Duty Editor: Rose Troup Buchanan Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Pope meets Iraqi Christians who suffered under IS + US Covid relief bill passes after mammoth session + Ivory Coast faces stability test in key elections + Royal row: Harry and Meghan Oprah interview to air Vatican-pope-Iraq,WRAP BAGHDAD Pope Francis, on his historic Iraq tour, visits Christian communities that endured the brutality of the Islamic State group until the jihadists' "caliphate" was defeated three years ago. 580 words 0200 GMT by Catherine Marciano and Sarah Benhaida. Picture. Video. Graphic US-politics-economy-health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON The US Senate votes to approve a $1.9 trillion relief package in what President Joe Biden called a "giant step" towards reviving the pandemic-stricken American economy, capping frenzied negotiations and a marathon overnight voting session. 750 words moved by Michael Mathes. Picture. Video ICoast-vote,WRAP ABIDJAN Ivory Coast holds parliamentary elections, with voters going to the polls in a key test of stability four months after a presidential vote was marked by deadly violence. 700 words moved by Christophe Koffi and David Esnault. Picture. Video. Graphic US-Britain-royals-Harry-Meghan,WRAP NEW YORK After a week of digs at Britain's royal family, just how far will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go in their hotly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey? 600 words 0230 GMT by Thomas Urbain. File picture -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-France,lead PARIS Hundreds of thousands of people in northern France go back into lockdown, as health officials step up a nationwide vaccination campaign to make up ground after a slow start. 550 words moved by Hugues Honore with Julia Pavesi in Lille. Picture Health-virus-US-Texas,SCENE HOUSTON Sipping coffee at a sidewalk cafe in upscale Houston Heights, Evelyne Marcks shakes her head at the Texas governor's decision to scrap a mask-wearing mandate before the Covid-19 pandemic is under control. 550 words moved by Francois Picard. File picture. Video Also moving: Health-virus-US-tourism,FOCUS -- ASIA -- Myanmar-politics-military-unrest YANGON Anti-coup demonstrators take to the streets of Myanmar after a United Nations envoy urges the Security Council to hear the nation's 'desperate pleas' and take swift action to restore democracy. 800 words moved. Graphic. Picture. Video Also moved: India-Myanmar-coup-refugee China-vaccines-virus-health, FOCUS BEIJING Shirley Shi has received three offers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 -- through her hometown, her Beijing residential area and her office area -- but the human resources manager is in no rush. 750 words 0230 GMT by Beiyi Seow and Ludovic Ehret. Picture Thailand-politics-royals BANGKOK Hundreds of people march through Bangkok and hold a ceremonial burning in front of a courthouse on to protest Thailand's draconian royal defamation law, which has landed leaders of a pro-democracy movement behind bars. 500 words moved. Video. Picture -- AMERICAS -- US-racism-police-trial,ADVANCER MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota Nine months after George Floyd's death laid bare the racial wounds in the United States, the white policeman charged with murdering the 46-year-old Black man is going on trial. 700 words 0130 GMT by Joy Powell with Charlotte Plantive. File picture Also moving: US-racism-police-trial-Floyd,PROFILE US-racism-police-trial-Chauvin,PROFILE -- EUROPE -- Switzerland-voting-Islam-Indonesia-trade GENEVA Switzerland votes on whether to ban full facial coverings in public places, despite women in Islamic full-face veils being an exceptionally rare sight in Swiss streets. 650 words 0200 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic Armenia-Azerbaijan-conflict-Karabakh YEREVAN, Armenia Nver Gasparyan, who was injured during the fighting for control of the mountainous Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year, is haunted by memories of the war that ended in national humiliation for Armenia. 600 words 0230 GMT. Picture. Video France-politics-court-corruption-Sarkozy PARIS The French justice system is scoring a series of major victories in high-profile corruption cases against right-wing politicians, but the successes are sparking claims of bias and verbal attacks on prosecutors and judges. 900 words 0300 GMT. File picture. File video France-Britain-EU-diplomacy-Brexit,INTERVIEW PARIS Britain faces a tough challenge to retain global influence after its departure from the EU under a prime minister who has a well-known reputation for "lying", France's former ambassador to the UK tells AFP in an interview. 700 words moved by Stuart Williams and Valerie Leroux. File picture. Video -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Tunisia-violence-women-law,FOCUS TUNIS When Nadia told police about her husband's violence during a coronavirus lockdown in Tunisia, she nearly lost custody of her daughter, illustrating a chasm between a gender law and enforcement. 630 words 0200 GMT. Video -- AFRICA -- Senegal-France-politics-protest,FOCUS DAKAR Looters hit a French retailer in Senegal's capital Dakar, after days of clashes between opposition supporters and the police, underscoring frustrations over foreign economic influence in the poor country. 700 words moved by Laurent Lozano. Picture. Video Also moved: Senegal-politics-unrest-protest,WRAP afp