AFP 0500 GMT News Advisory

Duty Editor: Jitendra Joshi

Tel: +852 2829 6211

-- TOP STORIES --

+ North Korea threatens to hit US military bases

+ Cyprus to decide on new plan to clinch bailout

+ Australian PM convenes shock leadership ballot

+ PKK Kurdish leader set to call truce in Turkey

NKorea-military-IT-security,WRAP

SEOUL

North Korea threatens to strike US military bases in Japan, escalating tensions as suspicion deepens that Pyongyang was behind a major cyber attack on South Korean broadcasters and banks.

700 words 0630 GMT by Park Chan-Kyong. Graphic. Picture. Video

Cyprus-economy-EU-finance,lead-WRAP

NICOSIA

Cypriot leaders meet to decide on a newly drawn up plan aimed at securing a bailout for the near-bankrupt eurozone member, after parliament rejected a controversial tax on savings.

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

Already moved: Cyprus-economy-EU-finance-TRNC,FOCUS

Australia-politics-vote,lead-WRAP

CANBERRA

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calls a shock leadership ballot of her ruling Labor party for later in the day, as internal unrest mounts with the party floundering ahead of a general election in September.

650 words 0530 GMT. Graphic. Picture. Video

Turkey-Kurds-unrest-peace,lead

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Jailed Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan is set to call a "historic" ceasefire on Thursday, raising expectations for an end to a three-decade conflict with Turkey that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

650 words 0830 GMT by Nicolas Cheviron

 

-- MIDDLE EAST -- 

Israel-Palestinians-US-Obama-diplomacy,lead

JERUSALEM

US President Barack Obama travels to the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders dismayed by his failure to make good on soaring expectations that he could help deliver Middle East peace.

700 words 0830 GMT. Graphic. Picture. Video

Already moved: Israel-Palestinians-US-Obama-diplomacy,7thlead-WRAP

Syria-conflict-chemical-UN,2ndlead

UNITED NATIONS

Britain, France and the United States call for a United Nations inquiry into accusations by the Syrian government and the opposition of chemical weapons attacks.

500 words moved

Already moved exDUBLIN: Syria-conflict-diplomacy-EU,ADVANCER

-- ASIA --

Myanmar-unrest-religion,4thlead-WRAP

YANGON

Two people have been killed and several mosques destroyed in central Myanmar, police say, in the worst riots since Buddhist-Muslim clashes rocked western Rakhine state last year.

600 words 0700 GMT by Hla Hla Htay. Graphic

Also moved exYANGON: Myanmar-US-politics-Internet-Google,FOCUS

Cambodia-UN-trial-funeral,2ndlead

MALAI, Cambodia

Hundreds of mourners mass ahead of the cremation of a co-founder of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, highlighting the stark divide between supporters and victims of the brutal communist regime.

650 words 0800 GMT by Suy Se. Graphic. Picture. Video

Australia-politics-women-adoptions,lead

SYDNEY

Australia apologises for the brutal and often illegal forced adoption of tens of thousands of babies born mostly to unmarried mothers between the 1950s and 1970s.

600 words moved by Martin Parry. Graphic. Picture. Video

Japan-disaster-accident-nuclear-energy,lead

TOKYO

A rat may have been to blame for a power cut that knocked out cooling systems at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator says, in an episode that highlighted the jerry-rigged nature of the fix.

650 words 0700 GMT by Kyoko Hasegawa. Graphic. Picture. File video

-- EUROPE -- 

Britain-economy-budget,newseries-WRAP

LONDON

Britain will stick firmly to a barrage of austerity measures, finance minister George Osborne insists in a budget that also slashed economic growth forecasts, while offering plans to boost the weak economy as the eurozone crisis reignites.

800 words moved by Ben Perry. Picture. Video

We have also moved: Britain-economy-budget,POINTS

 

Vatican-religion-pope-legacy,ADVANCER

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis is preparing for a historic meeting with his predecessor Benedict XVI on Saturday -- the first time a pontiff will meet a former one since the Middle Ages, with both expected to wear the papal white vestments.

800 words 0530 GMT. File picture

 

-- AFRICA --

 

Mali-conflict-France,newseries-WRAP

NOUAKCHOTT

Mali's sovereignty over almost all of its territory will be restored within "a few days", French President Francois Hollande promises as French troops prepare to pull out.

650 words moved. File picture

Already moved: Mali-conflict-politics,FOCUS

-- AMERICAS --

US-politics-economy-budget,3rdlead

WASHINGTON

A divided US Senate comes together to approve legislation that avoids a government shutdown, with the compromise stopgap measure likely headed to the president's desk this week.

600 words 0530 GMT

Cuba-politics-dissent,FOCUS

HAVANA

Ten years after the "Black Spring" arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents, some in the opposition perceive signs of greater openness while others see a regime that is just changing tactics to improve its image.

600 words 0530 GMT by Carlos Batista

US-immigration-farmworkers,FOCUS

OXNARD, California

It is a mess with no easy fix: American crops going unpicked -- it's backbreaking work that Americans won't touch -- and poor migrants in need of work shying from it for fear of being abused.

700 words 0600 GMT by Leila Macor

afp

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130321/afp-0500-gmt-news-advisory