists.