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08/23/2016 13:50

Editor: Paul Grant + 1 202 898 8322

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TOP STORIES

Biden tells Baltic states: don't take Trump seriously

RIGA - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden tells Baltic leaders not to take seriously comments by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that call into question U.S. commitment to protect NATO allies in face of Russian aggression. (LATVIA-USA/BIDEN (UPDATE 3, PIX), expect by 1830 GMT/2.30 PM ET, by Jeff Mason and Gederts Gelzis, 400 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TURKEY/, moved, by Jeff Mason and Humeyra Pamuk, 804 words

As Kerry lands in Nigeria, air force says top Boko Haram fighters killed

SOKOTO, Nigeria - Nigeria's air force says it kills number of senior Boko Haram fighters and possibly their overall leader, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives for talks on tackling militants. (NIGERIA-SECURITY/BOKOHARAM (UPDATE 5, PIX, TV), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Lesley Wroughton, 400 words)

+ See also:

- SOUTHSUDAN-USA/KERRY, moved, by Lesley Wroughton, 451 words

SPECIAL REPORT

New massacre reports show U.S. inability to curb Iraq militias

WASHINGTON - Shi'ite militias in Iraq detained, tortured and abused far more Sunni civilians during the American-backed capture of the town of Falluja in June than U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged, Reuters finds. More than 700 Sunni men and boys are still missing more than two months after Islamic State stronghold fell. Abuses occurred despite U.S. efforts to restrict militias' role in operation, including threatening to withdraw American air support, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. Washington's inability to restrain sectarian violence is now central concern for Obama administration officials as they try to help Iraqi forces retake much larger city of Mosul, Islamic State's Iraqi capital. (IRAQ-MASSACRES/FALLUJA (PIX), moved, by Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay, 2,390 words)

UNITED STATES

U.S. new home sales race to near nine-year high; supply dwindles

WASHINGTON - New U.S. single-family home sales unexpectedly rise, reaching their highest level in nearly nine years as demand increases broadly, brightening housing market outlook. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 2, PIX), moving shortly, by Lucia Mutikani, 400 words)

In re-election bid, Ohio senator keeps safe distance from Trump

COLUMBUS, Ohio/WASHINGTON - Rob Portman is largely ignoring Donald Trump, which is hard to do in U.S. politics today, but strategy seems to work for Republican senator in his re-election bid in Ohio. (USA-ELECTION/PORTMAN (PIX), moved, by Kim Palmer and Susan Cornwell, 540 words)

Obama heads to Louisiana to tour flood-battered neighborhood

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE - President Obama flies to Baton Rouge, La., to visit flood-ravaged neighborhood and meet with state officials to discuss how federal government can best help the state recover. (USA-WEATHER/OBAMA (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Ayesha Rascoe, 500 words)

Florida announces Zika case hundreds of miles from Miami

CHICAGO - Florida officials announce first case of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes in Pinellas County, some 265 miles (425 kilometers) from Miami, where first locally transmitted U.S. cases are reported. (HEALTH-ZIKA/FLORIDA (UPDATE 1, PIX), expect by 1830 GMT/2.30 PM ET, by Julie Steenhuysen, 400 words)

+ See also:

- HEALTH-ZIKA/ORIGIN (TIMELINE), moved, 2,152 words

- HEALTH-ZIKA/QANDA (FACTBOX), moved, 1,078 words

MIDDLE EAST

Syria Kurds win battle with government, Turkey mobilizes against them

HASAKA, Syria/BEIRUT - Syrian Kurdish forces take near complete control of Hasaka city as cease-fire ends week of fighting with government, consolidating Kurds' grip on Syria's northeast as Turkey increases its efforts to check their influence. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-KURDS (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Rodi Said and Tom Perry, 770 words)

+ See also:

- MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-COMBATANTS (FACTBOX), moved, 800 words

UN braces for refugee exodus from Iraq's Mosul

GENEVA/BAGHDAD - Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in and around Mosul could be uprooted by military assault to retake city from Islamic State, U.N. refugee agency UNHCR says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-UN (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Stephanie Nebehay and Stephen Kalin, 364 words)

+ See also:

- MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-CEMETERY (PIX), moved, by Alaa al-Marjani and Saif Hameed, 270 words

EUROPE

Kremlin says Putin, Merkel, Hollande to meet to discuss Ukraine at G20 on Sept. 4-5

MOSCOW - Leaders of Russia, Germany and France agree to meet to discuss situation in Ukraine on Sept. 4-5 in China on sidelines of G20 summit, Kremlin says. (RUSSIA-UKRAINE/FRANCE-GERMANY (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, 231 words)

Europeans turn to weapons in growing numbers after attacks

ZURICH/BERLIN - Europeans in number of countries are seeking to arm themselves with guns and self-defense devices in growing numbers after series of attacks by militants and mentally ill. (EUROPE-ATTACKS/GUNS (PIX, TV), moved, by John Miller and Caroline Copley, 1,360 words)

+ See also:

- EUROPE-ATTACKS/GUNS-FACTBOX (FACTBOX, PIX, TV), moved, 467 words

ASIA

EXCLUSIVE-China's richest man set to seal two billion-dollar U.S. film deals

BEIJING - Real-estate and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group expects to seal two billion-dollar film-related deals in United States this year, chairman Wang Jianlin says, as China's richest man steps up his push into Hollywood. (DALIANWANDA-CHAIRMAN/ (EXCLUSIVE, UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Matthew Miller and Shu Zhang, 758 words)

SPORT

Russia loses appeal against Paralympics ban

ZURICH - Russia loses its appeal against ban from next month's Rio Paralympics because of state-sponsored doping program, Court of Arbitration for Sport says. (PARALYMPICS-RIO/RUSSIA-CAS (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Brian Homewood, 514 words)

08/23/2016 13:50