Duty Editor: Jenny Vaughan Tel: +33 1 40.41.46.36 -- TOP STORIES -- + Eritrea to withdraw troops from Tigray + Biden warns North Korea against escalation + China sanctions UK figures over Xinjiang + Rare Van Gogh fetches $15 mn + Do sleeping octopuses dream? Ethiopia-Eritrea-unrest-conflict-Tigray,WRAP ADDIS ABABA Eritrea will pull its troops out of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, says Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a potential breakthrough in a drawn-out conflict that has seen atrocities carried out against civilians. 650 words moved by Robbie Corey-Boulet Also moving: Ethiopia-Eritrea-Tigray-unrest,FACTS NKorea-SKorea-Japan-US-defence-diplomacy,WRAP WASHINGTON President Joe Biden warns North Korea that the United States will "respond accordingly" if it escalates its military testing, after Pyongyang fired two missiles in its first major provocation since he took office. 750 words moved by Becca Milfeld with Kang Jin-kyu in Seoul. Picture. Graphic Also moved: NKorea-US-military-diplomacy,FOCUS China-Britain-EU-diplomacy-Uyghurs,WRAP BEIJING China targeted sanctions at British lawmakers and lobby groups, widening a chasm between Beijing and Western powers critical of alleged rights violations in Xinjiang. 750 words 1000 GMT. Picture. Graphic. Video France-art-auction-VanGogh,WRAP PARIS One of the few paintings by Vincent Van Gogh still in private hands, "Street Scene in Montmartre", sells for over 13 million euros at auction after going on public display for the first time this week. 600 words moved by Jean-Louis de la Vaissiere. Picture. Video Science-Brazil-animal-octopus,FOCUS WASHINGTON An octopus named Marshmallow lies at rest at the bottom of her tank, suddenly shifting in color from a pale white-green to brown and then orange, as her closed eyes shift around -- a moment captured by scientists who are suggesting the possibility that octopuses dream. 700 words moved by Issam Ahmed. Photo. Video -- SPOTLIGHT -- SAfrica-agriculture-avocado-theft,FOCUS TZANEEN, South Africa Flashing green-and-white lights illuminated the night as the three private security vehicles rolled into the gated orchard, breaking the dark stillness enveloping the farm in northern South Africa. 1,000 words moved by Sofia Christensen. Picture. Video SKorea-internet-entertainment-social,FOCUS SEOUL From a converted storeroom on the roof of his mother's Seoul apartment, Kim Min-kyo plays video games for up to 15 hours a day -- and makes a fortune from the thousands of fans watching him. 800 words moved by Daniel De Carteret and Lim Seong-uk. Picture. Video Health-virus-PNG-misinformation,FOCUS PORT MORESBY Misinformation threatens to scuttle Papua New Guinea's efforts to bring an escalating Covid-19 crisis under control, with a survey showing one-in-four health workers are reluctant to get vaccinated. 650 words moved -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus,WRAP BRUSSELS The European Union warns it will ban drugs firms like AstraZeneca from exporting coronavirus vaccines to the UK and other countries until they make good on promised deliveries to the bloc, as President Joe Biden pledges 200 million doses administered in the US by the end of April. 900 words moved by Dave Clark with Robin Millard in Geneva and AFP bureaus. Picture. Video Health-virus-AmLat-vaccines,FOCUS MONTEVIDEO With the coronavirus spreading out of control in Brazil, the South American giant's neighbors are feeling the heat as their new Covid-19 infections are also on the rise. 700 words moved by Lucia Lacurcia with AFP bureaus in Latin America. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: Health-virus-Mexico-toll US-travel-leisure-health-virus,FOCUS WASHINGTON After a year of pandemic restrictions, Americans want to get back on the move -- a dynamic apparent in Miami's spring break revellers and Washington's deluge of rental cars each weekend. 