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| - Duty Editor: Emma Charlton Contact: emma.charlton@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + Promising early results in US vaccine trial + Universal vaccine call at WHO assembly + Naval base attacker long had Qaeda ties: US + Pompeo denies watchdog firing 'act of retaliation' + S. Korea footie club 'sorry' for sex doll gaffe Health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON A half-trillion-euro European fund laid out by France and Germany sparks optimism about fighting economic fallout from the coronavirus, as do encouraging early results on vaccine research by a US biotech firm. 950 words 2130 GMT by Michael Mathes, with Hui Min Neo in Berlin and AFP bureaus. Graphic. Picture. Video Also moved: Health-virus-EU-France-Germany,4thlead Health-virus-WHO-assembly GENEVA The World Health Organization receives praise from many countries but fierce criticism from the United States at its virtual assembly, as members sought to agree a joint response to COVID-19 -- and assurances that any vaccine would be available to all. 800 words moved by Nina Larson. Video. Live Video. Picture. Graphic US-Saudi-crime-shooting-military-Qaeda,WRAP WASHINGTON The Saudi military student who killed three Americans at a US naval base in December had longstanding ties to al-Qaeda and planned an attack before he arrived in the United States, US justice officials say. 600 words 2030 GMT by Paul Handley. File picture US-politics-diplomacy-Pompeo,WRAP WASHINGTON Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accuses an abruptly fired watchdog of seeking to undermine him after lawmakers say the inspector general was probing a Saudi arms deal and the top US diplomat's alleged misuse of a staffer. 650 words 1945 GMT by Shaun Tandon Health-virus-fbl-KOR-SKorea-offbeat SEOUL One of South Korea's top football clubs apologises for causing "deep concern" after being accused of using sex dolls to fill empty seats at a weekend game. 300 words moved. Picture -- WHO VIRTUAL ASSEMBLY -- Health-virus-China-vaccines,2ndlead GENEVA Chinese President Xi Jinping says Beijing has been "transparent" throughout the coronavirus crisis, and offers to share a vaccine as soon as one was available -- as well as $2 billion in aid. 600 words moved by Nina Larson with Jing Xuan Teng in Beijing. Picture. Video Health-virus-WHO-Ethiopia,PROFILE GENEVA Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first African to head the World Health Organization, faces the towering challenge of coordinating a global pandemic response increasingly complicated by US-China tensions. 800 words moved by Nina Larson. Picture Also moved: Health-virus-WHO,FACTS Health-virus-WHO,CHRONO Health-virus-WHO-Taiwan,lead -- AMERICAS -- Health-virus-US-vaccine-Moderna WASHINGTON US biotech firm Moderna reports promising early results from the first clinical tests of an experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus performed on a small number of volunteers. 700 words 2100 GMT by Ivan Couronne. File picture Health-virus-family,PHOTOESSAY MANAUS, Brazil Maria Nunes Sinimbu thought of the coronavirus pandemic as a faraway crisis. Then COVID-19 killed five of her family members as the disease ravaged her hometown, Manaus, the biggest city in the Brazilian Amazon. 450 words moved by Michael Dantas, with Paula Ramon in Sao Paulo. Picture -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Russia,2ndlead MOSCOW Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says the growth in new coronavirus cases had been stopped as Russia reported under 9,000 infections for the first time since the beginning of the month. 600 words moved by Jonathan Brown Health-virus-Russia,SCENE MOSCOW An exhausted coronavirus patient slowly and deliberately writes his message on a green clipboard one letter at a time: "Doctor, when can I go home?" Medics in the Russian capital say they have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel despite a decrease in the number of new cases. 700 words moved by Romain Colas. Picture. Video Also moved: Health-virus-Russia-Dagestan,FOCUS Health-virus-Germany,lead FRANKFURT Germany uncovers another cluster of coronavirus infections at a slaughterhouse, fuelling alarm about working conditions in the country's meat packing plants. 400 words moved. Picture Health-virus-Italy ROME Spaghetti carbonara, Gucci bags and trendy haircuts are back on the menu in Italy, but only the bravest eat, shop or style-away their lockdown blues as the country attempts to return to normality. 600 words moved by Alexandria Sage and Ella Ide. Picture. Video. Live Video Also moved: Health-virus-Italy Health-virus-Italy-church,SCENE Health-virus-Europe-restaurants,lead Health-virus-Mediterranean-heatwave NICOSIA Across the Mediterranean with its tantalising beaches, a record heatwave has hit countries just as they cautiously ease COVID-19 lockdowns, stoking hopes the new season will help fight the virus. 550 words moved by Guillaume Klein with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video Syria-conflict-Germany-trial KOBLENZ, Germany A Syrian former intelligence officer denies beating and torturing detainees in prison as he faced trial in a German court for crimes against humanity 600 words moved by Yannick Pasquet. Picture -- MIDDLE EAST -- Israel-Palestinians-conflict-diplomacy-US,lead JERUSALEM Israel's new foreign minister says that US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace proposal offers a "historic opportunity" but also that regional peace deals must be maintained during its implementation. 450 words moved Libya-conflict,WRAP TRIPOLI The forces of Libya's UN-recognised unity government score another battlefield victory against troops loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar by capturing a major rear base used by his fighters in a conflict now in its second year. 650 words 1930 GMT. Picture Also moved: Libya-conflict,CHRONO Israel-Palestinians-conflict-crime,WRAP LOD, Israel An Israeli court convicts a Jewish settler on three counts of murder over a 2015 arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents. 700 words moved by Nir Kafri with Joe Dyke in Duma. Picture. Video -- AFRICA -- Lesotho-politics,WRAP MASERU Lesotho's embattled Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, buckling to pressure, announces his resignation, ending months of political uncertainty gripping the southern African kingdom since he was accused of having a role in his ex-wife's murder. 550 words moved by Pascalinah Kabi. File picture -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-unrest,WRAP HONG KONG Hong Kong's political crisis returns to centre stage as clashes erupt in the legislature and a group of prominent pro-democracy activists are charged for taking part in last year's huge protests. 650 words moved by Su Xinqui and Jerome Taylor. Picture. Video. Live video India-Bangladesh-weather-cyclone,2ndlead KOLKATA India and Bangladesh begin evacuating more than two million people as a cyclone barrels closer, with officials racing to ready shelters amid fears of coronavirus contagion in cramped facilities. 500 words moved Also moved: Health-virus-India,FOCUS Afghanistan-attack-politics,WRAP GHAZNI, Afghanistan The Taliban claim a deadly attack on an Afghan intelligence agency post, even as they urge the new power-sharing government to accelerate a prisoner swap to pave the way for talks. 600 words moved. Graphic -- BUSINESS -- Health-virus-US-economy-automobile,WRAP WARREN, Michigan Detroit's 'Big Three' begin to ramp up their North American plants following coronavirus shutdowns amid worker concerns over safety and uncertainty about consumer demand. 750 words moved by Jeff Kowalksi and John Biers. Picture. Video US-Netherlands-McDonalds-harassment-unions,lead WASHINGTON An international group of labor unions says it has filed a complaint against McDonald's for "systemic sexual harassment" at the fast food chain's restaurants around the world. 500 words 1930 GMT -- ENVIRONMENT -- Climate-drought-US-economy PARIS Due to global warming, the United States is today more than twice as likely to endure a devastating "dust bowl" scenario than during the Great Depression, researchers said. 550 words moved by Marlowe Hood -- LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT -- Entertainment-France-film-Piccoli,OBIT PARIS Michel Piccoli, one of the most original and versatile French actors of the last half century, has died aged 94, his family says. 600 words moved. File Picture. File Video afp
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