Duty Editor: Jenny Vaughan Tel: +33 1 40.41.46.36 -- TOP STORIES -- + Russia backs Lukashenko after flight diversion + Germany admits committing Namibia genocide + WHO says Europe's vaccine drive 'too slow' + 400,000 flee DR Congo volcano + Late rapper DMX releases posthumous album Belarus-politics-aviation-Russia,WRAP MOSCOW Russia throws its weight behind Belarus's increasingly isolated regime, slamming a European overflight ban as President Vladimir Putin prepares to host strongman Alexander Lukashenko. 800 words 1700 GMT by Jonathan Brown. Picture. Video. Graphic Germany-Namibia-genocide,WRAP BERLIN Germany recognises it committed genocide in colonial-era Namibia and promises a billion euros in financial support to descendants of the victims, in a move welcomed as a "first step" by Windhoek but slammed as insufficient by activists. 650 words 1600 GMT by Isabelle Le Page. Picture. Video Also moved: Germany-Namibia-diplomacy-genocide,FACTS Germany-Namibia-Rwanda-Turkey-Myanmar-Sudan-genocide,FACTS Namibia-Germany-genocide-reax,3rdlead Health-virus-Europe,INTERVIEW COPENHAGEN The World Health Organization's director for Europe warns that the Covid-19 pandemic won't be over until at least 70 percent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still "too slow." 500 words 1500 GMT by Camille Bas-Wohlert. File picture. Video DRCongo-volcano,WRAP GOMA, DR Congo The eastern DR Congo city of Goma is eerily deserted after nearly 400,000 people flee over fears of a new eruption by the Mount Nyiragongo volcano. 600 words 1430 GMT by Heritier Baraka Munyampfura. Graphic. Picture. Video Entertainment-US-music-rap-DMX-album NEW YORK The rapper DMX was priming for a career comeback in the months before his shock death, ready to release his first studio album in nearly a decade. 400 words moved. File picture -- SPOTLIGHT -- China-television-culture-LGBT,FOCUS BEIJING Two men exchange longing glances, a frisson of sexual tension in an on-screen relationship which must otherwise go unspoken -- China's "boys' love" phenomenon is gripping video streamers, slipping by censors of LGBTQ themes with their subtlety. 850 words moved by Beiyi Seow and Danni Zhu. Picture Europe-migrants-Serbia-Romania MAJDAN, Serbia Inside an abandoned house, onions sizzle as Seror struggles to cook an Iraqi speciality over an open fire for her family, who are among hundreds waiting for their chance to cross from Serbia into Romania. 750 words moved by Miodrag Sovilj. Video. Picture Iraq-media-misinformation,FOCUS BAGHDAD Conspiracy theories, fake reports and mudslinging -- in Iraq, false news thrives and risks real-life consequences as authorities struggle to counteract its spread. 750 words moved by Laure Al Khoury. Picture. Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-WHO-US-China-origin GENEVA Facing intensifying pressure for a new, more in-depth investigation of the Covid-19 pandemic origins, the World Health Organization says it is still awaiting expert guidance on the next moves. 450 words moved Health-virus-Australia,lead MELBOURNE Five million weary Melbourne residents are back under lockdown, straining local resolve and testing Australia's "zero-Covid" strategy of smothering outbreaks however small. 550 words moved. Picture. Video Health-virus-India-Delhi,lead NEW DELHI Indian authorities announce a tentative easing of the lockdown in the capital New Delhi as coronavirus infections fall in major cities after weeks of restrictions. 550 words moved. Picture Oly-2020-2021-health-virus-Japan,2ndlead TOKYO Japan's government extends a coronavirus emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country until just a month before the Olympics, fuelling doubts about whether the Games can go ahead safely. 700 words moved by Sara Hussein and Natsuko Fukue. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- France-attack-police,WRAP LA CHAPELLE-SUR-ERDRE, France A suspect in a knife attack in France dies from injuries sustained in a shootout with police hours after badly wounding a policewoman in the latest of several violent acts directed at police in recent months. 