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| - Duty Editor: Emma Charlton Contact: emma.charlton@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + France threatens to veto Brexit deal + UN says Tigray fighting hampering aid + UK defends swift Covid vaccine approval + US House backs long-shot cannabis bill + Cost of delayed Tokyo Olympics soars Britain-EU-politics-Brexit,WRAP BRUSSELS European doubts over a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain boil over, with France threatening a veto even as intense negotiations enter what could be their final hours. 650 words 2000 GMT by Alex Pigman with Jitendra Joshi in London. Picture. Video Already moved: Ireland-Britain-EU-Britain-politics-trade-potatoes,FOCUS Ethiopia-Tigray-conflict, WRAP ADDIS ABABA The United Nations says fighting is continuing in many parts of Ethiopia's Tigray, complicating efforts to deliver humanitarian aid despite a deal granting the UN access to territory under federal control. 800 words moved by Robbie Corey-Boulet. Picture. Video Health-virus-Britain-vaccine,2ndlead LONDON Britain maintains its world-first approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine met all safety standards, striving to tamp down any public unease after officials in Europe and the United States queried the rapid process. 650 words moved by Jitendra Joshi. Picture US-politics-drugs-cannabis,WRAP WASHINGTON US House legislators vote for the first time to decriminalize cannabis, a major step toward accepting state-based decisions to free up use of the drug, even if the bill is seen as having little chance in the Senate. 650 words 2000 GMT by Paul Handley. Oly-2020-2021-Japan-health-virus-cost,WRAP TOKYO The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics will cost at least an extra $2.4 billion, organisers say, with the unprecedented postponement and a raft of pandemic health measures ballooning an already outsized budget. 600 words moved by Andrew McKirdy. Picture. Live Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus,WRAP PARIS Global coronavirus infections pass 65 million and countries double down on restrictions, even as plans to roll out vaccines gather pace. 700 words 2000 GMT by Richard Lein. Picture. Graphic. Video Health-virus-vaccine-Africa,FOCUS BRAZZAVILLE The struggle to get a Covid vaccine to the world's population has often been likened to a race -- in which case, Africa finds itself hobbled by an array of financial, technical and cultural problems. 750 words moved by AFP bureaus in Africa. File picture Health-virus-China-arts-music,FOCUS WUHAN, China In music, graffiti, even comics, artists in China's Wuhan are beginning to pay homage to their city with works referencing its coronavirus suffering, punishing 76-day lockdown, and subsequent rebirth. 600 words moved by Lan Lianchao and Dan Martin. Picture. Video. -- AMERICAS -- US-economy-employment-politics,WRAP WASHINGTON The US economy shows more signs the recovery is stalling as hiring slowed amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, ramping up pressure on politicians to agree on a new relief package to help struggling businesses and families. 650 words 2100 GMT by Heather Scott. Picture -- EUROPE -- Belarus-politics-unrest-rights-UN,2ndlead GENEVA The human rights situation in crisis-wracked Belarus is deteriorating, the UN rights chief says, highlighting mass arrests, including of journalists, and numerous allegations of torture. 550 words moved by Nina Larson Austria-corruption-politics-trial,lead VIENNA A court sentences a flamboyant, jet-setting former Austrian finance minister to eight years in prison at the end of a long and keenly-watched corruption trial. 500 words moved by Denise Hruby. Picture -- ASIA -- Bangladesh-Myanmar-refugee-conflict-Rohingya,WRAP CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh Bangladesh transports more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 100,000 people. 450 words moved. Picture. Video Thailand-demonstration-politics-unrest,lead BANGKOK Bangkok has been gripped by a rubber duck frenzy since pro-democracy protesters used giant inflatables to shield themselves from water cannon spray last month. 450 words moved. Picture. Video -- MIDDLE EAST -- Qatar-Gulf-diplomacy,WRAP DOHA Rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia, along with neutral Oman and Kuwait, say progress has been made towards resolving the Gulf crisis which has pitted a regional group of nations against Doha. 750 words moved by Gregory Walton in Doha with Sarah Stewart in Manama -- AFRICA -- ICoast-politics,WRAP ABIDJAN Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, who was forced from power after losing elections 10 years ago, has obtained a new passport and plans to return home this month, his lawyer says. 550 words moved by Christophe Koffi and David Esnault Ghana-vote-politics,ADVANCER ACCRA Ghanaians go to the polls on Monday in a heated contest that will revive old rivalries between incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo and his predecessor John Mahama. 700 words moved by Kent Mensah with Louise Dewast in Abuja. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: Ghana-vote-politics-AkufoAddo,PROFILE Ghana-vote-politics-Mahama,PROFILE Ghana-vote-politics,FACTFILE Ghana-vote-politics,CHRONO -- AMERICAS -- US-vote-Senate-Georgia,FOCUS WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is hitting the campaign trail for two Republican senators trying to save their seats in crucial Georgia runoffs, but is it a good idea? 700 words moved by Jerome Cartillier. Picture. Video Mexico-US-politics-migration,FOCUS PUERTO PALOMAS, Mexico Weeks before Donald Trump is due to leave office, workers are racing to build the hulking steel fence along the US-Mexican border that was a centerpiece of his presidency. 650 words moved by Jean Luis Arce. Picture. Video -- CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT -- Britain-climate-energy-emissions LONDON Britain insists it can meet a new commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than two-thirds this decade compared to 1990 levels, the fastest reduction target of any major economy. 600 words moved by Joe Jackson. File picture. Graphic -- SPORT -- Cricket-RSA-ENG-health-virus,2ndlead CAPE TOWN South Africa's team doctor says he is concerned about a possible breach of the team's bio-secure "bubble" after the first one-day international against England was postponed an hour before it was due to start because a South African player tested positive for Covid-19. 600 words moved. Picture -- OFFBEAT -- World-offbeat,FACTS PARIS From a koala stuck up a Christmas tree to George Clooney's clippers and the world's most lovelorn elephant, we look back on the weird and wacky stories of the week. 500 words moved. File picture afp
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