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TOP STORIES
Series of blasts hits resort towns in southern Thailand
HUA HIN - A series of blasts hits three of the busiest tourist resorts and towns in southern Thailand, killing four people and wounding dozens, days after the country voted to accept a military-backed charter in a referendum. (THAILAND-SECURITY/BLAST (UPDATE 5, PIX, TV GRAPHIC), moved, by Prapan Chankaew, 1,014 words)
Turkey seeks 32 fugitive diplomats in post-coup inquiry
ISTANBUL - Turkey's government is seeking extradition of 32 diplomats who fled to various countries after they were recalled by Ankara as part of investigations into last month's failed coup by rogue troops (TURKEY-SECURITY/ UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Humeyra Pamuk, 700 words)
ASIA
Philippines seeks formal talks with China amid South China Sea tension - Ramos
HONG KONG - The Philippines special envoy to China, Fidel Ramos, says Manila wants formal talks with China to explore paths to peace and cooperation after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying. (SOUTHCHINASEA-RULING/PHILIPPINES (UPDATE 1), moved, by Venus Wu, 410 words)
Pakistan passes controversial cyber-crime law
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has adopted a much-criticized cyber security law that grants sweeping powers to regulators to block private information they deem illegal. (PAKISTAN-INTERNET/ (PIX), moved, by Mehreen Zahra-Malik, 379 words)
Singapore contempt of court bill seen suppressing freedom of speech
SINGAPORE - A proposed law in Singapore spelling out contempt of court and setting out tough penalties draws criticism from rights groups and raises questions among foreign diplomats over the implications for freedom of speech. (SINGAPORE-RIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by Fathin Ungku, 389 words)
In ominous sign, Afghan gov't partner berates President Ghani
KABUL - Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah has sharply criticized President Ashraf Ghani, a dramatic public break that brings out long-simmering tensions inside the one-time bitter election rivals' fragile unity government. (AFGHANISTAN-POLITICS/, moved, by Mirwais Harooni, 263 words)
EUROPE
Economic slowdown lays bare Italian PM Renzi's challenges
ROME - The Italian economy is slowing again, and the timing could hardly be worse for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is grappling with a banking crisis and divided public opinion ahead of a referendum on a flagship constitutional reform. (EUROZONE-ITALY/ECONOMY (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Isla Binnie, 650 words)
Putin replaces his chief of staff a month before elections
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin appoints a low-profile former diplomat as his new Kremlin chief of staff, saying his long-time ally Sergei Ivanov asked to step down. The move comes one month before nationwide parliamentary elections and following a reshuffle of regional leaders last month. (RUSSIA-KREMLIN/, expect by 1500 GMT/11 AM ET, by Alexander Winning and Maria Tsvetkova, 500 words)
MIDDLE EAST
Conjoined twins evacuated to Damascus, among 20 urgent cases
Conjoined twin boys born in Syria three weeks ago are being evacuated across front lines to Damascus Children's Hospital, the first of at least 20 medical cases that need urgent transfer to save lives, the World Health Organization says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-HEALTH, moving shortly, by Stephanie Nebehay, 360 words)
AFRICA
Zimbabwe's social media revolution yet to take root in rural areas
CHIREDZI - Deep in Zimbabwe's drought-stricken rural district of Chiredzi, news of the biggest protests against veteran President Robert Mugabe in a decade, organized through social media last month, only reached Peter Mufaro a week later. (ZIMBABWE-POLITICS/SOCIALMEDIA (PIX), moved, by Cris Chinaka, 947 words)
AMERICAS
Canada security questioned after FBI tip thwarts attack
OTTAWA - Aaron Driver first came to the attention of Canadian officials in late 2014 after he voiced support for Islamic State on social media. In 2015, he was arrested for communicating with militants involved with attack plots in Texas and Australia. Yet it took a tip from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to alert Canadian intelligence officials to what police say was an imminent attack on a major Canadian city (Adds comment from security expert on demands of surveillance) (CANADA-SECURITY/INTELLIGENCE (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, 844 words)
RIO OLYMPICS
Forget the sprawling Olympics in 2024
RIO DE JANEIRO - South America's first Olympic Games are far from over but cities bidding for 2024 have already drawn a clear lesson from Rio: forget about running the Games across an entire city. (OLYMPICS-RIO-2024/ (PIX), by Scott Malone, expect by 1600 GMT/noon ET, 800 words)
+ See also:
- OLYMPICS-RIO-ATHLETICS/MAGNESS (INTERVIEW, PIX), expect by 1400 GMT/10 AM ET, by Mitch Phillips, 880 words
- OLYMPICS-RIO-ATHLETICS/DANEKOVA (UPDATE 2, EXCLUSIVE), moved, by Mitch Phillips, 260 words
- OLYMPICS-RIO/USA-GOLDS (PIX, GRAPHIC), expect by 1600 GMT/noon ET, by Steve Keating, 500 words
SPECIAL REPORT
How British firms built a pyramid scheme in China that lost millions
SHANGHAI, China - A London address helped draw Chinese investors to EuroFX. But the venture was not regulated in Britain. It was a scam that flourished in the gaps between national systems. Police have tallied losses of $70 million, but thousands of victims claim that together, they lost as much as $1 billion. (CHINA-INVESTMENT/EUROFX (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Engen Tham and Carolyn Cohn, expect by 0900 GMT, 2,500 words)
+ See also:
- CHINA-INVESTMENT/EUROFX-TIMELINE, moved, 312 words
TRAVEL
More airline outages seen as carriers grapple with aging technology
Airlines will likely suffer more disruptions like one that grounded about 2,000 Delta flights this week because major carriers have not invested enough to overhaul reservations systems based on technology dating to the 1960s, airline industry and technology experts told Reuters. (DELTA AIR-OUTAGES/IT (ANALYSIS), moved, by Jeffrey Dastin and Jim Finkle, 1144 words)
SCIENCE
As Earth swelters, global warming targets in danger of being missed
OSLO - The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris may be broken only a few months after being set. (CLIMATECHANGE-TEMPERATURES/ (PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Alister Doyle, 550 words)
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