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| - Duty Editor: Katy Lee Email: engdeskers@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Hong Kong enforces ban on Tiananmen commemorations + Putin eyes warmer ties with Biden ahead of summit + Multinational tax deal 'in sight' as G7 meets + US intelligence 'can't explain mystery sightings' + Istanbul 'sea snot' alarms residents HongKong-China-politics-Tiananmen,WRAP HONG KONG A Hong Kong park that traditionally hosts huge vigils on the anniversary of China's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown lies empty for the first time as police block access, but flashes of defiance still flicker across the city. 750 words 1430 GMT by Su Xinqi, Yan Zhao and Jerome Taylor. Picture. Video. Live video. Graphic Also moved: HongKong-China-politics,CHRONO Russia-US-diplomacy-politics-economy,WRAP SAINT PETERSBURG Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is hoping to improve deeply damaged ties with the United States when he holds his first summit with US counterpart Joe Biden later this month. 650 words 1530 GMT by Anastasia Clark. Picture. Video G7-Britain-economy-politics,WRAP LONDON Finance ministers from wealthy G7 nations move closer to supporting US-backed plans for a minimum global level of corporate tax aimed at getting multinationals -- especially tech giants -- to pay more into government coffers hit hard by the pandemic. 650 words 1600 GMT by Roland Jackson. Picture. Video Also moving: G7-Britain-economy-politics-taxation,FACTS US-military-space-intelligence-UFO,WRAP WASHINGTON A long-awaited US intelligence report on UFOs says there is no evidence proving the existence of aliens -- but also can't explain mysterious aircraft sighted by military pilots, according to media reports. 500 words 1600 GMT by Paul Handley. File picture Turkey-environment-sea ISTANBUL A thick, brown, bubbly foam dubbed "sea snot" has covered the shores of the Sea of Marmara, alarming Istanbul residents and raising new environmental concerns. 500 words 1500 GMT by Fulya Ozerkan. Picture. Video -- SPOTLIGHT -- Health-virus-Nepal-mountaineering-Everest KATHMANDU Expedition organiser Dawa Steven Sherpa has been running teams on Everest for over a decade, but this year has been the most challenging yet, in a season that grappled with a storm of coronavirus, cyclones and misinformation. 500 words moved by Paavan Mathema. Picture. Video Myanmar-politics-military-guerrilla,FOCUS BANGKOK Nervous laughter breaks out in Myanmar's eastern jungle as a young man training to overthrow the junta is knocked backwards by the kick of a rifle he has just fired at a target painted on a tree. 750 words moved. File picture. Video SLeone-China-fishing-environment-tourism,FOCUS FREETOWN Sierra Leoneans are protesting a planned industrial harbour in a lush village in the West African country over concerns the Chinese-financed project will destroy pristine rainforest and pollute the ocean. 700 words moved Saidu Bah. Picture. Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-vaccines-Covax-WHO GENEVA The World Health Organization says a shortfall in Covid-19 vaccine doses going through the Covax programme in June and July could undermine the efficiency of the rollout. 450 words moved Health-virus-France-tourism-travel,lead PARIS Travel to France for EU residents will be fully allowed starting June 9 but Britain and the United States remain on an "orange" alert list that will require even vaccinated travellers to show a negative Covid test, the government says. 600 words moved by Tangi Quemener and Joseph Schmid Health-virus-Cyprus-UN NICOSIA Checkpoints reopen along the UN-patrolled ceasefire line that divides Cyprus as coronavirus restrictions imposed 15 months ago ease. 550 words moved by Charlie Charalambous. Picture. Video Health-virus-India-crime,FOCUS NEW DELHI From fake medicines to fire extinguishers disguised as oxygen cylinders to recycled PPE, India's coronavirus hell has been lucrative for its ever-inventive army of scammers, with sometimes deadly consequences. 550 words moved by Bhuvan Bagga -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-Tiananmen,SCENE HONG KONG As the clock strikes 8 pm in Hong Kong's shopping district of Mongkok, dozens of people simultaneously turn their mobile phone lights on, a small gesture of defiance in a city where remembrance of Beijing's Tiananmen crackdown has been banned. 650 words moved by Yan Zhao, Daniel Suen and Louise Delmotte. Picture. Video. Britain-China-rights-Uyghurs,WRAP LONDON A London panel investigating the plight of Uyghurs in China hears witness testimony of torture and gang rapes, in a process slammed by Beijing as a mendacious smear. 