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| - Duty Editor: Jenny Vaughan Contact: jenny.vaughan@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + EU unveils huge recovery plan as virus hammers Latin America + Trump threatens to 'close down' social media after Twitter row + Bad weather puts SpaceX launch in peril + 26 arrested over Essex migrant lorry deaths + No screams please: Japanese funfairs prepare for virus era Health-virus,WRAP BRUSSELS The EU unveils a proposed 750-billion-euro recovery plan to get the continent back on its feet after the devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic, as Latin America outpaced Europe and the US in the number of daily infections. 950 words 1430 GMT by Dave Clark with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic. Videographic US-politics-Trump-Twitter,WRAP WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump threatens to close down social media platforms after Twitter for the first time acts against his false tweets, prompting the enraged Republican to double down on unsubstantiated claims and conspiracy theories. 600 words 1530 GMT by Sebastian Smith. File picture Also moving: US-IT-politics-Trump,FOCUS US-space-SpaceX-NASA,WRAP KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Rain and thunderstorms off the coast of Florida threaten to postpone the launch by SpaceX of two NASA astronauts into orbit, a historic first for a privately-owned company and the first crewed mission to blast off from US soil in almost a decade. 750 words 1500 GMT by Ivan Couronne. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moving: US-space-SpaceX-NASA,PROFILE Also moved: US-science-aerospace-space,SCENE Britain-crime-migrants,2ndlead BRUSSELS Police in Belgium and France arrest 26 suspected people smugglers over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated truck in Britain last year. 600 words 1500 GMT by Damon Wake Virus-health-Japan-entertainment-offbeat TOKYO No screaming on the rollercoaster, socially distant spooks in the haunted house and please refrain from high-fiving your favourite superhero: welcome to Japanese amusement parks in the coronavirus era. 300 words moved -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-EU-budget BRUSSELS European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen proposes a 750-billion-euro post-virus recovery fund for Europe and urged sceptical member states to back it. 700 words 1500 GMT by Alex Pigman. Video. Picture. Graphic Health-virus-France-drug,3rdlead PARIS The French government says doctors should no longer prescribe hydroxychloroquine for COVID19 patients, a controversial and potentially harmful treatment nonetheless being promoted by US President Donald Trump. 600 words 1500 GMT by Joseph Schmid Health-virus-Britain-politics LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sees his public support suffer the sharpest fall for a Conservative leader in a decade as he prepares to be grilled by lawmakers over his handling of the Dominic Cummings scandal. 600 words 1800 GMT by Joe Jackson. Picture. Video Health-virus-unemployment-ILO,lead GENEVA The COVID-19 pandemic has caused surging unemployment worldwide, but has hit young workers especially hard, forcing more than one in six people aged under 29 to stop working, the UN says. 650 words moved by Nina Larson Health-virus-Russia,UPDATE MOSCOW Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces an easing of the Russian capital's lockdown starting June 1, as the Kremlin says the coronavirus pandemic across the country is stabilising. 500 words by 1430 GMT Britain-EU-politics-Brexit LONDON The UK government says Prime Minister Boris Johnson will joined stalled negotiations with the European Union in a bid to reach a breakthrough in post-Brexit talks ahead of an end-of-June deadline. 450 words 1530 GMT by Dmitry Zaks Health-virus-Spain-poverty,FOCUS MADRID Accepting food handouts for the first time has become reality for thousands in Spain, where poverty has soared aggressively during the epidemic, echoing the 2008 crisis from which many have barely recovered. 750 words moved by Thomas Perroteau. Picture. Video Health-virus-rights-data,ANALYSIS PARIS As more and more governments turn to tracing apps in the fight against the coronavirus, a deep-rooted tension has emerged between the need for public health information and privacy rights. 800 words 1600 GMT by Didier Lauras with AFP bureaus Health-virus-Spain-politics,FOCUS MADRID Spain's leftwing government faces increasing pressure after a damning report emerges criticising its decision to permit a huge March 8 rally in Madrid as the epidemic gathered pace. 640 words 1430 GMT by Alvaro Villalobos. Picture Health-virus-Cyprus NICOSIA Cyprus hopes to attract tourists after its coronavirus lockdown by paying the medical costs of anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 while holidaying on the island. 500 words 1430 GMT. File picture -- AMERICAS -- Canada-China-US-court-extradition,WRAP OTTAWA A Canadian judge is to deliver a key decision on the extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou that could set her free and help repair Canada-China relations. 