AFP 0500 GMT News Advisory

Duty Editor: Jitendra Joshi

Tel: +852 2829 6211

-- TOP STORIES --

+ India gang-rape suspect hangs himself in jail

+ US, South Korea hold drills as Pyongyang rages

+ Venezuela opposition leader to run in election

+ Japan marks 2nd anniversary of tsunami-quake

India-rape-women-suicide,5thlead

NEW DELHI

The main accused in the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi is found hanged in prison while in solitary confinement, prompting outrage from the victim's family who say they were cheated of justice.

650 words 0630 GMT by Rupam Jain Nair. Graphic. Picture. Video

NKorea-SKorea-US-military,lead-WRAP

SEOUL

South Korean and US troops launch a joint military exercise as an infuriated North Korea, which has threatened both countries with nuclear attack, severs its hotline with Seoul.

650 words 0630 GMT by Jung Ha-Won. Graphic. Picture. File Video

Venezuela-politics-Chavez,newseries-WRAP

CARACAS

Venezuela enters a bitter election race to succeed Hugo Chavez, with his chosen successor branding his challenger a "fascist" after the opposition candidate accused him of lying about the late leader's death.

750 words 0530 GMT by Laurent Thomet. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moving: Venezuela-politics-Chavez-Capriles,PROFILE

Also moved: Venezuela-politics-Chavez-mausoleum,SCENE

Japan-disaster-accident-nuclear-anniversary,2ndlead-WRAP

ISHINOMAKI, Japan

Japan marks the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation, with tens of thousands still living in temporary housing to this day.

750 words 0600 GMT by Antoine Bouthier. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moving: Japan-disaster-accident-nuclear-anniversary-space

-- ASIA --

Afghanistan-US-diplomacy-unrest,2ndlead-WRAP

KABUL

President Hamid Karzai accuses the United States of colluding with the Taliban to justify its presence in Afghanistan, dumbfounding US officials during a problematic visit by the new Pentagon chief.

700 words 0830 GMT by Mathieu Rabechault. Graphic. Picture. Video

Australia-China-bank-IT-security,2ndlead

SYDNEY

Computer networks at the Reserve Bank of Australia have been hacked, some reportedly by Chinese-developed malware searching for sensitive information, although officials insist no data was lost.

550 words 0600 GMT by Martin Parry. File Picture

-- AFRICA --

 

Nigeria-unrest-kidnap,WRAP

LAGOS

Britain, Italy and Greece say that a claim by a Nigerian Islamist group that it had killed seven foreign hostages appears to be true, while London denies it sought to stage a rescue.

700 words moved by Cecile de Comarmond. File picture

 

Kenya-vote,ANALYSIS

NAIROBI

Far from having been a handicap, Uhuru Kenyatta's indictment for crimes against humanity galvanised his supporters, giving the already formidable machinery of his coalition the edge, analysts say.

700 words moved by Boris Bachorz. Picture

 

  -- MIDDLE EAST --

 

Syria-conflict,4thlead-WRAP

DAMASCUS

Syrian insurgents launch a surprise dawn raid to retake a key district of the central city of Homs, as Islamists set up a religious council to administer rebel-held areas of the oil-rich east.

750 words moved. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moved: Syria-conflict-anniversary-Assad,FOCUS

            Syria-conflict-anniversary-economy,FOCUS 

            Syria-conflict-anniversary-refugees,SCENE

            Syria-conflict-anniversary-military,FACTS

 

   -- EUROPE --

 

Vatican-religion-pope-RomanCatholic

VATICAN CITY

Cardinals will hold a final set of meetings on Monday before they are locked away to choose a new pope to lead the Catholic Church through troubled times.

650 words moved. Graphic. Picture. Video

Also moved: Vatican-pope-religion-conclave-cardinals

            Vatican-religion-pope,WRAP

 

Britain-Falklands-Argentina-referendum,lead-WRAP

LONDON

Falkland Islanders vote in a referendum intended to send a message to the world that they want to stay British, in defiance of increasingly bellicose claims to the territory by Argentina.

600 words 0830 GMT by Alice Ritchie. Picture. Video. Graphic

 

Science-health-disease-anthropology

PARIS

Scans of mummies from as long ago as 2,000 BC have revealed that ancient people also had clogged arteries, a condition blamed on modern vices like smoking, overeating and inactivity, a study says.

750 words moved by Mariette le Roux

 

-- AMERICAS --

Canada-crime-court-China

MONTREAL

The most high-profile Canadian criminal case in years lands in a Montreal court on Monday as a former porn actor faces charges of slaying and dismembering a Chinese student.

450 words 0545 GMT

Entertainment-US-film-festival-SXSW-McConaughey

AUSTIN, Texas

With his Hollywood career in high gear and his new film "Mud" out soon in US theaters, Matthew McConaughey says he feels no pressing need to put acting aside for a turn behind the cameras.

600 words 0545 GMT by Robert MacPherson

afp

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