700 words 1500 GMT by Callum Paton. Picture. Video Indonesia-Myanmar-Bangladesh-refugee-Rohingya- migration,lead ACEH, Indonesia A boat filled with dozens of Rohingya, mostly women and children, lands off the Indonesian coast, marking the latest arrival by the persecuted Myanmar minority. 500 words moved. Picture. Mongolia-social-employment-family-gender,FOCUS ULAANBAATAR Mongolia once guaranteed free childcare for working mothers but decades after the landlocked country abandoned communist rule, some have been forced to choose between bribing nurseries or leaving their jobs to look after their young ones. 650 words moved by Khaliun Bayartsogt. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Belarus-politics-unrest-Poland-opposition,WRAP WARSAW Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya dismisses an interview shown on state television in Belarus with a journalist arrested after his plane was forced to land in Minsk. 600 words moved by Dario Thuburn. Picture. Video. Germany-Vatican-religion-abuse,WRAP BERLIN One of Germany's leading Catholic bishops, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, says he has offered Pope Francis his resignation over the church's "institutional and systemic failure" in its handling of child sex abuse scandals. 650 words moved by Kit Holden. File picture -- AFRICA -- Mali-France-politics-coup,WRAP BAMAKO Supporters of Mali's M5 opposition movement are called out to rally in a demonstration that may point to the next steps in the country's ongoing crisis. 600 words 1500 GMT. File pictures. Graphic Also moved: Mali-unrest-coup-diplomacy-politics, ANALYSIS DRCongo-volcano-children,FOCUS GOMA, DR Congo Mount Nyiragongo has ceased to rumble and the city of Goma is in recovery mode, but hundreds of parents are still frantically searching for children who became separated from their families during last week's panic-stricken exodus. 900 words 1500 GMT by Heritier Baraka Munyampfura. Picture. Video. Graphic -- MIDDLE EAST -- Lebanon-UN-tribunal,WRAP BEIRUT Lebanon urges the United Nations to urgently consider "alternative means" to fund a UN-backed court on its ex-premier Rafic Hariri's murder that may close over a cash crunch. 400 words moved by Layal Abou Rahal. File Picture -- LATIN AMERICA -- Peru-vote,ADVANCER LIMA Peruvians will be faced with choosing the "lesser evil" between rightwing populist Keiko Fujimori and radical leftwing unionist Pedro Castillo when voting for their new president on Sunday. 800 words moved by Francisco Jara. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: Peru-vote-Fujimori,PROFILE Peru-vote-Castillo,PROFILE Nicaragua-politics-opposition-arrest,PROFILE MANAGUA Like her mother before her, Nicaraguan opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro -- placed under house arrest Wednesday on government claims of money-laundering -- has proved to be a thorn in the side of President Daniel Ortega. 600 words moved. File picture -- BUSINESS/ECONOMY -- US-economy-employment,WRAP WASHINGTON The United States adds 559,000 jobs in May, fewer than expected but nonetheless a sign of recovery in the world's largest economy after the Covid-19 pandemic caused mass layoffs. 650 words 1430 GMT by Chris Stein Britain-trade-Norway-Iceland-Liechtenstein,WRAP LONDON Britain announces it has signed a free-trade agreement with three European countries -- major fishing neighbour Norway as well as Iceland and Liechtenstein -- in its latest move to boost trade ties post-Brexit. 600 words 1500 GMT by Veronique Dupont. Video. US-China-economy-politics-sanctions,WRAP BEIJING China accuses the United States of "suppressing" Chinese firms after President Joe Biden expanded a blacklist of companies Americans are barred from investing in. 500 words moved EU-Britain-Facebook-probe-advertising-data,WRAP BRUSSELS The European Union and Britain have launched parallel competition probes into whether Facebook uses data from advertisers to unfairly dominate the online classifieds market. 650 words moved by Daniel Aronssohn. File picture -- ENVIRONMENT -- Environment-Lebanon-forests-climate,FOCUS QSAYBEH, Lebanon The scenic region of Mount Lebanon has long produced pine seed, a regional delicacy, but harvests have collapsed amid an exotic insect infestation experts say is accelerated by climate change. 750 words moved by Layal Abou Rahal. Picture. Video -- SPORT -- Tennis-FRA-Open,WRAP PARIS Serena Williams continues her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title in the French Open third round as the highest-ranked player left in her half of the draw, while Stefanos Tsitsipas faces the first real test of his title credentials against John Isner. 600 words 1600 GMT by Jed Court. Picture afp
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