AFP 0500 GMT News Advisory

Duty Editor: Sarah Stewart

Tel: +852 2829 6211

-- TOP STORIES --

+ Emergency meeting after Cyprus MPs reject bank levy

+ Obama heads to Israel on first tour as US president

+ Syria troops, rebels trade chemical weapons charges

+ Peace eludes Iraq one decade after US-led invasion

Cyprus-economy-EU-finance,newseries-WRAP

NICOSIA

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades calls an emergency meeting of party leaders as the island and its eurozone partners seek a viable plan B after MPs rejected the terms of a bailout aimed at saving Cyprus from bankruptcy.

700 words 0830 GMT by Charlie Charalambous. Picture. Video. Graphic

Also moved: Cyprus-economy-EU-finance-Russia

Israel-Palestinians-US-Obama-diplomacy

JERUSALEM

Barack Obama heads to Israel for the first time as US president, hoping to ease past tensions with his hosts and under pressure to narrow differences over the immediacy of Iran's nuclear threat.

650 words moved by Stephen Collinson

Also moved: Palestinians-US-Obama-diplomacy-peace

Syria-conflict,2ndlead-WRAP

DAMASCUS

Troops and insurgents accuse each other of using chemical weapons for the first time in Syria's two-year conflict, as a newly elected rebel prime minister rules out dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

700 words moved. Picture. Video

Iraq-war-10years

BAGHDAD

Grappling with a spike in violence and a worsening political situation, Iraq marks 10 years since the US-led invasion that sought to establish a stable, democratic ally in the Middle East.

500 words 0830 GMT by Prashant Rao. Graphic. Picture. Video

-- AFRICA --

Mali-conflict-France-Qaeda-hostage-Mauritania,2ndlead

NOUAKCHOTT

A French hostage has been executed in Mali, a man claiming to be a spokesman for Al-Qaeda in North Africa tells Mauritania's ANI news agency, though there is no immediate confirmation from Paris.

550 words moved. File picture

-- ASIA --

Japan-disaster-accident-nuclear-energy,3rdlead

TOKYO

Technicians have restored power to all cooling systems at the reactors of Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, the operating company says after a blackout sparked a new crisis.

600 words 0730 GMT by Hiroshi Hiyama. Graphic. File video

India-rape-women-law

NEW DELHI

Campaigners welcome India's efforts to strengthen penalties for sex crimes but say new legislation fails to tackle crucial areas such as marital rape, in a crisis underpinned by cultural attitudes and a weak justice system.

500 words 0730 GMT

Pakistan-Britain-unrest-education-children-rights,lead

LONDON

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai returns to school for the first time since she was shot in the head by the Taliban in October for campaigning for girls' education.

450 words moved. Picture

US-China-Internet-hacking-IT-crime-politics

WASHINGTON

China is pouring massive amounts of money and resources into cyberattacks aimed at stealing business secrets, security researchers tell a congressional panel.

500 words moved by Rob Lever

China-Russia-diplomacy-economy-Xi,ADVANCER

BEIJING

Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Russia this week to start his first diplomatic foray as head of state, reinforcing a bond with Cold War roots that is now finding new common strategic and business interests.

600 words 0600 GMT by Kelly Olsen. Graphic. File Picture

-- AMERICAS --

US-politics-guns,2ndlead

WASHINGTON

A proposed ban on assault weapons like the one used in the latest school massacre in the US is dropped from a broader gun control package, as Democrats conceding the difficulties of passing such legislation through Congress.

750 words 0530 GMT by Michael Mathes

Guatemala-trial-rights-indigenous,4thlead

GUATEMALA CITY

Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt goes on trial on genocide charges over the killing of almost 1,800 indigenous people during the dark days of his country's civil war.

650 words moved by Henry Morales Arana. Picture.

-- EUROPE -- 

Vatican-religion-pope,newseries-WRAP

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis has donned the symbols of papal power, vowing to embrace the "poorest" at a grand inauguration in the Vatican as leader of a troubled Roman Catholic Church.

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

 

Britain-economy-budget

LONDON

Britain's government is set to unveil plans to grow the country's recession-threatened economy, despite insisting on greater state savings as it struggles to meet its deficit-reduction target.

500 words moved. File picture

Britain-media-politics-press-Internet,FOCUS

LONDON

The British government insists that bloggers and posts on social media will not be caught by a new system of press regulation, but campaigners warn that the new rules could still be open to interpretation.

700 words moved by Robin Millard.

afp

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130320/afp-0500-gmt-news-advisory