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| - Duty Editor: James Hossack Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + California locked down as UK plans vaccinations + Universal Music buys whole Dylan back catalogue + Biden to nominate first Black defense secretary + Britain scrambles to win post-Brexit trade deal + Paris Olympics to include breakdancing, surfing Health-virus,WRAP LOS ANGELES An overwhelming majority of California's residents go into lockdown, putting 33 million people under stay-at-home orders as the United States battles record Covid deaths and Britain readies to vaccinate the elderly and frontline staff. 800 words 0200 GMT by AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic Entertainment-US-music-Dylan,WRAP NEW YORK Universal Music buys the entire back catalog of Bob Dylan's songs for a purported nine-figure deal in one of the most prized rights' collections in music history. 550 words moved by Peter Hutchison. File picture US-vote-Biden-military-Austin,WRAP WASHINGTON Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to be the first African-American secretary of defense. 450 words 0200 GMT by Paul Handley Britain-EU-politics-Brexit,WRAP BRUSSELS British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will head to Brussels in an 11th hour bid to win a post-Brexit trade deal as the latest round of talks between EU and UK negotiators fails to close a deal. 700 words moved by Dave Clark. Picture. Video. Graphic Oly-2024-breakdancing-IOC,4thlead LAUSANNE, Switzerland Breakdancing is one of four new sports along with skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing to get the Olympic green light for inclusion at the 2024 Paris Games. 600 words moved by Coralie Febvre. File picture -- SPOTLIGHT -- China-environment-mountain,SCENE BEIJING Dangling 400 metres over a void, suspended only by a cord, Yang Feiyue is not your average litter-picker. His job is to abseil down cliffs on central China's Tianmen mountain -- an area famed for its natural beauty but plagued by plastic and other waste. 400 words 0300 GMT by Ludovic Ehret. Picture. Video Malaysia-economy-disabled-health-virus,FOCUS GOMBAK, Malaysia Delivery rider Muhammad Sidek Osman weaves through traffic on a modified four-wheeled motorbike -- one of Malaysia's rare riders with a disability in a country that is home to an army of bikers tirelessly delivering items ordered on mobile apps. 500 words 0330 GMT by Patrick Lee. Picture. Video India-music-economy-Bollywood,FOCUS MUMBAI Bollywood movie songs normally dominate India's music charts, but when the coronavirus epidemic put paid to new film releases it also created a huge opportunity for independent musicians to make a name for themselves -- sometimes from their bedrooms. 650 words 0430 GMT by Vishal Manve. Picture. Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-US-vaccine-transport,FOCUS WASHINGTON Trucks and cargo planes are at the ready to distribute millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine across the United States, a complex task led by a four-star general that will ultimately proceed more slowly than initially expected. 750 words moved by Ivan Couronne Also moving: Health-virus-Germany-vaccine-ethics,FOCUS Health-virus-Russia-vaccine,FOCUS Also moved: Health-virus-US-vaccine-transport-timetable,FACTS Health-virus-WHO-vaccines,lead Switzerland-health-virus-vaccines,INTERVIEW -- AMERICAS -- US-vote-justice-Trump,FOCUS WASHINGTON Humiliation in the courts, witnesses who provide more farce than facts and a chief lawyer battling coronavirus -- Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election are not going well. 800 words moved by Chris Lefkow. File picture US-Germany-court-Nazis-treasure,WRAP WASHINGTON The fate of an important medieval art collection that Nazi Germany bought from Jewish dealers is in the balance in a US Supreme Court hearing. 650 words moved by Charlotte Plantive. File picture -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-protest-US,WRAP WASHINGTON The United States imposes new sanctions on Chinese officials over the clampdown on Hong Kong and takes a step toward welcoming in residents of the city, as US leaders across the political spectrum voice outrage at Beijing. 