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| - Duty Editor: Denholm Barnetson Tel: +33 1 40.41.46.36 -- TOP STORIES -- + Pompeii ruins, Bethlehem Nativity church reopen as lockdowns ease + Hong Kong moves to calm nerves over new law + UK minister quits over lockdown trip by PM's aide + Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho dies aged 98 + Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage Health-virus,WRAP POMPEII, Italy The Church of the Nativity and the ancient ruins of Pompeii reopen their doors as much of Europe and Asia ease coronavirus controls and reopen struggling economies ahead of the tourism season. 750 words 1000 GMT by Alexandra Sage with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic HongKong-China-politics-unrest,WRAP HONG KONG China's plans to impose a new security law on Hong Kong will not erode freedoms, the city's leader says as she tries to reassure international businesses and foreign governments alarmed by the proposal. 700 words moved by Jerome Taylor and Yan Zhao. Video Health-virus-Britain-politics LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government suffered its first resignation over the controversy surrounding senior aide Dominic Cummings' trip across country during coronavirus lockdown when Douglas Ross, a minister for Scotland, quit in protest. 450 words 1030 GMT by David Harding. Picture HongKong-Macau-China-economy-gaming,OBIT HONG KONG Stanley Ho, the Hong Kong-born tycoon who made billions transforming neighbouring Macau from a sleepy Portuguese outpost into the world's biggest gambling hub, died on Tuesday at the age of 98, his family said. 650 words moved. File Picture CostaRica-rights-LGBT-marriage,WRAP SAN JOSE Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings are held overnight. 400 words moved by Marco Sibaja. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Germany-France-politics-debt,FOCUS BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel shattered a long-standing German taboo last week when she unexpectedly proposed to fund the bloc's coronanvirus recovery to shared EU debt. But the risky political gamble appears to be paying off already. 650 words 0930 GMT by Peter Wuetherich -- MIDDLE EAST -- Health-virus-Saudi-UAE-Kuwait,lead RIYADH Saudi Arabia says it will end its nationwide coronavirus curfew from June 21, except in the holy city of Mecca, after more than two months of stringent curbs. 500 words 0930 GMT. Picture Health-virus-Egypt-politics,INTERVIEW CAIRO State surveillance is on the rise globally as governments such as Egypt's take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, warns exiled historian and intellectual Khaled Fahmy. 700 words moved by Farid Farid. File picture. Video -- AFRICA -- Health-virus-Africa-entertainment-music ABIDJAN Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour and Grammy-winner Angelique Kidjo are among a galaxy of African talent brought together for a virtual concert to raise awareness of the coronavirus pandemic. 600 words moved by Patrick Fort. Picture -- AMERICAS -- US-satellite-space LOS ANGELES The first test launch of a rocket that is released from a jumbo jet at 35,000 feet and then propels itself into orbit to deploy a satellite fails, the Virgin Orbit company says. 500 words moved. File Picture -- ASIA -- Afghanistan-conflict-ceasefire,WRAP KABUL Afghan authorities plan to release 900 more Taliban prisoners, as calls grow for the militants to extend a ceasefire on its third and final day. 450 words moved by Emal Haidary. Picture Health-virus-China-diplomacy-US,ANALYSIS BEIJING China has played two roles in the global battle against the coronavirus: benevolent aid donor yet combative superpower as Beijing mixes soft power with its increasingly assertive approach on the world stage. 800 words moved Health-virus-Maldives-Bangladesh-labour,FOCUS MALE Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world's most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles coronavirus. 650 words moved. Picture Health-virus-China-economy,FOCUS BEIJING China's ramping-up of mask production to counter the coronavirus outbreak has claimed unlikely victims -- nappies, wet wipes and sanitary towels that are made with the same raw materials. 700 words moved by Beiyi Seow. File Picture Vietnam-accident-health-traffic,PHOTOESSAY HANOI On the tarmac of a dark Hanoi street, motorbike taxi driver Pham Quoc Viet mops the bloodied knee of a fellow rider, one of hundreds of traffic victims the volunteer has tended in the chaotically congested Vietnamese capital. 500 words moved. Video. Picture -- BUSINESS -- Health-virus-US-aviation-economy-Chile-Brazil-LATAM NEW YORK Latin America's largest airline LATAM files for bankruptcy in the US, the company says, following a drastic slump in business caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 400 words moved -- SPORTS -- Fbl-Asia-CHN-China-corruption,FOCUS SHANGHAI When Tianjin Tianhai surprisingly thrashed Rafael Benitez's Dalian Yifang 5-1 to stay in the Chinese Super League in November, disgruntled fans were quick to allege corruption -- the legacy of a murky past that exploded into scandal 10 years ago. 750 words moved by Peter Stebbings. File picture -- ENTERTAINMENT -- Entertainment-US-music-jazz-Cobb NEW YORK Jimmy Cobb, the drummer on Miles Davies' 1959 jazz classic "Kind of Blue" -- revered by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time -- has died aged 91, US media reports. 400 words moved. File Picture Entertainment-US-television-HBOMax,FOCUS LOS ANGELES Cable network HBO, home of "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and "Game of Thrones", is scrambling to catch up with its newfound online rivals, launching its own multi-billion-dollar streaming platform this Wednesday. 700 words moved by Andrew Marszal. Video afp
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