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09/02/2016 6:09

Editor: Jeremy Gaunt + 44 207 542 1028

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TOP STORIES

Uzbek President Karimov has died - diplomatic sources

ALMATY - Uzbek President Islam Karimov has died after suffering a stroke at the age of 78, three diplomatic sources told Reuters, leaving no obvious successor to take over. (UZBEKISTAN-PRESIDENT/ (UPDATE 2), moved, 410 words)

+ See also:

- UZBEKISTAN-PRESIDENT/KINGMAKERS (FACTBOX), moved, 700 words

- UZBEKISTAN-KARIMOV/ (OBITUARY), moved, 855 words

Turkey says clears Islamic State, Kurdish force from part of north Syria

ANKARA - Turkey has swept Islamic State and the Kurdish YPG militia from an area of northern Syria, but Syrian Kurdish forces have still not met a Turkish demand to withdraw to the east of the Euphrates river, President Tayyip Erdogan says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-TURKEY-ERDOGAN (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, by Ece Toksabay, 370 words)

+ See also:

- MIDEAST-CRISIS/TURKEY-ISLAMIC STATE (INSIGHT, PICTURE), moved, by Humeyra Pamuk, 1,400 words

Bombs kill at least 12, wound dozens at Pakistan court

PESHAWAR - Two bombs kill at least 12 people and wound dozens outside a court complex in northwest Pakistan, a rescue official says, hours after militants from a Pakistani Taliban faction attacked a Christian neighborhood in the same region. (PAKISTAN-ATTACKS/ (UPDATE 3), moving shortly, by Jibran Ahmad, 440 words)

Divided Irish cabinet to meet on whether to fight EU on Apple tax

DUBLIN - Ireland's fragile coalition government will try to overcome cabinet divisions on whether to join Apple in appealing against a multi-billion-euro back tax demand that the European Commission has slapped on the iPhone maker. (EU-APPLE/TAXAVOIDANCE-IRELAND, moved, 395 words)

+ See also:

- EU-APPLE/TAXAVIODANCE-COURT, moved, by Tom Bergin, 1,070 words

Hurricane Hermine hammers Florida, leaving thousands without power

TAMPA, Fla. - Fierce winds and rain from Hurricane Hermine slam Florida's northern Gulf Coast and power outages leaves tens of thousands of households in the dark. (STORM-HERMINE/ (UPDATE 2, PICTURE, TV, GRAPHPICS), moved, by Letitia Stein, 570 words)

AFRICA

Tense calm in Gabon capital after two days of post-election violence

LIBREVILLE - An uneasy calm returned to the streets of Gabon's capital Libreville following two days of violent protests sparked by the re-election of President Ali Bongo in polls his main rival, Jean Ping, claims to have won. (GABON-ELECTION/ (PICTURE), expect by 1030 GMT/6.30 AM ET, by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, 400 words)

EUROPE

Russia's Putin: I have no idea who hacked U.S. Democratic Party -BBG

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin says he did not know who was behind the hacking of U.S. Democratic Party organizations but it is important the information has been made public, Bloomberg news agency reports. (RUSSIA-USA/PUTIN (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, by Jack Stubbs, 345 words)

Sturgeon announces new Scottish independence drive after "seismic" Brexit vote

STIRLING - Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon launches a new independence drive, urging supporters to join the country's "biggest ever political listening exercise" to gauge public appetite for a new referendum. (BRITAIN-SCOTLAND/INDEPENDENCE (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Elisabeth O'Leary, 405 words)

MIDDLE EAST

Syrians in rebel Damascus suburb start to evacuate in deal

BEIRUT - Hundreds of civilians in the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya begin to leave the rebel-held area in what the government describe as an amnesty, part of its efforts to force insurgent pockets around big cities to surrender. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA (PICTURE, TV), moved, 420 words)

+ See also:

- MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-TRUCE (INSIGHT), moved, by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, 1,185 words

Weapons storage blast fires off bombs on Baghdad, killing four

BAGHDAD - A blast caused by a fire at a weapons storage in eastern Baghdad set off rockets that hit neighboring districts, killing at least four residents and injuring a dozen others, police and hospital sources say. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-BLAST (UPDATE 2, TV, PICTURE), moved, 150 words)

ASIA

At G20 meet, defending free trade will need more than talk

SYDNEY - Wedged in between the Brexit vote and the U.S. presidential election, leaders of the world's major economies meet this weekend in China needing to mount a realistic defense of the free trade and globalization they have long championed. (G20-CHINA/TRADE (PICTURE, GRAPHIC), moved, by Wayne Cole, 845 words)

Cover up, stay in: Singaporeans wary as Zika spreads

SINGAPORE - Many of Singapore's five million people are covering up and staying indoors to avoid mosquito bites as health experts warn that the outbreak of the Zika virus in the tropical city-state will be difficult to contain. (HEALTH-ZIKA/SINGAPORE-LIFE (PICTURE, TV), moved, by Fathin Ungku and Aradhana Aravindan, 655 words)

China pressures Hong Kong to squash independence calls ahead of poll-sources

HONG KONG - China pressures the Hong Kong government to disqualify six candidates who advocated independence from a crucial citywide election, as part of a campaign to bolster its interests and win seats for its allies, two sources with knowledge of the matter say. (HONGKONG-ELECTION/CHINA (UPDATE 1, TV, PICTURE, GRAPHIC), moved, by James Pomfret and Venus Wu, 715 words)

ASEAN, China to adopt communications protocol to ease tension at sea

MANILA - Southeast Asian countries and China will establish hotlines and adopt communications protocols to avoid naval clashes in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, a Philippines foreign ministry official says. (ASEAN-PHILIPPINES/NAVY, moved, by Manuel Mogato, 395 words)

India workers' strike hits transport services, banks

NEW DELHI - Transport services are disrupted across India and state-run banks and insurance companies are shut as more than a million workers go on a strike, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pursuing anti-labor policies. (INDIA-STRIKE/ (PICTURE), moved, by Jatindra Dash and Aby Jose Koiparambil, 320 words)

UNITED STATES

Clinton announces plan to address 'unjustified' price hikes on life-saving drugs

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton says that if elected to the White House, she will create an oversight panel to protect U.S. consumers from price hikes on life-saving drugs and import alternative treatments if necessary. (USA-ELECTION/CLINTON-DRUGS (UPDATE 1, PICTURE, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Amanda Becker, 540 words)

One secret of Trump's low-cost campaign: free labor

NEW YORK - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has run an unusually cheap campaign in part by not paying at least 10 top staffers, consultants and advisers, some of whom are no longer with the campaign, according to a review of federal campaign finance filings. (USA-ELECTION/TRUMP-STAFF (PICTURE, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Michelle Conlin and Grant Smith, 705 words)

Solid U.S. employment gains expected in August; jobless rate seen falling

WASHINGTON - U.S. employment growth likely moderated in August after two straight months of hefty gains, but was probably still strong enough to push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this year. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Lucia Mutikani, 670 words)

HEALTH

U.S. fights Zika mosquitoes with limited arsenal

Over Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood where Zika gained a foothold in the continental United States, low flying planes have been spraying naled, a tightly controlled pesticide often used as a last resort. It appears to be working, killing at least 90 percent of the target mosquitoes. (HEALTH-ZIKA/USA-MOSQUITOES (INSIGHT, PICTURE, TV, GRAPHICS), expect by 1100 GMT/7 AM ET, by Julie Steenhuysen, 965 words)

09/02/2016 6:09