AFP 0500 GMT News Advisory

Duty Editor: Jitendra Joshi

Tel: +852 2829 6211

-- TOP STORIES --

+ North Korea stokes tensions as UN toughens sanctions

+ Venezuela to embalm Chavez as huge numbers view body

+ Suu Kyi's opposition in Myanmar holds first congress

+ Bin Laden son-in-law faces terror counts in New York

NKorea-nuclear-military-UN-SKorea,2ndlead-WRAP

SEOUL

North Korea responds to new UN sanctions with fresh threats of nuclear war, the scrapping of peace pacts with South Korea and the severing of a hotline with Seoul, upping the ante still further after its third atomic test last month.

750 words 0830 GMT by Park Chan-Kyong. Graphic. Picture. Video

Venezuela-politics-Chavez,8thlead

CARACAS

Venezuelans flock to see president Hugo Chavez lying in state, as his political heir reveals the deceased leader will be embalmed "like Lenin" and displayed in the barracks where he plotted a failed coup.

950 words 0630 GMT by Laurent Thomet. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moved: Venezuela-politics-Chavez-diplomacy,lead

Myanmar-politics-opposition,2ndlead

YANGON

Aung San Suu Kyi's long-silenced opposition opens its first ever party conference as it sets its sights on the challenges of power in Myanmar after years in the political wilderness.

650 words 0700 GMT by Kelly Macnamara. Picture. Video

US-attacks-Qaeda-arrest,3rdlead

NEW YORK

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law has been captured and is due to appear in court in New York on Friday on charges he plotted with the Al-Qaeda leader to stage attacks on Americans.

750 words moved. Picture

-- ASIA --

NKorea-nuclear-military-UN,ANALYSIS

SEOUL

A new UN Security Council resolution may have sharpened the teeth of the sanctions regime on North Korea, but analysts doubt it really has the bite to put a belligerent Pyongyang off its nuclear weapons programme.

700 words 0800 GMT by Giles Hewitt

Japan-economy-growth,3rdlead

TOKYO

Japan squeaked out of recession in the last quarter with modest growth that analysts say will provide a foundation for a strengthening economy, as the government and central bank intensify their fight against deflation.

600 words 0730 GMT by Kyoko Hasegawa. Picture

-- AMERICAS --

US-politics-intelligence,4thlead

WASHINGTON

The US Senate confirms counterterrorism expert John Brennan as CIA director after the White House douses a fierce debate over the potential domestic use of armed drones, which could have delayed filling the crucial post.

700 words moved by Michael Mathes. Picture

Entertainment-US-film-Oz,FOCUS

LOS ANGELES

Nearly 75 years after "The Wizard of Oz," Disney has crafted a new story about the magical kingdom by going back to its creator, in what is tipped to be a blockbuster movie opening this weekend.

600 words moved by Romain Raynaldy

Canada-crime-justice-court-China-Magnotta,ADVANCER

MONTREAL

The epilogue of the most significant Canadian crime story in years begins Monday in Montreal with the trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta, accused of slaying and dismembering a Chinese student.

750 words 0530 GMT by Michel Viatteau. Picture

-- MIDDLE EAST --

Syria-conflict,3rdlead-WRAP

DAMASCUS

The UN presses on with negotiations to secure the release of 21 peacekeepers abducted in Syria as regime warplanes pound the northern city of Raqa after it fell into rebel hands.

750 words moved. Graphic. Picture. Video

 

-- EUROPE --

Vatican-religion-pope,WRAP

VATICAN CITY

Catholic cardinals from around the world put off a decision on when to begin a conclave to elect the next pope, instead debating Vatican finances and a reform of the bureaucracy.

750 words moved by Dario Thuburn. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moved: Vatican-religion-pope-rights-gender-women,FOCUS

And a series of profiles on the possible contenders for pope

 

Italy-politics-crime-Berlusconi,WRAP

ROME

An Italian court sentences former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to a year in prison over the publication of leaked transcripts from a police wiretap in a newspaper in his media empire.

500 words moved by Dario Thuburn. File picture

Also moved: Italy-politics-court-media-Berlusconi,PROFILE

 

Britain-Falklands-Argentina-referendum,ADVANCER

LONDON

The Falkland Islands will vote in a referendum on Sunday and Monday which residents hope will send a crystal-clear message to Argentina and the world about their strong desire to stay British.

750 words moved by Robin Millard. Picture. Video

Also moved: Britain-Argentina-Falklands-referendum,FACTS

 

  -- AFRICA --

 

Kenya-vote,newseries-WRAP

NAIROBI

Kenya's presidential frontrunner Uhuru Kenyatta holds the lead as vote counting enters the final stretch, but is battling to avoid a second round run-off in the critical race as his opponent cries foul.

650 words 0600 GMT by Peter Martell. Graphic. Picture. Video

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