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| - Duty Editor: Ben Sheppard Email: ben.sheppard@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Sydney braces for floods, evacuations ordered + EU scraps in-person summit as Covid cases surge + Biden seeks to control migration crisis + US defense secretary completes Afghan visit + 2021's biggest asteroid set for Earth flyby Australia-flood-weather,lead SYDNEY Sydney braces for its worst flooding in decades after record rainfall causes its largest dam to overflow and as deluges prompt mandatory mass evacuation orders along Australia's east coast. 450 words moved. Picture Health-virus,WRAP BERLIN Europe grapples with resurgent coronavirus infections, as Germany considers extending restrictions into April despite street protests and EU leaders abandon plans to attend a summit on the pandemic. 750 words moved by Hui Min Neo with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic. Videographics US-politics-immigration,WRAP WASHINGTON "Do not come, the border is closed." Under fire and accused of having provoked an influx of thousands of migrants across the southern US border, the Biden administration goes on the offensive to try to reassure Americans of its ability to manage the first big crisis to emerge on its watch. 650 words moved by Brian Knowlton. File picture Afghanistan-US-diplomacy,2ndlead ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin completes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan just weeks before Washington is due to withdraw the last of its troops under a deal struck with the Taliban last year. 500 words moved by Sylvie Lanteaume Space-asteroid PARIS The largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will swing closest on Sunday, giving astronomers a rare chance for a good look at a space rock that formed at the dawn of our solar system. 400 words moved. Graphic -- SPOTLIGHT -- Health-virus-US-vaccine-Republicans,FOCUS MARTINSBURG, West Virginia Patients stream steadily into the Covid vaccine center that Todd Engle can almost touch from his West Virginia backyard. But like scores of other Republican voters, force would likely be required to get a dose into his arm. 800 words moved by Joshua Melvin. Picture. Video Attacks-memorial-history, FOCUS PARIS The aftermath of every terror attack places Western countries in the same conundrum: How to honour the victims and show national resilience without giving the perpetrators the place in posterity that they crave? 850 words moved by Didier Lauras. File Picture. Health-virus-Germany-postcards,FOCUS BERLIN Brightly coloured rectangles of cardboard fill almost every wall of Gesa Funke's apartment in southern Berlin, with piles more stashed in corners and drawers -- some from places as far-flung as French Polynesia. 500 words moved by Femke Colborne. Picture. -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Germany-restrictions,2ndlead BERLIN Germany is poised to tighten a partial lockdown into April to halt an exponential spread of the coronavirus driven by variants. 500 words moved. Greece-Turkey-history,ADVANCER ATHENS Greece will next week celebrate the 200th anniversary of the uprising that created its modern state, a romantic revolution that experts say captivated both elites and the masses around the world. 750 words moved by John Hadoulis. Picture. Turkey-politics-Kurds,INTERVIEW ISTANBUL President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to ensure victory in the next election by "illegally" trying to ban Turkey's pro-Kurdish party, its former leader tells AFP from jail. 600 words moved by Fulya Ozerkan. File picture France-China-animals-panda-offbeat SAINT-AIGNAN-SUR-CHER, France A couple of giant pandas in captivity engage in a rare weekend of love-making with the hoped-for result, an even rarer panda offspring, still too early to call, a French zoo says. 350 words moved. Picture. Video -- ASIA -- Myanmar-politics-military,WRAP YANGON Security forces in Myanmar shoot dead an anti-coup protester, as the Australian government confirms it is assisting two nationals who were detained after trying to leave Yangon. 650 words 1930 GMT. Picture. Graphic Philippines-China-maritime-diplomacy,WRAP MANILA The Philippines accuses China of "incursion" after more than 200 militia boats were spotted near a disputed reef in the South China Sea, in a rare rebuke of its superpower neighbour. 500 words moved. Picture -- MIDDLE EAST -- Israel-vote,WRAP JERUSALEM Two days before Israel's election, polls show a knife-edge race, with the performance of small parties likely to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secures an elusive majority. 650 words moved by Ben Simon. Picture. Video Also moved: Israel-vote-Jerusalem-Palestinians,FOCUS Saudi-Aramco-energy-oil,WRAP RIYADH Energy giant Saudi Aramco posts a 44.4 percent slump in 2020 net profit due to lower crude prices, as the coronavirus pandemic has weighed heavily on global demand. 650 words moved by Anuj Chopra Egypt-Saadawi-feminism-social,OBIT CAIRO Egypt's famed writer Nawal el-Saadawi, who spent a lifetime vexing politicians and clerics with her fight against the oppression of women and religious taboos, dies aged 89. 600 words moved by Farid Farid. File picture Morocco-Algeria-border,FOCUS FIGUIG, Morocco Moroccan farmers in an isolated oasis on the Algerian border bear the brunt of regional tensions as Algiers expels them from date groves they have farmed for generations. 700 words moved by Sophie Pons. Picture -- AFRICA -- Congo-vote,WRAP BRAZZAVILLE The Republic of Congo votes in a presidential election boycotted by the main opposition and under an internet blackout, with critics voicing concerns over the transparency of the polls seen as tilted towards veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso. 650 words moved by Laudes Martial Mbon and Samil Tounsi. Picture CAfrica-unrest,WRAP BANGUI Central African Republic former president Francois Bozize has taken charge of a rebel alliance aiming to overthrow the central government, the group's spokesman says. 450 words moved. -- SPORT -- FBL-ENG-FACUP,lead LONDON Chelsea moves into the FA Cup semi-finals as Oliver Norwood's own goal and a late Hakim Ziyech strike seals a 2-0 win against Sheffield United. 550 words moved. Picture. afp
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