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| - Duty Editor: Daniel Lawler Tel: +33 78 3 57 87 21 -- TOP STORIES -- + Virus toll nears 200,000 as UN pushes for vaccine + Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging + Australia, NZ hold driveway vigils for Anzac Day + Mexicans use lucha libre wrestling masks for virus + 99-year-old WWII veteran tops UK music charts Health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON The global coronavirus death toll approaches 200,000 as the United Nations launches an international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic. 850 words 1200 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic Saudi-punishment-rights,lead RIYADH Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the state human rights commission says, hailing a "major step forward" in the reform programme launched by the king and his powerful son. 550 words 1000 GMT Australia-NZealand-Anzac-health-virus-military-WWI,lead SYDNEY Australians and New Zealanders hold dawn Anzac Day vigils from the isolation of their own driveways to honour their armed forces, as parades are cancelled and ceremonies closed to the public over coronavirus fears. 600 words moved by Andrew Leeson. Picture. Video Health-virus-Mexico-wrestling,FOCUS PUEBLA, Mexico In Mexico, where the masked stars of "lucha libre" wrestling are already cultural icons, people are using their colorful masks to ward off the coronavirus in style. 700 words moved by German Campos. Picture. Video Health-virus-Britain-charity-music LONDON A 99-year-old British World War II veteran who shot to fame raising millions for health workers fighting the coronavirus has become the oldest artist to reach No. 1 in the UK music singles charts. 350 words moved. Picture -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Britain LONDON The British government is embroiled in a political row over who sits on the main scientific group advising ministers on the coronavirus pandemic, as the official death total approaches 20,000. 500 words 1100 GMT by David Harding Also moved: Health-virus-Britain-Johnson Health-virus-Albania-Islam-Ramadan,FOCUS TIRANA With mosques closed due to coronavirus restrictions, 81-year-old Osman Hoxha and his family mark a quiet Ramadan inside their Tirana apartment, recalling the dark days of communism when practicing religion could lead to a death sentence. 600 words 1300 GMT by Briseida Mema. Picture. Video Health-virus-France-Syria-dance,PHOTOESSAY PARIS Syrian dancer Yara al-Hasbani is used to drawing crowds. But with Paris under a strict lockdown, she struck a series of spectacular ballet poses in front of the deserted monuments of the French capital. 300 words 1030 GMT. Picture Health-virus-Italy-cycling,PHOTOESSAY COLLEGNO, Italy He really should be training for the Giro d'Italia instead of making deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic. But how else is a professional Italian cyclist supposed to stay in shape? 500 words 0930 GMT by Marco Bertorello. Picture Germany-health-virus,FOCUS BERLIN As nations around the world look to ease coronavirus curbs on public life, some experts have mooted the possibility of "immunity passports" to allow those who have antibodies to return to work first. 650 words moved by Femke Colborne. File picture. File video Health-virus-Spain,FACTS BARCELONA In Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the pandemic, the coronavirus spread quickly and widely without being detected -- especially among the elderly, experts tell AFP. 750 words moved by Daniel Bosque Turkey-politics-Kurds-rights,FOCUS MARDIN, Turkey The fury and disappointment among residents was palpable in the Turkish city of Mardin after the government replaced the popular mayor with a trustee. Forty out out of 65 municipalities won by a pro-Kurdish party in last year's local elections have been put under the control of such trustees. 700 words moved by Raziye Akkoc. Picture. Video -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Health-virus-Tunisia,FOCUS TUNIS The feared impact of coronavirus on Tunisia's fragile public health system has provoked a flurry of innovation, from robotics to digitalisation efforts, to bolster the North African country's pandemic response. 600 words moved by Caroline Nelly Perrot. Picture. Video -- AMERICAS -- Health-virus-US ATLANTA, United States Gyms, hair salons and tattoo parlors have a green light to reopen in the state of Georgia as the United States surpasses the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. 750 words moved by Michael Mathes. Picture. Video Health-virus-politics-Trump,FOCUS WASHINGTON Top White House coronavirus advisor Deborah Birx shrank in horror and around the nation comedians sharpened their pens: President Donald Trump had just asked if virus victims couldn't be injected with disinfectant. 750 words moved by Sebastian Smith. Picture. File picture Health-virus-ultraviolet,FOCUS WASHINGTON Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus? A White House presentation on a mysterious government study says so -- but some scientists have called for caution as we await more evidence. 750 words moved by Issam Ahmed Canada-crime-police-shooting,2ndlead OTTAWA The worst mass shooting in Canada's history started with the suspect assaulting his girlfriend, and this may have been the "catalyst" for the 22 grisly slayings that followed, police say. 750 words moved by Michel Comte Brazil-politics-government-corruption-police,WRAP BRASILIA Sergio Moro, Brazil's justice and security minister, resigns after clashing with President Jair Bolsonaro over the sacking of the federal police chief. 700 words moved by Jordi Miro with Eugenia Logiuratto in Rio de Janeiro Health-virus-US-RV,FOCUS NEW YORK Anish Samuel, a doctor specializing in pulmonary critical care, was changing his clothes multiple times an evening and eating separately from his family to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus. Now, Samuel is living in an RV in front of the family home. 650 words moved by Thomas Urbain. Picture. Video -- ASIA -- Taiwan-HongKong-China-politics,lead TAIPEI A Hong Kong publisher previously detained by Chinese authorities reopens his bookstore in Taiwan, defying what he called attempts linked to Beijing to intimidate him. 500 words by Amber Wang. Picture. Video Health-virus-Myanmar-tradition-offbeat,FOCUS YANGON Myanmar lawyer Thiri had been excited about her wedding and new job this year -- before the coronavirus threw both into doubt. With the stars very much unaligned, she turned to an astrology app for help. 550 words moved. Picture -- AFRICA -- DRCongo-religion-unrest,2ndlead KINSHASA The self-styled prophet of a separatist sect blamed for deadly attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo is arrested in a raid on his home in Kinshasa involving hundreds of security forces. 400 words moved -- SPORTS -- Fbl-ARG-gender,FOCUS LA PLATA, Argentina On the pitch, they finally can feel like themselves. In addition to the sheer joy that football brings them, Mara Gomez and Marcos Rojo have the extra satisfaction of knowing they are blazing a trail for transgender players in Argentina. 600 words moved by Nina Negron. Picture. Video Health-virus-sport-commentators LONDON Dogs chasing rubber bones, "competitive" road crossing and the thrills of grilled chicken have become the new currency for sports commentators looking to entertain fans during the coronavirus lockdown. 650 words moved by Steven Griffiths. File picture afp
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