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| - Duty Editor: Emma Charlton Contact: emma.charlton@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Global Covid-19 death toll tops 1.5 mn + Tributes for 'great European' Giscard + Ex-warlord on trial for Liberia crimes + Chinese lunar probe heads back to Earth + Warner Bros to stream all 2021 films Health-virus,WRAP PARIS The global toll from the Covid-19 pandemic passes 1.5 million as nations race to set in motion mass vaccination programmes, with hundreds of thousands of shots to be administered in Britain as soon as next week. 800 words 2200 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic France-politics-Giscard,WRAP PARIS Tributes pour in after the death of former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing from Covid-19 aged 94, with French and European leaders hailing him as an ambitious reformer and great statesman. 750 words 1930 GMT by Stuart Williams and Jurgen Hecker. File picture. File video. Graphic Also moved: France-politics-Giscard, PROFILE Switzerland-Liberia-conflict-warcrimes-trial,WRAP GENEVA A former warlord goes on trial in Switzerland, becoming the first Liberian to face prosecution for war crimes over alleged atrocities during his country's bloody conflict a generation ago. 650 words moved by Agnes Pedrero China-space,WRAP BEIJING A Chinese space probe leaves the surface of the Moon to return to Earth, an ambitious effort to bring back the world's first lunar samples in four decades. 500 words 1930 GMT. File picture. File video Entertainment-US-film-Warner,WRAP LOS ANGELES Warner Bros. will release its entire 2021 slate of films on HBO Max streaming and in theaters simultaneously, including "The Matrix 4" and Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" remake, the studio announces in a landmark response to the pandemic. 500 words 2100 GMT by Andrew Marzal. File picture -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-US,POINTS WASHINGTON More than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, the death rate is as high as it was in spring, and a top US scientist has predicted the winter will be the "most difficult time in the public health history" of the nation. Here's what we know. 600 words 2000 GMT by Issam Ahmed Health-virus-Britain-politics-science,FOCUS LONDON British leaders who ridiculed expert opinion over Brexit are now turning to the professionals to sell their message on Covid vaccination -- above all a football-loving scientist of Vietnamese heritage who has a mania for metaphors. 750 words moved by Jitendra Joshi. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Britain-EU-politics-Brexit,WRAP BRUSSELS European diplomats warn that EU negotiators are "millimetres" from giving all they can in trade talks with Britain, as both sides agree negotiations are in their most sensitive phase. 400 words moved by Alex Pigman. Picture France-security-Islam-mosques,WRAP PARIS French authorities will inspect dozens of mosques and prayer halls suspected of radical teachings as part of a crackdown on Islamist extremists following a spate of attacks, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin says. 450 words moved -- AMERICAS -- US-IT-racism-Facebook,WRAP NEW YORK Facebook tweaks its systems to prioritize blocking slurs against Black people, gays and other groups historically targeted by hateful vitriol, no longer automatically filtering out barbs aimed broadly at whites, men, or Americans. 600 words 2030 GMT US-China-military-technology WASHINGTON Robotics and artificial intelligence are changing the character of war, the top US general says, and the US needs to prepare for a China equally able to use them as a threat. 550 words 2100 GMT by Paul Handley -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-media-law,WRAP HONG KONG Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is remanded into custody after being charged with fraud, the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against high-profile Beijing critics and democracy campaigners. 600 words moved by Su Xinqi and Jerome Taylor. Picture. Video. Graphic Bangladesh-Myanmar-refugee-conflict-Rohingya,WRAP COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh Bangladesh begins transferring hundreds of Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island prone to cyclones and floods, with rights groups alleging they were being coerced into leaving. 600 words moved by Sam Jahan. Picture. Video. Live video -- AFRICA -- CAfrica-vote,WRAP BANGUI The Central African Republic's top court rejects ex-president Francois Bozize's candidacy in forthcoming elections, boosting Faustin-Archange Touadera's bid for a second term at the helm of the impoverished, volatile country. 600 words moved. File picture. Graphic Madagascar-famine-health,FOCUS AMBOASARY, Madagascar In drought-ravaged southern Madagascar people resort to eating clay in a desperate effort to fill their stomachs and trick hunger pangs. 650 words moved by Tsiresena Manjakahery. Video. File picture -- MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA -- Yemen-conflict-hunger,WRAP SANNA Malnutrition in conflict-hit Yemen has reached record levels, narrowing the window of opportunity to prevent a famine, the UN says, as the coronavirus and funding shortfalls threaten a humanitarian perfect storm. 600 words moved. -- SPORT -- Fbl-ENG-Pr-health-virus-rescue,WRAP LONDON The Premier League and the English Football League have agreed a £250-million rescue package to ease the financial pressure on lower-league clubs during the coronavirus pandemic. 550 words moved by John Weaver -- SCIENCE -- Health-science-brain-vision-Netherlands,lead WASHINGTON Scientists are a step closer to restoring vision for the blind, after building an implant that bypasses the eyes and allows monkeys to perceive artificially induced patterns in their brains. 600 words 2100 GMT by Issam Ahmed. Graphic -- BUSINESS/ECONOMY -- OPEC-oil,WRAP LONDON Members of the OPEC group of oil producers strike a deal to increase production over coming months, but by less than anticipated in their previous accord. 500 words moved by Benoit Pelegrin US-economy-unemployment-stimulus,WRAP WASHINGTON A drop in new applications for US unemployment benefits offers small comfort to the 20 million Americans receiving aid amid the pandemic, much of which is set to expire without an agreement in Congress on a new relief program. 600 words moved GMT by Heather Scott Ireland-US-aviation-Boeing-Ryanair, WRAP LONDON Boeing picks up its first major order for the 737 MAX since the aircraft was grounded for 20 months following two fatal crashes, as Irish no-frills airline Ryanair signs a deal to acquire 75 of the planes. 700 words 2200 GMT by Roland Jackson and John Biers. Video afp
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