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| - Duty Editor: Emma Charlton Contact: emma.charlton@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Big tech too powerful, antitrust hearing told + Muslims begin downsized hajj amid pandemic + US to pull nearly 12,000 troops from Germany + Deal to withdraw US federal forces from Portland + Mystery solved: tracing source of Stonehenge boulders US-IT-politics-antitrust-Congress,WRAP WASHINGTON Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook are too powerful and will likely emerge from the coronavirus pandemic even stronger, the head of a US congressional antitrust committee tells a high-stakes hearing featuring the CEOs of the four US tech giants. 800 words 2000 GMT by Chris Lefkow. Photo. Video. Live video. Health-virus-Saudi-religion-hajj MECCA, Saudi Arabia Mask-clad Muslim pilgrims begin the annual hajj, walking along socially distanced paths in the smallest numbers in modern history as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak. 750 words moved. Picture. Graphic. Video US-Germany-NATO-military-politics,WRAP WASHINGTON The Pentagon will slash troop levels in Germany by nearly 12,000 in a move reshaping NATO deterrence in Europe that President Donald Trump says is it to punish Berlin for underspending on defense. 700 words 2000 GMT by Paul Handley. File picture US-politics-unrest-Portland,WRAP LOS ANGELES President Donald Trump's administration agrees to a deal to defuse weeks of clashes in the US city of Portland with the withdrawal of federal forces whose presence enraged protesters, but the timing remains in dispute. 700 words 2000 GMT by Jocelyne Zablit. File picture. File video Science-history-archaeology-Britain-Stonehenge,FOCUS WASHINGTON Stonehenge, a Neolithic wonder in southern England, has vexed historians and archaeologists for centuries with its many mysteries: How was it built? What purpose did it serve? Where did its towering sandstone boulders come from? 550 words 2000 GMT by Issam Ahmed. Graphic -- AMERICAS -- US-politics-vote-Biden-VP,WRAP WASHINGTON Joe Biden's vice presidential pick has been one of Washington's best kept secrets but a supposedly accidental news publication and Biden's own teasingly displayed notes are raising expectations that the winner is Kamala Harris. 650 words moved by Sebastian Smith. Picture US-Germany-NATO-military-politics-Merkel,FOCUS WASHINGTON In pulling 12,000 US troops from Germany, President Donald Trump is laying bare what has long been clear -- there is no love lost between him and Chancellor Angela Merkel. 700 words 2030 GMT by Shaun Tandon. File Pictures US-Syria-conflict-sanction,2ndlead WASHINGTON The United States slaps sanctions on the 18-year-old son of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, vowing never to let the war-torn nation's regime enrich itself. 550 words moved by Shaun Tandon -- EUROPE -- Belarus-Russia-voting-arrest,WRAP MINSK Belarus arrests a group of Russian mercenaries allegedly plotting to destabilise the country as strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko fends off an emboldened opposition in the run-up to presidential elections next month. 650 words 2000 GMT by Tatyana Kalinovskaya Turkey-Internet-politics-law,WRAP ISTANBUL Turkey's parliament passes a controversial bill giving the government greater control of social media and criticised by human rights advocates as an attempt to increase online censorship. 700 words moved by Fulya Ozerkan. File picture Britain-Twitter-discrimination-grime,2ndlead LONDON British rap scene godfather Wiley apologises for "generalising" but refuses to distances himself completely from anti-Semitic posts that got him permanently banned by Twitter. 500 words 2000 GMT by Dmitry Zaks -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Yemen-conflict-Saudi,WRAP RIYADH Yemeni separatists abandon their declaration of self-rule in the south and pledge to implement a stalled Saudi-brokered peace deal, mending a rift between allies in the war against Huthi rebels. 700 words moved by Anuj Chopra with Omar Hasan in Dubai Also moved: Yemen-conflict-south,CHRONO Iran-military-Gulf,WRAP TEHRAN Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they launched ballistic missiles from "the depths of the Earth" on the last day of military exercises near sensitive Gulf waters. 400 words moved. Picture. Video Egypt-court-internet,WRAP CAIRO Egypt jails a sixth young woman who posted online videos on the TikTok app, deeming the clips in which she dances and lip-syncs popular songs to be "inciting debauchery". 400 words moved. Picture -- ASIA -- Afghanistan-conflict,WRAP KABUL Afghans welcome a three-day ceasefire but demand it be made permanent after the government and the Taliban say they will observe a truce that could kickstart peace talks as soon as next week. 650 words 1930 GMT by Najiba Noori. Picture. Graphic India-China-defence-diplomacy-France,lead NEW DELHI The first five Rafale fighter jets bought from France in a multi-billion-dollar deal land in India, and the defence minister uses their arrival to launch a veiled warning to neighbouring China over territorial tensions. 500 words moved. Picture. Video -- AFRICA -- Mali-unrest-politics,WRAP BAMAKO Mali's opposition says it will continue demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's resignation, firmly rejecting a compromise proposal floated by international leaders to resolve a political crisis in the fragile West African state. 650 words 1930 GMT by Serge Daniel and Kassim Traore SAfrica-history-apartheid-Mlangeni,WRAP SOWETO, South Africa Andrew Mlangeni, the last of the defendants in the trial of Nelson Mandela and others who faced death for plotting to overthrow South Africa's apartheid regime with guerrilla warfare, is laid to rest. 500 words moved. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS & ECONOMY -- US-aviation-earnings-Boeing,WRAP NEW YORK Boeing suffers a bigger-than-expected loss in the latest quarter and signals additional job cuts are likely as it contends with a protracted air travel downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic. 750 words 2100 GMT by John Biers Also moved: US-aviation-Boeing-747-travel,FOCUS Health-virus-US-economy-bank-rate,WRAP WASHINGTON The resurgence in coronavirus cases in recent weeks is weighing on US economic activity, and recovery will depend on policies to provide support, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says. 650 words 2030 GMT by Heather Scott Germany-finance-fraud-politics-Wirecard,WRAP FRANKFURT Germany Finance Minister Olaf Scholz says he gave lawmakers a "detailed" explanation of everything he knows about the fraud scandal that brought down payments firm Wirecard, amid riticism that authorities missed early warnings signs. 700 words moved by Michelle Fitzpatrick. Picture -- SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT -- Environment-agriculture-economy-conservation,lead PARIS Wild bees are worth some $1.5 billion to key fruit and vegetable crops in North America, according to new research that warns declines in these pollinators threatens the productivity of economically important agriculture. 550 words moved by Kelly Macnamara -- SPORTS -- Basket-NBA,PREVIEW ORLANDO Four months after COVID-19 sent basketball into an unprecedented shutdown, the NBA takes a leap into the unknown as the league bids to resurrect its season at Disney World in Florida. 750 words moved Also moved: Basket-NBA-bubble,Q&A afp
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