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| - Duty Editor: James Hossack Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + US registers millionth case as lockdowns ease + Google parent Alphabet grows despite pandemic + More than 40 dead in Syrian truck bomb attack + Lebanon troops clash with lockdown protesters + Could poo be the silver bullet to track virus? Health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON The United States records its one-millionth coronavirus case as countries including Spain, Russia and Nigeria take tentative steps towards normal life by preparing to reopen some businesses. 900 words 0330 GMT by Ben Sheppard with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic Health-virus-US-IT-earnings-Alphabet-Google,WRAP SAN FRANCISCO Google parent Alphabet outshines dim earnings expectations, showing higher revenue and profits despite a coronavirus-induced slowdown in its core digital advertising operations in March. 650 words moved by Glenn Chapman. File Picture Syria-conflict,4thlead BEIRUT A fuel truck bomb kills 46 people including at least six Turkey-backed rebel fighters in a northern Syrian city controlled by Ankara's proxies, a war monitor says. 400 words 0230 GMT. Picture Lebanon-politics-protest-health-virus TRIPOLI, Lebanon Lebanese protesters confront soldiers for a second day as anger over a spiraling economic crisis re-energises a months-old anti-government movement despite a coronavirus lockdown. 800 words moved by Jana Dhayby with Layal Abou Rahal in Beirut. Picture. Video Health-virus-sewage-tests,FOCUS PARIS Testing sewage could be the silver bullet in tracking the coronavirus -- and a precious early warning system for a feared second wave, scientists believe. 650 words moved by Amelie Botollier-Depois. File picture -- ASIA -- Afghanistan-conflict-Taliban-US-diplomacy,ANALYSIS KABUL Two months after the US and the Taliban signed a deal Washington heralded as the way to end Afghanistan's war, violence is spiralling out of control and experts say a fragile peace process risks collapse. 750 words 0330 GMT by Elise Blanchard with Thomas Watkins in Washington Health-virus-Indonesia,FOCUS JAKARTA From shirtless soldiers to teens suntanning on their parents' driveways, Indonesians are soaking up rays like never before in the hopes that the tropical country's plentiful sunshine will ward off coronavirus. 500 words 0300 GMT by Safrin Labatu -- AMERICAS -- Health-virus-testing,SCENE NEW YORK In the epicenter of the US pandemic, hundreds of New Yorkers for the first time get the chance to be tested for new coronavirus even though they don't have severe symptoms, a step crucial to safely reopening the economy. 550 words 0400 GMT by Catherine Triomphe. Picture Health-virus-Ecuador,FOCUS GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador Frontline medics in one of Latin America's coronavirus hotspots are lifting the lid on the daily horrors they face in an Ecuadoran city whose health system has collapsed. 800 words 0200 GMT by AFP reporters with Paola Lopez in Quito. Video. Picture US-India-religion-diplomacy,lead WASHINGTON A US government panel calls for India to be put on a blacklist on religious freedom over a "drastic" downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi. 560 words moved by Shaun Tandon Health-virus-Peru-prison,WRAP LIMA Nine inmates are killed and scores of guards wounded when rioting breaks out at a prison in Lima after two inmates died from COVID-19, authorities in Peru say. 500 words moved by Carlos Mandujano. Video Health-virus-US-IT-technology,FOCUS WASHINGTON Governments and organizations around the world are mulling the use of hotly-debated "immunity passports" aimed at easing pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions on movements -- but global health authorities and experts are urging caution. 800 words 0200 GMT by Rob Lever -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Libya-politics-conflict TRIPOLI, Libya Libya's UN-recognised government accuses rival military strongman Khalifa Haftar of seeking to stage a new coup after he claimed to have a "popular mandate" to govern the country. 700 words moved by Imed Lamloum. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-France-politics,2ndlead PARIS France will begin a progressive but "risky" return to normality on May 11, with shops, markets and some schools reopening after an eight-week coronavirus lockdown that saved tens of thousands of lives, its prime minister says. 750 words moved by Joseph Schmid and Mariette le Roux. Picture. Video Also moved: Health-virus-Fbl-RugbyU-FRA-France Health-virus-Italy-wine,FOCUS TREVISO, Italy With Italy's restaurants and bars closed for another month and global trade snuffed out by the coronavirus, the world's top wine producing country is experiencing an existential crisis. 650 words 0230 GMT by Giovanna Girardi with Celine Cornu. Video. Picture -- AFRICA -- Lesotho-politics MASERU The Senate of the mountain kingdom of Lesotho amends the constitution, capping the prime minister's powers to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections, as pressure for his resignation mounts. 400 words moved -- BUSINESS -- Health-virus-US-manufacturing-earnings-3M-fraud,WRAP NEW YORK Industrial giant 3M reports higher quarterly profits as it ramps up production of N95 respirators and combats price-gouging and fraud during the coronavirus outbreak. 600 words moved by John Biers Health-virus-US-textile-consumers-economy,FOCUS NEW YORK The Macy's department store located two blocks from the Empire State Building in New York City is a stop on many tourists' itineraries, but visitors may need to find another shopping temple once the coronavirus pandemic is over. 600 words 0200 GMT by Luc Olinga US-aerospace-earnings-Boeing,ADVANCER NEW YORK As it reports first quarter earnings, Boeing faces many questions over how it will navigate the coronavirus crisis and its devastating impact on global aviation. 400 words 0200 GMT -- ENTERTAINMENT -- Entertainment-health-US-virus-Trolls-theaters,lead LOS ANGELES The leading US movie theater chain says it will no longer play any Universal Pictures movies on its screens as a row over the record-breaking release of "Trolls World Tour" on streaming platforms sharply escalated. 500 words moved by Andrew Marszal. File Picture Entertainment-health-US-virus-Hollywood,FOCUS LOS ANGELES Movie moguls, directors and lawyers are searching for radical solutions to reopen Hollywood as soundstages gather dust and studio profits slide weeks after cameras stopped rolling due to coronavirus. 650 words 0200 GMT by Andrew Marszal. File Picture. Video -- SPORTS -- Myanmar-sport-bodybuilding-elderly-offbeat,FOCUS YANGON Flexing his oiled, bulging biceps and pecs, 91-year-old one-time body-building champion Sein Maung admires himself in the mirror before starting to pump iron in his Myanmar gym. 400 words 0200 GMT by Lapyae Ko. Picture. Video Tennis-health-virus-GBR-Murray LONDON Andy Murray insists tennis must take it slowly as the sport's bosses consider when to return after the coronavirus. 300 words moved Fbl-Switzerland-corruption-court-FRA-QAT LAUSANNE, Switzerland A Swiss court schedules a September trial date for Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA's former secretary general Jerome Valcke, in an alleged corruption case. 450 words moved afp
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