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09/03/2016 18:08

Editor: Dan Grebler + 011 646 223 6300

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TOP STORIES

Turkish tanks roll into Syria, opening new line of attack

ELBEYLI, Turkey/BEIRUT - Turkey and its rebel allies open a new line of attack in northern Syria as Turkish tanks roll across the border and Syrian fighters sweep in from the west to take villages held by Islamic State.(MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-TURKEY (UPDATE 5, TV), by Umit Ozdal and John Davison, moved, 757 words)

Obama presses China's Xi on South China Sea ahead of G20

HANGZHOU - U.S. President Barack Obama presses his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, urging Beijing to uphold its legal obligations and stressing the United States' commitments to its regional allies. (G20-CHINA/USA (UPDATE 2, TV, PIX), by Roberta Rampton and Michael Martina, moved, 788 words)

China's Hangzhou turns ghost town as G20 leaders arrive

HANGZHOU - The Chinese city of Hangzhou felt like a ghost town on Saturday ahead of the arrival of leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies, after the government encouraged residents to clear out and cranked up security for the summit. (G20-CHINA/HANGZHOU (PIX, TV), by Joseph Campbell, moved, 422 words)

China, US, Europe support global aviation emissions pact

HANGZHOU - China, the United States and Europe pledge support for a new deal to curb carbon dioxide emissions by airlines which is due to be finalized at a meeting of the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization in September and is expected to go into effect from 2021. (CHINA-AVIATION/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 785 words)

Iran ready to help restore oil market balance after it regains share -official

DUBAI - Iran is ready to support any decision to help restore balance to the oil market after it regains its pre-sanctions market share, the Iranian oil ministry's SHANA news agency reports, quoting a minister. (ENERGY-IRAN/OUTPUT (UPDATE 1), moved, 312 words)

UNITED STATES

Hermine strengthens off North Carolina en route to Middle Atlantic

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - A powerful Atlantic storm strengthens after passing over North Carolina's Outer Banks en route to the U.S. Middle Atlantic coast, where it was expected to spoil the holiday weekend with high winds, soaking rains and surging seas. (STORM-HERMINE/ (UPDATE 4, PIX, TV), by Ian Simpson and Chris Prentice, moved, 818 words, will be updated)

LATAM

Two dozen detained for jeering Venezuela's Maduro -group

CARACAS - Venezuelan authorities arrest 23 people on Margarita island for heckling and jeering President Nicolas Maduro in an unusual direct show of public rage, a rights group and the opposition say. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (TV), by Andrew Cawthorne, moved, 400 words)

Uzbekistan buries President Islam Karimov

ALMATY - Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan for the past quarter of a century, is buried in his home city of Samarkand, leaving behind a power vacuum in a nation that serves as a bulwark against militant Islam in Central Asia. (UZBEKISTAN-PRESIDENT/FUNERAL (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Olzhas Auyezov, 921 words)

EUROPE

EU, Turkey test waters for rapprochement after failed coup

BRATISLAVA - The European Union and Turkey test the waters for a political rapprochement with a first meeting between the bloc's 28 foreign ministers and a senior Ankara official after a failed coup in Turkey in July strained their uneasy ties. (EUROPE-MIGRANTS/EU-TURKEY (UPDATE 3, TV), moved, by Gabriela Baczynska and Sabine Siebold, 692 words)

Unhappy with Corbyn, Labor's 'money men' channel funds in new directions

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England - Billionaire Peter Coates has stopped giving money to Britain's opposition Labor Party, seeing little prospect of election victory under left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn. One of a handful of 'money men' credited with using their cash to help propel Labor under Tony Blair to power in 1997 and keep it there, he has instead made direct personal donations to fund a local Labor parliamentarian, whose centrist views are more aligned to his own. (BRITAIN-LABOUR/ (INSIGHT, PIX), by Elizabeth Piper, moved, 954 words)

France's Le Pen vows to hold referendum on EU if elected

BRACHAY, France - France's far-right National Front party leader, Marine Le Pen, vows to hold a referendum on whether France stays in or leaves the European Union if she wins the 2017 presidential election. (FRANCE-LEPEN/REFERENDUM (PIX,TV), moved, 343 words)

AFRICA

Zimbabwe's Mugabe dismisses ill-health talk but public anger rising

HARARE- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returns home from abroad in a jovial mood, poking fun at the latest online media speculation that he is gravely ill and had sought medical help in Dubai (ZIMBABWE-MUGABE/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by MacDonald Dzirutwe, 400 words)

ASIA

Philippines blames IS-linked Abu Sayyaf for bomb in Duterte's Davao

DAVAO - Philippine police blame Islamic State-linked rebels for a bombing that killed 14 people in President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown and dealt a blow to the firebrand leader's bloody crackdown on narcotics and militancy. (PHILIPPINES-BLAST/ (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), by Neil Jerome Morales, 624 words)

Bangladesh hangs Islamist party figure for 1971 war crimes

DHAKA - Bangladesh hangs a top Islamist party figure for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, the law minister says. (BANGLADESH-WARCRIMES/ (UPDATE 3, TV), by Ruma Paul, moved, 400 words)

India offers $500 mln defense credit as Vietnam seeks arms boost

HANOI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers Vietnam a credit line of half a billion dollars for defense cooperation, giving a lift to a country rapidly pursing a military deterrent as discord festers in the South China Sea. (VIETNAM-INDIA/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), by Ho Binh Minh, moved, 400 words)

SPORT

Serena reaches U.S. Open last 16 with milestone win

NEW YORK - Another win, another milestone for Serena Williams, who rolls into the U.S. Open last 16 by crushing Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-2 6-1 to collect grand slam victory number 307 - the most by a woman in the Open era. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), by Steve Keating, moved, 446 words)

Motor racing-Hamilton runs away with Monza pole position

MONZA - Lewis Hamilton sweeps to a dominant pole position at the Italian Grand Prix for the third year in succession with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg joining the Briton on the front row of the grid. (MOTOR-F1-ITALY/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), by Alan Baldwin, moved, 400 words)

Formula One sale to Liberty Media to go ahead next week - auto motor und sport

FRANKFURT - A sale of Formula One to Liberty Media is to go ahead next week, the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone tells German trade magazine auto motor und sport on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. (FORMULA ONE-M&A/LIBERTY MEDIA (UPDATE 1), moved, 255 words) (Editing by Dan Grebler)

09/03/2016 18:08