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| - Duty Editor: Alex Nicoll Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Trump loyalists mount last stand rally in Washington + Rockets from Ethiopia's Tigray hit Eritrea capital + Huge Asian trade pact signed in coup for Beijing + Curbs tighten in Europe as Covid-19 toll rises + Top-ranked Dustin Johnson seizes Masters lead US-vote,WRAP WASHINGTON Thousands of die-hard Donald Trump supporters rally for a last stand in Washington, chanting "four more years" and blaming fraud for an election defeat that will force the president to vacate the White House after just one term. 800 words moved by Sebastien Duval. Picture. Video Ethiopia-unrest-Tigray,WRAP ADDIS ABABA Rockets from Ethiopia's northern Tigray region hit the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, diplomats say, the latest indication that Ethiopia's internal conflict is spreading beyond its borders. 750 words moved by Robbie Corey-Boulet. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: Ethiopia-conflict-Sudan-refugee,SCENE RCEP-ASEAN-trade-China-US,WRAP HANOI Fifteen countries sign a sprawling Asian trade deal seen as a huge coup for China in extending its influence. 600 words 0530 GMT by Alice Philipson with Martin Abbugao in Singapore Also moved: RCEP-ASEAN-trade-China-US-Vietnam,Q&A Health-virus,WRAP VIENNA A swathe of new restrictions to curtail a second wave of coronavirus infections are announced or come into force from Austria to Greece, Italy to Portugal, as the global death toll climbs above 1.3 million. 750 words moved by AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic Golf-Masters,WRAP AUGUSTA, Georgia Top-ranked Dustin Johnson seizes command of the Masters, matching the 54-hole record at Augusta National to grab a four-stroke lead in pursuit of a second major title. 650 words moved by Jim Slater Also moved: Golf-Masters-Johnson Golf-Masters-Woods Golf-Masters-McIlroy Golf-Masters-Im -- AMERICAS -- US-space-SpaceX-NASA,WRAP WASHINGTON Four astronauts are poised to launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon "Resilience" to the International Space Station on Sunday, the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring. 700 words 0600 GMT by Issam Ahmed and Ivan Couronne. Graphic. Picture US-vote-women,FOCUS WASHINGTON With Kamala Harris poised to become the first female vice president of the United States, and with a record number of women elected to Congress -- including more Republicans than ever -- considerable history will be made when they all take office in January. 700 words moved by Elodie Cuzin. File picture US-vote-IT-media-politics,FOCUS WASHINGTON Conservatives backing President Donald Trump's claims of election malfeasance have sparked a migration to alternative social media sites which have refrained from filtering unverified claims. 700 words moved by Rob Lever US-vote-diplomacy-Biden,FOCUS WASHINGTON Following four years of presidential pique and chronic chaos in dealing with foreign leaders, Joe Biden has already signaled a reversal -- he is making US diplomacy predictable, even dull, again. 650 words moved by Shaun Tandon. File picture US-vote-Venezuela-diplomacy,ANALYSIS WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's election defeat marks the end of a hardline pressure policy designed to oust Venezuela's leftist president Nicolas Maduro, and the arrival of Joe Biden in the White House in January could pave the way for a political solution to the crisis in that country. 600 words moved by Ariela Navarro -- ASIA -- Health-virus-Cambodia-economy-microfinance,FOCUS SIEM REAP Trapped under a mountain of crippling debt, Cambodian farmer Roeurn Reth fears she will have to sell her land to repay microfinance loans that have ballooned due to pandemic-spurred job losses in her family. 750 words moved by Suy Se. Picture. Video Japan-HongKong-China-economy-finance,FOCUS TOKYO Tokyo is on a charm offensive, hoping to lure firms in Hong Kong spooked by protests and a controversial security law imposed by China. But wooing big business is proving a tough sell. 700 words moved by Etienne Balmer. File picture -- EUROPE -- Moldova-vote,WRAP CHISINAU Moldova heads to the polls Sunday for the second round of a tightly-contested presidential election pitting a pro-European challenger against the country's Moscow-backed incumbent. 500 words moved by Ania Tsoukanova. Picture. Video Armenia-Azerbaijan-conflict-Karabakh,WRAP STEPANAKERT Armenia on Sunday was due to begin handing over disputed territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. 550 words moved by Herve Bar. Picture. Video US-Trump=Biden-politics-diplomacy-UN,FOCUS GENEVA After years of US disengagement and confrontation, international organisations in Geneva appeared to breathe a collective sigh of relief at Joe Biden's presidential election win -- but the anticipated honeymoon could be short. 650 words moved by Nina Larson Tanzania-politics-vote-Belgium,INTERVIEW TIENEN, Belgium Last month, Tundu Lissu was campaigning for the presidency of Tanzania. Today, he is back in a simple ground floor flat in the small Belgian town where he had recovered from multiple gunshot wounds the previous time he was forced to flee his homeland. 750 words moved by Dave Clark. Picture. Video Britain-EU-politics-trade,WRAP BRUSSELS The EU and Britain head into the final stretch of post-Brexit trade negotiations after months of bickering with hopes of agreeing a blueprint for their future, but failure remains on the table. 600 words moved by Alex Pigman. File picture. File video. Graphic -- Please see our special Brexit advisory for full coverage -- -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Leisure-Egypt-tourism-economy,FOCUS SIWA, Egypt Tucked away in Egypt's Western Desert, the Shali fortress once protected inhabitants against the incursions of wandering tribes, but now there are hopes its renovation will attract ecotourists. 650 words moved by Hager Harabech. Picture. Video Iran-US-attacks-Qaeda,WRAP TEHRAN Iran dismisses a US newspaper report that Al-Qaeda's second-in-command was killed in Tehran by Israeli agents as "made-up information" and denies the presence of any of the Sunni jihadist group's members in the Islamic republic. 650 words moved. Picture Ethiopia-conflict-Sudan-refugee,SCENE HAMDAYIT, Sudan Two decades since Burhan Yussef sought refuge in Sudan from famine in Ethiopia, the 77-year-old is back -- joining thousands of others fleeing intense fighting in Tigray. 650 words moved by Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali. Picture. Video afp
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