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TOP STORIES
UN names Algeria diplomat Syria envoy; refugee crisis dire
BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS - United Nations confirms veteran
Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will become new international
mediator on Syria, as 17-month-old conflict slides deeper into
civil war and refugees flee to Turkey in increasing numbers
(SYRIA-CRISIS/ (WRAPUP 5), moved, pix, tv, by Tom Perry and
Louis Charbonneau, 1,300 words)
- SYRIA-CRISIS/BRAHIMI (UPDATE 3), moved, tv, by Louis
Charbonneau, 850 words
- SYRIA-RUSSIA/LAVROV (UPDATE 1), moved, 300 words)
- SYRIA-CRISIS/SHARA (UPDATE 1), moved, 200 words)
- SYRIA-CRISIS/AID (UPDATE 1), moved, tv, by Stephanie
Nebehay, 600 words
Russia's Pussy Riot protesters jailed for two years
MOSCOW - Three women from Russian punk band Pussy Riot are
sentenced to two years in jail for staging protest against
President Vladimir Putin in church, a ruling supporters describe
as his "personal revenge" (RUSSIA-PUSSYRIOT/ (UPDATE 7), moved,
pix, tv, by Timothy Heritage and Maria Tsvetkova, 1,043 words)
- RUSSIA-PUSSYRIOT/SENTENCE-REACTION (UPDATE 1), moved, by
Justyna Pawlak and Piya Sinha-Roy, 700 words
EUROPE
Assange saga clouds freedom of speech agenda
LONDON - Julian Assange's supporters outside the London
embassy where he is confined say he is being persecuted for
speaking the truth to power, but free speech campaigners further
afield say the WikiLeaks founder has lost his way and damaged
the cause (WIKILEAKS-ASSANGE/, moved, pix, by Estelle Shirbon
and Alessandra Prentice, 1,100 words)
Budget breather for Greece would spur economic recovery
-report
ATHENS - Finance ministry officials in Greece have
calculated that the debt-stricken country's economy will recover
faster and its debt be more sustainable if it is given two more
years to reduce budget deficit, Greek newspaper reports
(GREECE-REPORT, moved, 350 words)
Violence in Muslim region disturbs Russian "ant-hill" sect
KAZAN, Russia - When Russian police came crashing in on a
secretive Muslim community, they were hunting weapons and
violent suspects following attacks on leading clerics in the
mainly Muslim region of Tatarstan. What they found, in their own
words, was "ant-hill" of tunnels and chambers below a house
where dozens of people were living hidden from the world for
years, in thrall to a self-styled prophet in his 80s
(RUSSIA-ISLAM/SECT, moved, pix, tv, by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya,
1,108 words)
MIDDLE EAST
Iran's Ahmadinejad: no place for Israel in new Middle East
DUBAI - Many thousands of Iranians shout "Death to America,
death to Israel" during state-organised protests and President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells them there is no place for the Jewish
state in future Middle East (IRAN-ISRAEL/, moved, 650 words)
- ISRAEL-IRAN/WARNINGS (ANALYSIS), moved, by Crispian
Balmer, 1,000 words)
- IRAN-ISRAEL/UN, moved, 250 words
Lebanon breaks with past in Syrian bomb probe
BEIRUT -Plot hatched by Damascus and allegedly aimed at
igniting Lebanese civil war through series of bomb attacks has
come as little surprise in a nation where the blame for
political violence has often been laid at Syria's door
(LEBANON-SYRIA/PLOT, moved, by Tom Perry, 750 words)
- LEBANON-ISRAEL/HEZBOLLAH (UPDATE 2), moved, by Tom Perry,
500 words)
Bahraini teenager killed in clash with police
DUBAI - A 16-year-old protester died after what opposition
activists in Bahrain say was "brutal attack" by security forces,
but Bahrain government describes as defensive response to petrol
bomb attack on police (BAHRAIN-PROTESTS/KILLING, moved, 400
words)
ASIA
China's Wen urges N.Korea to let the market help revamp
economy
SHANGHAI - Premier Wen Jiabao encourages North Korea to
allow "market mechanisms" help revamp its economy, state media
says, and laid down other pre-conditions as China tries to wean
its impoverished ally off dependence on Chinese aid
(KOREA-NORTH/CHINA, moved, by Pete Sweeney, 500 words)
- KOREA-NORTH/MILITARY, moved, by Sung-won Shim, 500 words)
Indian PM moves to cool panic as thousands flee cities
NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assures
migrants from northeast of country that they are safe as
thousands flee Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities, fearing
backlash from violence against Muslims in Assam (INDIA-VIOLENCE/
(UPDATE 2), moved, pix, tv, by Diksha Madhok, 750 words)
AFRICA
Mine "bloodbath" shocks post-apartheid S.Africa
MARIKANA, South Africa - Police killing of 34 striking
platinum miners in bloodiest security operation since end of
white rule cuts to quick of South Africa's psyche, with
searching questions asked of its post-apartheid soul
(SAFRICA-LONMIN/ (UPDATE 5), moved, pix, tv, by Jon Herskovitz,
1,000 words)
- SAFRICA-LONMIN/SHOOTING, moved, pix, tv, by Pascal
Fletcher, 1,200 words
- SAFRICA-LONMIN/COMPANY, moved, by Clara Ferreira-Marques,
1,000 words
UNITED STATES
U.S. vice presidential candidate Ryan releases tax returns
WASHINGTON - Republican vice presidential candidate Paul
Ryan's tax returns show he paid 20 percent tax rate last year,
more than the rate estimated to have been paid by running mate
Mitt Romney, and unlikely to quell Democratic calls for more
financial transparency by their Republican challengers
(USA-CAMPAIGN/RYAN-TAXES (UPDATE 2), moved, by Kevin Drawbaugh,
600 words)
- USA-CAMPAIGN/TAXES, moved, by Gabriel Debenedetti, 500
words
- USA-CAMPAIGN/OBAMA-EDUCATION, moved, 400 words
- USA-CAMPAIGN/LEAKS, moved, by Mark Hosenball and Alexander
Cohen, 1,030 words
Battle far from over for US immigrants who get deferrals
MIAMI/LOS ANGELES - Obama administration's new policy to
grant temporary legal status to millions of young illegal
immigrants will end immediate threat of deportation but may not
give them same privileges as legal residents
(USA-IMMIGRATION/DREAMERS, (UPDATE 1), moved, by David Adams and
Alex Dobuzinskis, 700 words)
AMERICAS
ANALYSIS-Next hurdles for Brazil: sticky fingers, red tape
BRASILIA - The ministry overseeing Brazil's new $66 billion
infrastructure plan was also ground zero for spectacular
corruption scandal in which officials allegedly demanded 5
percent kickbacks on highway construction projects and then
pushed carts down hallways to hand out the cash
(BRAZIL-INFRASTRUCTURE/ (ANALYSIS), moved, pix, by Brian Winter
and Leonardo Goy, 1,200 words)
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
"Alarming" smoking habits found in poorer countries
LONDON - Two fifths of men in developing countries still
smoke or use tobacco, and women are increasingly starting to
smoke at younger ages, according to large international study
which finds "alarming patterns" of tobacco use
(HEALTH-SMOKING/GLOBAL (UPDATE 1), moved, by Kate Kelland, 660
words)