700 words 1600 GMT by Sylvie Maligorne and Fanny Andre. Picture. Video. Graphic Russia-trial-police-media,WRAP MOSCOW A Moscow court sentences five former police officers to lengthy prison terms for planting drugs on an investigative journalist, in a case supporters called a rare admission of wrong-doing from Russian law enforcement. 550 words moved by Anastasia Clark. Picture. Video Health-WHO-DRCongo-abuse,WRAP GENEVA Fifty-three countries voice alarm at reports that World Health Organization leaders knew of sexual abuse allegations against the UN agency's staff and failed to report them. 700 words 1600 GMT by Robin Millard Turkey-politics-religion-mosque,WRAP ISTANBUL Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurates the first mosque in Istanbul's Taksim Square, transforming the landscape of the area, eight years to the day after protests began there that shook his government. 500 words 1730 GMT by Gokan Gunes. Picture. Video Kazakhstan-animal-environment,WRAP ALMATY The population of the critically endangered Saiga antelope has more than doubled since 2019, Kazakhstan says, giving conservationists fresh hope for the steppe-dwelling animal's long-term survival. 550 words moved by Christopher Rickleton. File picture. File video Germany-politics-Greens-election,FOCUS BERLIN Germany's resurgent Green party, its sights set on the chancellery in September's election, has stumbled on the campaign trail over undeclared bonus payments and controversial comments about arming Ukraine. 600 words moved by Mathieu Foulkes. File picture Estonia-France-Britain-NATO-defence,SCENE TAPA, Estonia In a wooded corner of Estonia not far from the Russian border and against a backdrop of renewed tensions between Moscow and the West, some 7,000 soldiers are taking part in a NATO battleground exercise. 500 words moved by Didier Lauras. Picture. Video Cyprus-vote,ADVANCER NICOSIA Cypriots go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament, as public anger simmers over the "golden passports" corruption scandal and ultra-nationalists look to exploit the anti-establishment mood. 700 words moved by Charlie Charalambous -- MIDDLE EAST -- Syria-vote-Assad,Q&A BEIRUT With the conflict mostly on hold but Syria's economy in ruins, what are President Bashar al-Assad's priorities likely to be after he won a fourth term in office? 700 words moved by Layal Abou Rahal Also moved: Syria-conflict-vote-Assad,PROFILE Iraq-conflict-Syria-jihadists,FOCUS MOSUL, Iraq The return of dozens of Iraqi families suspected of links to the Islamic State group from Syria to Mosul has sparked fears among residents who survived the horrors of IS rule. 650 words moved by Mohammad Salim. Picture. Video -- AFRICA -- SAfrica-France-health-virus-diplomacy,WRAP PRETORIA French President Emmanuel Macron is in South Africa for a lightning trip to discuss Covid vaccine access for Africa. 600 words 1530 GMT by Jerome Rivet. Picture. Video Mali-coup-army-conflict,Q&A BAMAKO Malian Colonel Assimi Goita triggered a diplomatic storm this week by detaining the war-torn Sahel state's president and prime minister and stripping them of their powers. Here we look at the key issues in the long-running crisis. 650 words moved by Amaury Hauchard. File picture Congo-politics,FOCUS BRAZZAVILLE Congo's veteran President Denis Sassou Nguesso, fresh from his latest election victory, has drawn on loyalists and family members to form a new government for the small debt-ridden oil state. 600 words moved by Laudes Martial Mbon. File picture. Graphic Rwanda-DRCongo-volcano-refugee,SCENE Gisenyi, Rwanda John Baptiste Kamandwa is exhausted and anxious: he has fled to Rwanda for the second time in days after the eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano, and cannot find his family. 650 words 1500 GMT by Ivan Rush Mugisha. Picture -- AMERICAS -- US-IT-security-hacking,WRAP WASHINGTON The state-backed Russian group behind a massive hacking campaign revealed last year has re-emerged with a series of attacks on government agencies, think tanks, consultants and other organizations, according to security researchers. 