650 words moved by Delphine Touitou US-economy-work-vaccines-health-virus,FOCUS NEW YORK As Covid-19 vaccination drives get into gear across the United States, some businesses are offering transportation, paid time off and bonuses of up to $500 to encourage workers to get the jab. 650 words moved by Juliette Michel Health-virus-US-vaccination-Baltimore,SCENE BALTIMORE, Maryland At an American football stadium turned into a Covid-19 vaccination center, a woman is positively giddy after getting her first shot. 450 words moved by Robin Legrand and Camille Camdessus. Picture -- EUROPE -- Romania-Bulgaria-girls-pregnancy-education,FOCUS BUCHAREST In a dilapidated studio apartment in a run-down part of Bucharest, single mother of three Emilia remembers the despondency she felt when she first fell pregnant at the age of 15. 700 words moved by Mihaela Rodina and Ionut Iordachescu. Picture. Video -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Egypt-shipping-Suez,WRAP CAIRO Tugboats and dredgers try to free a giant container ship blocking Egypt's Suez Canal for a fourth day, forcing companies to reroute services from the vital shipping passageway around Africa. 600 words 1100 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic. Videographic Saudi-conflict-Yemen-energy,WRAP RIYADH A projectile attack sparks a fire at an oil terminal in southern Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's energy ministry says, on the sixth anniversary of a Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen. 600 words moved Also moving: Yemen-conflict-weapons,FACTS Yemen-conflict-Saudi,POINTS -- AFRICA -- Rwanda-genocide-history-France-diplomacy,WRAP PARIS A commission of historians will after two years work submit to President Emmanuel Macron a potentially explosive report scrutinising the role played by France over Rwanda's 1994 genocide. 600 words 1000 GMT by Cecile Feulliatre and Lucie Peytermann. File picture. Report submitted 1530 GMT Also moving: Rwanda-France-genocide-history,CHRONO -- AMERICAS -- US-politics-Biden-media,WRAP WASHINGTON US President Joe Biden promises 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be administered in his first 100 days in office, doubling his initial goal, as he says at his first news conference that he intends to seek another term. 950 words moved by Jerome Cartillier and Shaun Tandon. Picture. Video Also moved: US-immigration-politics-Biden,2ndlead US-Afghanistan-politics-military,2ndlead US-politics-Biden-Trump-media,FOCUS WASHINGTON Sporting a red tie, Donald Trump -- combative, goading, sometimes angry and insulting. Wearing a blue tie with stripes, Joe Biden -- calm, amiable, sometimes stumbling and hesitant. 650 words moved by Jerome Cartillier. Picture. File picture US-politics-crime-racism-Asian,SCENE NEW YORK Wearing bright safety vests and carrying walkie-talkies, volunteers patrol a Chinese neighborhood in New York to protect Asian Americans against a surge of pandemic-era violence after deadly mass shootings at Asian-owned spas in Atlanta. 650 words moved by Peter Hutchison. Picture. Video -- ASIA -- Bangladesh-politics-history-rights DHAKA Bangladesh marked 50 years of independence from Pakistan as rights groups issued a joint plea for the country's economic success to be matched by an end to growing political repression. 500 words moved. Picture Thailand-Myanmar-crime-drugs,FOCUS NONG KHAI, Thailand A village watchman trains his binoculars on a suspicious fishing boat -- the first line of defence as Thailand braces for a fresh methamphetamine influx after a coup in neighbouring Myanmar. 650 words moved by Lisa Martin. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY -- China-art-technology-culture BEIJING Bitcoin-inspired sculpture and nightmarish faces conjured up by artificial intelligence, the global craze for "NFTs" sweeps into Beijing as curators opened one of the world's first exhibitions dedicated to blockchain art. 500 words at 1030 GMT by Jing Xuan Teng. Video. Picture US-IT-politics-internet,WRAP WASHINGTON US lawmakers unleash a torrent of criticism against social media top executives, blaming the companies for amplifying false content and calls to violence, while promising new regulations to stem rampant online disinformation. 850 words moved by Rob Lever with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco. Picture. File picture. Video -- SPACE -- US-SpaceX-debris-space SAN FRANCISCO A spectacular display of lights streaming across the nightsky over much of the Pacific Northwest Thursday night was probably debris from a Space-X mission reentering the earth's atmosphere, the US National Weather Service (NWS) says. 400 words 1100 GMT afp