650 words moved Shaun Tandon with Su Xinqi in Hong Kong -- EUROPE -- Britain-EU-politics-Germany-Poland-labour-lifestyle,FOCUS GOERLITZ, Germany Poles living in Britain may receive a surprise package in the post this Christmas of dried mushrooms, candied fruit and spice cake -- but not from Santa. The delicacies are being sent by the city of Goerlitz in Germany's former communist East, as part of efforts to attract Poles who are tempted to return to the continent because of Brexit. 700 words 0230 GMT by Yannick Pasquet. Picture Nobel-peace-Ethiopia-conflict-minorities OSLO A "champion of peace" doesn't normally threaten to show no mercy before carrying out an attack that sparks a humanitarian crisis. Yet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is not the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to go to war. 700 words 0230 GMT by Pierre-Henri Deshayes. File picture. File video Syria-UN-health-virus-Gaiman,INTERVIEW PARIS The world can't forget the plight of Syrian refugees this winter despite the global upheaval caused by Covid-19, fantasy author Neil Gaiman tells AFP as he helps launch the UN refugee programme's cold weather appeal. 600 words moved by Patrick Galey -- MIDDLE EAST -- Lifestyle-Iraq-paragliding-sports,FOCUS RAWANDUZ, Iraq Hazem Amin inhaled deeply and ran towards the cliff edge. His parachute swept up smoothly, floating him above the scrubby plains, jagged mountains and quaint villages of northern Iraq. 600 words 0200 GMT by Khalil Jalil. Picture. Video Vatican-pope-religion-Iraq,WRAP VATICAN CITY Pope Francis will make a historic visit to Iraq in March, the Vatican says, the first ever by a pontiff with a programme that includes a trip to Mosul. 600 words moved by Catherine Marciano. Graphic. File picture Israel-Palestinians-conflict-rights-army,FOCUS MUGHAYIR, Palestinian Territories After waking up on Friday, the day he turned 15, Palestinian Ali Ayman Nasr Abu Aliya told his mother he was hoping for a birthday surprise. But in the early afternoon, Aliya was shot and killed during clashes with Israeli troops. 700 words moved by Guillaume Lavallee. Picture -- AFRICA -- CAfrica-politics-unrest,FOCUS BAMBARI, Central African Republic In the crowded alleys of Bambari's Kidjigira market, customers of all faiths brush together as steam rises from hanging cooking pots and flies swarm around them. At last, people are not afraid. 750 words 0200 GMT by Camille Lafont Ghana-vote,WRAP ACCRA Ghanaians vote in an election seen as a close fight between President Nana Akufo-Addo and his longtime rival John Mahama, vying to lead the country long viewed as a beacon of stability in a troubled region. 700 words moved by Kent Mensah and Louise Dewast. Picture. Video. Graphic. Live video Ethiopia-conflict-Tigray,WRAP ADDIS ABABA Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says efforts are underway to restore order in Tigray, where fighting and lawlessness are hindering aid delivery to desperate civilians. 650 words by moved. File picture. File video DRCongo-politics,WRAP KINSHASA A political crisis in the perenially restive Democratic Republic of Congo deepens as lawmakers trash parliament after President Felix Tshisekedi moved to scrap the shaky ruling coalition. 650 words moved by Bienvenu-Marie Bakumanya. File picture -- ENVIRONMENT -- Colombia-environment-Amazon-animals-Peru,FOCUS AMAZONAS,Peru Far from the rifle cracks that occasionally rip through the rainforest as local tribesmen hunt mature primates for their meat and soft pelts, a sanctuary in a corner of the Colombian Amazon is offering new life to the orphaned monkeys left behind. 700 words 0200 GMT by Hector Velasco. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS, ECONOMY & TECH -- US-auto-lifestyle-merger-Uber-Aurora,WRAP SAN FRANCISCO Uber agrees to sell its autonomous car division to Aurora in a deal that gives the ride-hailing giant a stake in the startup developing self-driving technology, the companies say. 500 words moved by Glenn Chapman Health-virus-Davos-summit-economy-Singapore-Switzerland,WRAP GENEVA The World Economic Forum says the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to move next year's summit from Switzerland to Singapore, where it will be held in person from May 13-16. 600 words moved by Robin Millard -- SPORT -- ESports-Australia-gaming-LoL,FOCUS SYDNEY Despite a global boom, the closure of one of the southern hemisphere's biggest eSports leagues has left its players in Australia and across Oceania facing an uncertain future. 600 words 0300 GMT by Johnny Lieu. Picture. Video afp
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