600 words 1600 GMT by Rob Lever. File picture US-Russia-NATO-defense-diplomacy,WRAP WASHINGTON President Joe Biden's administration says it will not return to the Open Skies Treaty, which Donald Trump left, citing Russian violations in a toughening of the US stance towards Moscow after several conciliatory gestures. 600 words 1600 GMT by Francesco Fontemaggi US-crime-shooting-guns-business,FOCUS WASHINGTON A disgruntled, heavily-armed employee shows up at work and murders nine of his colleagues: this week's carnage at a California rail yard is every American employer's worst nightmare come true. 600 words 2000 GMT by Charlotte Plantive. File picture. File video -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-politics-court,WRAP HONG KONG Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is among eight democracy activists handed new prison sentences for attending protests on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China that were followed by a sweeping crackdown. 700 words moved by Yan Zhao. Picture. Video SriLanka-Singapore-transport-pollution-fire,WRAP COLOMBO Tonnes of plastic pellets from a burning container ship swamp Sri Lanka's west coast, prompting a ban on fishing as international efforts to salvage the vessel dragged into a ninth day. 650 words moved by Amal Jayasinghe. Picture. Video HongKong-China-politics-court,PROFILE HONG KONG Hong Kong democracy campaigner Figo Chan wore an Avengers hoodie into court for his jail sentence in a nod to his love of the comic series and its tale of heroic redemption. He says prison will make him a better man. 650 words moved by Su Xinqi. Picture Afghanistan-Australia-diplomacy-conflict,FOCUS KABUL, Afghanistan Australia closes its embassy in Afghanistan, highlighting security fears for foreign missions and their local workers as US-led troops pull out of the war-torn country. 650 words moved by Mushtaq Mojaddidi. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS/ECONOMY -- US-politics-economy-budget,WRAP WASHINGTON President Joe Biden is expected to propose a $6 trillion budget that would fund his ambitious makeover of the economy in 2022 while driving the United States into record debt -- if he can get it past Congress. 550 words 1530 GMT by Sebastian Smith. File picture France-economy,WRAP PARIS A much-expected rebound of France's Covid-battered economy fails to materialise in the first quarter as key sectors remained sluggish after over a year of virus restrictions, but the government remains hopeful. 650 words moved by Jurgen Hecker Britain-Germany-automobile-luxury-Rolls-BMW,INTERVIEW CHICHESTER, United Kingdom Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which along with the wider luxury goods sector is recovering strongly from pandemic fallout, has launched a "Boat Tail" automobile -- tailor-made for just three ultra-wealthy clients. 600 words moved by Ben Perry. Picture. -- SPORT -- Fbl-Eur-C1,WRAP PORTO, Portugal Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will be aiming to win the Champions League trophy they so desperately crave but a Chelsea side transformed in recent months under Thomas Tuchel stand in their way in Saturday's all-English final. 600 words 1530 GMT by Kieran Canning and Andy Scott. Picture. Video. Graphic Also moved: Fbl-Eur-C1-ENG-ManCity-Chelsea-Dias-Silva,FOCUS Fbl-ITA-SerieA-Juventus-Pirlo-Allegri,WRAP ROME Massimiliano Allegri returns to Juventus after the deposed Italian champions sack coach Andrea Pirlo following a single season in charge. 600 words 1430 GMT by Anthony Lucas. File picture Fbl-BRA-FRA-Ligue1-PSG-Neymar-Nike-assault,WRAP LOS ANGELES Nike says it parted ways with Neymar last year after the superstar Brazil attacker "refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation" as the company probed an employee's claim that he sexually assaulted her. 600 words moved. File picture -- ENTERTAINMENT -- Entertainment-US-TV-celebrity-Friends LOS ANGELES Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer almost hooked up on the set of "Friends" -- but their characters Rachel and Ross nearly didn't, just one of the revelations as a one-off reunion special of the beloved 1990s sitcom streams on the HBO Max platform. 400 words moved afp