750 words 1830 GMT by Michel Comte US-China-rights-politics,WRAP WASHINGTON The US Congress is set to approve sanctions on Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims, the latest forceful bid by Washington to pressure Beijing in one of their growing disputes. 550 words 1530 GMT by Shaun Tandon US-politics-police-race,WRAP MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota Protesters pack the streets of the US midwestern city of Minneapolis, clashing with police and demanding justice for a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck. 650 words 1700 GMT by Joy Powell. Picture. Video Surimane-vote,WRAP PARAMARIBO Suriname's main opposition party is poised to win the country's general election, according to preliminary results, after a vote likely to end the long-time rule of President Desi Bouterse, who was convicted of ordering the murder of political opponents months before the polls. 500 words 1500 GMT by Ranu Abhelakh. Picture. Video -- AFRICA -- DRCongo-unrest,WRAP KINSHASA Dozens of civilians have been killed in eastern DR Congo in the latest of a string of massacres by the notorious Allied Democratic Forces militia. 500 words 1600 GMT -- MIDDLE EAST -- Iran-US-prisoner-politics,FACTS TEHRAN Iran and the United States have long been sworn enemies, and despite rare prisoner swaps in recent years, they still hold a number of each other's nationals behind bars. 750 words moved Iran-politics,WRAP TEHRAN President Hassan Rouhani urges Iranian lawmakers to "cooperate" with his government during the inaugural session of the new parliament following a February election swept by conservatives. 650 words 1430 GMT Picture. Live video. Video Morocco-Tunisia-religion-court RABAT A Moroccan movie star has been detained for "blasphemous remarks against Islam", police say, while Amnesty International calls for similar charges to be dropped against a student in Tunisia. 450 words moved Health-virus-Israel-easing,SCENE JERUSALEM A spritzer, espresso or beer on the terrace: after two months of coranavurus lockdown, Israeli eateries, cafes and bars begin to cautiously reopen their doors. 600 words 1600 GMT by Michael Blum. Picture. Video -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-unrest,WRAP HONG KONG Hong Kong police cast a dragnet around the financial hub's legislature and fire pepper-ball rounds in the commercial district as they clamp down on protests against a bill banning insults to China's national anthem. 750 words moved by Jerome Taylor. Graphic. Picture. Video. Live Video Afghanistan-conflict-ceasefire,WRAP KABUL The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is considerably ahead of schedule, an official tells AFP, as President Donald Trump reiterated calls for the Pentagon to bring troops home. 550 words moved by Usman Sharifi with Thomas Watkins in Washington Australia-indigenous-culture-mining SYDNEY Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has admitted damaging ancient Aboriginal rock shelters in the remote Pilbara region -- blasting near the 46,000-year-old heritage site to expand an iron ore mine. 450 words moved. Picture India-climate-weather-health-virus-heat,lead NEW DELHI India is wilting under a heatwave, with the temperature in places reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and the capital enduring its hottest May day in nearly two decades. 550 words moved by Aishwarya Kumar. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS -- Health-virus-US-economy-state-budget,FOCUS WASHINGTON In the decentralized American system, the COVID-19 pandemic is draining public finances in many cities and states, and without help from the federal government, the consequences will be lasting and the economic recovery slower. 750 words 1600 GMT by Delphine Touitou. File picture -- SPORTS -- Cricket-IND-Shaw,FOCUS NEW DELHI Comparisons to India's "god of cricket" Sachin Tendulkar have not always helped Prithvi Shaw as he seeks to put a doping ban and injury worries behind him and return to the national side. 600 words moved by Faisal Kamal. File picture Health-virus-Japan-sports-computers TOKYO A new Japanese smartphone app will allow fans to send virtual cheers and jeers to sports stadiums in the hope of creating atmosphere at matches played behind closed doors due to coronavirus. 400 words moved -- ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT -- France-NewCaledonia-museum-indigenous PARIS A curator from New Caledonia becomes the first indigenous person to head a major French national museum. 450 words moved by Fiachra Gibbons and Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere. File picture -- MISINFORMATION SERIES -- Health-virus-internet-misinformation-Mideast,FOCUS BEIRUT Mass conversions, immunity for Muslims: in the global maelstrom of disinformation spurred by coronavirus, many of the more outlandish claims that went viral in the Middle East were religious-themed. 600 words moved afp
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