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| - Duty Editor: Jenny Vaughan Tel: +33 1 40.41.46.36 -- TOP STORIES -- + AstraZeneca 100% effective against severe Covid: US trial + China sanctions 10 Europeans in Uighur row + Australia floods force thousands to flee + Congo presidential candidate dies on poll day + Crowds flock to erupting Iceland volcano Health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca say that US trials showed its Covid-19 vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease, even as a poll showed trust in the jab had plunged in many European countries. 800 words 1600 GMT by AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic EU-diplomacy-rights-sanctions,WRAP BRUSSELS The EU imposes sanctions against four Chinese officials over the crackdown on the Uighurs, sparking an immediate tit-for-tat response against Europeans from Beijing. 700 words 1430 GMT by Max Delany. Picture. Video Australia-weather-flood,WRAP SYDNEY Torrential downpours lash Australia's east, forcing thousands to flee the worst flooding in decades and pushing communities already battling drought, bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic to "breaking point". 700 words moved by Andrew Beatty, with Holly Robertson in Brisbane. Picture. Graphic Congo-vote,WRAP BRAZZAVILLE The Republic of Congo counts the votes after presidential elections overshadowed by the death from coronavirus of opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who had been campaigning against the odds against veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso. 650 words 1500 GMT by Laudes Martial Mbon. Picture. Graphic Also moved: Congo-vote-Kolelas, OBIT Iceland-volcano,SCENE FAGRADALSFJALL, Iceland Iceland's volcanic eruption near the capital Reykjavik draws thousands of curious onlookers to marvel at the hypnotic display of glowing red lava, the bravest of them grilling hot dogs and marshmallows over the smouldering embers. 600 words moved by Jeremie Richard. Picture. Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-Britain-EU-vaccines LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "reassured" that EU leaders "don't want to see blockades" on vaccine exports while Ireland's leader warned Brussels that a threatened ban would be a "very retrograde" amid disagreements about supply chains. 450 words 1500 GMT by James Pheby and Joe Stenson Health-virus-Germany,lead BERLIN Germany is poised to prolong and tighten a partial lockdown into April as new virus cases soar, according to a draft document seen by AFP ahead of a strategy meeting. 550 words 1700 GMT by Hui Min Neo. Picture. Video Health-virus-Russia-Putin-vaccine MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin dismisses foreign criticism of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, saying he plans to get the jab himself on Tuesday. 550 words 1530 GMT by Michael Mainville. Picture. Video Italy-health-virus-vaccines,lead ROME The vaccine rollout in Italy's hardest-hit region is being badly hampered by faulty booking systems, with at least one injection centre nearly empty at the weekend. 400 words moved Health-virus-Germany-music,FOCUS BERLIN A thousand tickets snapped up in three minutes -- a year after concert halls across Germany were closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a pilot project for spectators to return is greeted by a rush for seats. 600 words moved by Mathieu Foulkes. Video -- EUROPE -- France-Sweden-retail-trial-labour-Ikea,WRAP PARIS The French branch of Swedish retailing giant Ikea goes on trial accused of running an elaborate system to spy on staff and job applicants using private detectives and police officers. 600 words moved by Clara Wright France-politics-assault-trial PARIS Ten people go on trial over the vandalism and looting at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris during one of the most violent episodes of the anti-government "yellow vest" protests that rocked France two years ago. 500 words moved. File picture Defence-politics-Britain,lead LONDON The UK government is to unveil much-anticipated military modernisation plans, vowing to bolster its defence of British interests "across multiple domains and in all corners of the globe". 600 words 1430 GMT by Joe Jackson. File picture Europe-migrants-Spain-Canaries,FOCUS MADRID She was just two years old. And her death this weekend after days fighting for her life puts a harrowingly human face on the surging migrant crisis in the Canary Islands. 650 words moved by Hazel Ward. File picture. Graphic -- MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA -- Israel-vote,WRAP JERUSALEM Israeli voters ready for a fourth election in under two years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead in the polls but uncertain of clinching a governing majority. 