Duty Editor: Daniel Lawler Tel: daniel.lawler@afp.com -- TOP STORIES -- + India, China agree to ease tensions after clashes + Beijing fights virus outbreak as India deaths soar + US imposes sanctions on Syria, vowing new campaign + 'Concrete evidence' missing UK girl McCann is dead + Premier League returns after coronavirus exile India-China-conflict,WRAP NEW DELHI India and China agree to ease tensions at their disputed Himalayan border, even as they trade blame for a brawl that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. 700 words 1430 GMT by Aishwarya Kumar with Parvaiz Bukhari in Srinagar and Jing Xuan Teng in Beijing. Picture. Graphic. Video Health-virus,WRAP BEIJING China closes schools and restricts air travel from Beijing to halt an outbreak of coronavirus cases and dampen fears of a second wave, as India's death toll surge. 700 words moved by Jing Xuan Teng and Laurie Chen, with AFP bureaus. Picture. Video. Graphic Syria-conflict-US-sanctions,WRAP WASHINGTON The United States imposes sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife and dozens of others as it vows a vast pressure campaign under a new law that has already rattled the war-torn nation's economy. 600 words 1600 GMT by Shaun Tandon. Picture Germany-Britain-police-missing-McCann,WRAP BERLIN Authorities in Germany have "concrete evidence" that missing British girl Madeleine McCann is dead, Brunswick prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters tells AFP. 600 words 1500 GMT by Femke Colborne. File picture Fbl-ENG-Pr-health-virus, WRAP LONDON The Premier League returns after 100 days in lockdown, with Manchester City's clash against Arsenal taking centre stage at the start of a frenetic dash to finish the season in stadiums without spectators. 650 words 1500 GMT by Steve Griffiths. Picture -- EUROPE -- France-religion-children-abuse,2ndlead PARIS At least 3,000 children have fallen victim to sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church since 1950, a commission set up to examine claims estimates, adding that the actual number of victims is probably much higher. 500 words 1500 GMT by Karine Perret Syria-France-trial-fraud-Assad,WRAP PARIS A Paris court finds Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's uncle guilty of misappropriating public funds in his birth country, laundering the spoils, and building a vast property portfolio in France with ill-gotten gains. 500 words 1430 GMT by Juliette Montesse Poland-politics-homosexuality-Jewish,FOCUS WARSAW Poland's ruling nationalists are ramping up anti-gay and antisemitic rhetoric in an attempt to boost President Andrzej Duda's flagging campaign ahead of an election this month, experts say. 600 words 1430 GMT by Stanislaw Waszak Health-virus-Russia-politics-Putin,lead MOSCOW Visitors meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at his country residence must first pass through a walk-through device that sprays them with disinfectant, to protect him from the coronavirus, officials say. 500 words moved -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Syria-conflict-US-sanctions,Q&A BEIRUT The United States has imposed new sanctions against the Syrian government over alleged crimes during the nine-year civil war just as Damascus hopes to launch post-conflict reconstruction. How will the sanctions impact Syria? 730 words 1600 GMT by Rouba El Husseini. Picture. Video Also moved: Syria-conflict-currency,lead Syria-conflict,FACTS Syria-conflict,CHRONO Iraq-Turkey-conflict-Kurds,WRAP ANKARA Turkey launches an air and ground offensive in northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels, in a move likely to increase friction between Ankara and Baghdad. 450 words moved. Picture. Video Also moved: Iraq-unrest-Turkey-Kurds-diplomacy,Q&A Iran-protests-rights-politics,FOCUS PARIS Half a year after protests which Iran has now acknowledged claimed over 200 lives, rights groups fear the real toll from the crackdown was far higher and that no one will ever be brought to justice. 700 words moved by Stuart Williams Lebanon-politics-currency-poverty,FOCUS TRIPOLI, Lebanon Years ago Ahlam had escaped poverty in Lebanon for a better life in Europe, but then a family tragedy forced her back home to a country now in the throes of a raging economic crisis. 750 words moved by Jana Dhaiby. Video. Picture Health-virus-Algeria-environment,INTERVIEW ALGIERS Algerian biomedical researcher and pro-democracy activist Asma Mechakra pleads for "respect" for all living beings and the Earth after the COVID-19 pandemic. 600 words moved by Salsabil Chellali and Philippe Agret. Video -- AMERICAS -- US-racism-UN,WRAP GENEVA George Floyd's brother makes an emotional plea with the UN to help African Americans because "black lives do not matter in the United States". 750 words 1500 GMT by Robin Millard. Picture. Video US-China-diplomacy,WRAP WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a vociferous critic of China, meets quietly in Hawaii with a top official from Beijing in a bid to climb down from months of soaring tensions. 600 words 1530 GMT by Shaun Tandon. File Picture US-IT-politics-Facebook,WRAP WASHINGTON Facebook will allow US users to turn off all political ads in a move aimed at quelling criticism of the leading social network's hands-off approach to political misinformation. 600 words 1530 GMT by Rob Lever -- ASIA -- India-China-conflict,FOCUS NEW DELHI India and China's militaries have some of the world's most sophisticated modern weaponry, but their deadliest scrap in more than 50 years was fought using fists, rocks and clubs studded with nails. 700 words 1530 GMT by Aishwarya Kumar with Parvaiz Buhkari in Srinagar. Picture. Graphic NKorea-SKorea-diplomacy-defence,WRAP SEOUL North Korea threatens to bolster its military presence in and around the Demilitarized Zone, a day after blowing up its liaison office with the South, prompting sharp criticism from Seoul. 650 words moved. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: NKorea-SKorea-diplomacy-politics-nuclear Health-virus-China BEIJING Beijing's airports cancel two-thirds of all flights and schools in the Chinese capital are closed again as authorities rush to contain a new coronavirus outbreak and warn infections may rise. 550 words moved. Picture Also moved: Health-virus-China-Beijing,Q&A HongKong-China-politics-unrest,2ndlead HONG KONG China's planned national security law for Hong Kong could allow for extraditions to the mainland, the city's sole representative to Beijing's top lawmaking body says. 550 words moved -- AFRICA -- Malawi-politics-vote-opposition,INTERVIEW LILONGWE Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera, who successfully overturned the results of Malawi's presidential elections in a landmark legal case, tells AFP he is confident that next week's re-run will be credible and set the southern African nation on a new democratic course. 650 words moved by Jack McBrams and Susan Njanji in Johannesburg. File picture. Video -- SCIENCE -- Science-animals-chimpanzees PARIS Do you speak chimp? They are among our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and new research shows that humans can tell when a chimpanzee is happy, sad, angry or scared -- simply by listening to their cries. 300 words moved -- SPORTS -- Athletics-USA-doping-Coleman,WRAP LOS ANGELES Reigning world 100m champion Christian Coleman is provisionally suspended over a missed drugs test, putting him at risk of a two-year ban that would rule him out of next year's Tokyo Olympics. 700 words 1430 GMT by Rob Woollard. File picture Fbl-Eur-C1-C3-UEFA-health-virus PARIS The 2019-2020 Champions League, suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be completed with a "Final Eight" in Lisbon in August, UEFA says. 600 words 1500 GMT by Andy Scott. File picture afp