700 words 1600 GMT by Ben Simon. Picture. Video Also moving: Entertainment-Israel-vote-satire,INTERVIEW Lebanon-politics,WRAP BEIRUT Lebanon's President Michel Aoun is set to meet prime minister-designate Saad Hariri to discuss the formation of a new government in a bid to break seven months of deadlock. 600 words 1600 GMT by Tony Gamal-Gabriel. Picture. Video Qatar-rights-labour-Amnesty-fbl-WC2022 DOHA Rights group Amnesty International calls on football's global governing body FIFA to put more pressure on 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar to improve conditions for workers in the Gulf country. 450 words moved Tunisia-satellite-youth TUNIS Tunisia celebrated the launch of its first domestically made satellite, hoping it will inspire young engineers to reach for the stars at home rather than join those emigrating overseas. 500 words moved by Caroline Nelly Perrot -- AFRICA -- Niger-unrest,WRAP NIAMEY Fresh raids near Niger's border with Mali leave scores dead in a zone notorious for jihadist attacks, underscoring the greatest challenge facing the Sahel nation's newly-elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. 500 words 1500 GMT by Boureima Hama. Graphic Also moved: Africa-Niger-Sahel, FACTS Health-virus-Zimbabwe-corruption,FOCUS HARARE Zimbabwe's anti-graft police recovers dozens of boxes of Covid test kits worth thousands of dollars stolen from a public hospital -- the latest brazen act of corruption centred around the country's coronavirus programme. 550 words 1500 GMT by Mary Taruvinga. File picture -- AMERICAS -- US-racism-police-trial-Floyd,WRAP MINNEAPOLIS Jury selection is nearly complete in the high-profile trial of the white Minneapolis police officer facing murder and manslaughter charges for the death of George Floyd. 650 words 1630 GMT. Pictures. Graphic. Video US-politics-Congress-Washington WASHINGTON Democrats emboldened by their control of the US House, Senate and White House launch a fresh push for statehood for the nation's capital Washington, beginning with a high-profile congressional hearing addressing the issue. 500 words 1530 GMT by Michael Mathes. Picture US-politics-immigration,FOCUS WASHINGTON After two months of plain sailing Joe Biden has landed in choppy waters: the US president stands accused of inviting a chaotic migrant rush on the border with Mexico, with the crisis set to loom large over his high-stakes first press conference this week. 600 words 1700 GMT by Jerome Cartillier. Picture. Video -- ASIA -- Myanmar-politics-military,WRAP YANGON The EU sanctions Myanmar's top junta chief and 10 other officials, after demonstrators took to the streets for fresh anti-coup protests against the military. 650 words moved. Graphic. Picture. Video China-Canada-diplomacy-politics,WRAP BEIJING The trial of Michael Kovrig, the Canadian detained more than two years ago in China on espionage charges, starts, with relations between Ottawa and Beijing in freefall. 750 words moved by Jing Xuan Teng. Picture. Video. Live Video -- BUSINESS/ECONOMY -- Turkey-economy-bank,WRAP ANKARA The Turkish lira and stocks plunge as officials try to stem the carnage caused by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's abrupt dismissal of his reformist central bank chief. 650 words 1600 GMT by Raziye Akkoc and Kadir Demir in Istanbul. Picture. Video Nigeria-oil-economy,Q&A ABUJA Nigerian lawmakers are pushing ahead with plans to reform the country's oil and gas sector -- a crucial but deeply troubled area of the economy. Here's an explainer of the key bill. 750 words moved by Louise Dewast. File picture Germany-automobile-technology-Volkswagen-Tesla,FOCUS FRANKFURT When Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess finally joined Twitter in January, he used his first tweet to warn Elon Musk that he was coming after Tesla's electric car market share. 680 words moved by Yann Schreiber. File picture -- SPORT -- Auto-Prix-season-2021,PREVIEW LONDON Lewis Hamilton begins his bid for an unprecedented eighth drivers' world championship this week facing a cluster of challenges to his crown, as Formula One launches its cost-cutting era with a record 23-race global calendar. 800 words moved. File picture. Graphic Also moved: Auto-Prix-season-Tsunoda,PROFILE Auto-prix-season-2021-Schumacher -- SCIENCE -- Space-asteroid SEOUL The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year reaches its closest point to our planet, posing no threat of collision but giving astronomers a rare chance to study a rock formed during the beginning of our solar system. 500 words moved by Qasim Nauman. Graphic afp
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