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(All times GMT)
China allows Xi to remain president indefinitely, tightening his grip on power
BEIJING - China removes presidential term limits from its constitution, giving President Xi Jinping the right to remain in office indefinitely and confirming his status as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong died more than 40 years ago. (CHINA-PARLIAMENT/ (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Ben Blanchard and Christian Shepherd, 880 words)
N.Korea seen “cautious” in announcing stance over upcoming summits -Seoul
SEOUL - North Korea’s silence on its upcoming summits with the United States and South Korea is likely due to caution over organising its stance regarding the meetings, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification says. (NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/SOUTHKOREA-MINISTRY (UPDATE 1), by Christine Kim, 345 words)
+ See also:
- NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/ (WRAPUP 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Doina Chiacu and Pete Schroeder, 669 words
- NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/DETAINEES (PIX), moved, by Jon Herskovitz, 552 words
- NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/DETAINEES (FACTBOX), moved, 397 words
Germany, China warn Trump tariff moves threaten global trade
BERLIN - Germany denounces moves by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on U.S. metal imports, saying Europe needs a united response to the threat and echoing criticism by China that it risked undermining the global trade system. (USA-TRADE/GERMANY (UPDATE 2), moved, by Michael Nienaber, 417 words)
+ See also:
- USA-TRADE/CHINA (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Elias Glenn, 635 words
- USA-TRADE/WARREN, moved, by Pete Schroeder, 273 words
- USA-TRADE/CANADA-HAMILTON, moved, by Allison Martell, 622 words
Myanmar builds military bases where Rohingya lived - Amnesty
YANGON - After driving nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims out of Myanmar, its military is building bases where some of their homes and mosques once stood, Amnesty International says, citing new evidence from satellite imagery. (MYANMAR-ROHINGYA/, moved, by Simon Lewis, 420 words)
Japan PM wife’s name removed from documents in suspected cronyism scandal - media
TOKYO - The name of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife was removed from documents regarding a suspected cronyism scandal, media say, as pressure mounts on the premier and his ally Finance Minister Taro Aso over a possible cover-up. (JAPAN-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 6), expect by 0700 GMT/3 AM ET, by Linda Sieg and Takashi Umekawa, 715 words)
Hong Kong democratic opposition fails to regain veto power in legislature
HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp fails to regain some veto power in the city’s legislature in a pivotal by-election, struggling to draw what it hoped would be protest votes against creeping control by Communist Party rulers in Beijing. (HONGKONG-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Venus Wu and James Pomfret, 552 words)
China eyes “black tech” to boost security as parliament meets
BEIJING - At a highway check point on the outskirts of Beijing, police are testing a new security tool: smart glasses that can pick up facial features and car registration plates, and match them in real time to suspects in a database. (CHINA-PARLIAMENT/SURVEILLANCE (PIX, TV), moved, by Pei Li and Cate Cadell, 700 words)
Philippine judges, court employees call on top justice to resign
MANILA - A group of judges and four court employees’ groups call for the Philippines’ chief justice to step down in a “sacrifice” to restore peace and order in the judiciary, a plea she rejected. (PHILIPPINES-JUDICIARY/, moved, 334 words)
Trump pulls back from big changes to gun laws after Florida shooting
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump will support a modest set of fixes to gun laws, stepping back from some of the more sweeping changes he had considered after the latest mass school shooting, senior officials say. (USA-GUNS/TRUMP (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Roberta Rampton, 646 words)
Trump considers ex-Microsoft exec as top economic adviser -official
Chris Liddell, a former executive at Microsoft Corp and General Motors Co, is under consideration to become U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, a White House official says, confirming media reports. (USA-TRUMP/COHN-LIDDELL, moved, 173 words)
Colombians pick candidates in two primaries for May presidential election
BOGOTA - Right-wing candidate Ivan Duque and leftist Gustavo Petro will lead their respective coalitions in Colombia’s May presidential election after winning primaries. (COLOMBIA-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, 555 words)
Chile’s Pinera, at inauguration, vows to end ‘stagnation’
SANTIAGO - Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera vows to combat economic “stagnation” from years of center-left rule as he starts a new term as Chile’s president, calling for austerity and support for the shrinking middle class in one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations. (CHILE-ELECTION/SWEARING IN (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Antonio De la Jara and Fabian Cambero, 550 words)
Cuba holds one-party vote as post-Castro era looms
HAVANA - Cubans go to the polls in a one-party vote, the last step before a new president is selected next month, as the Communist-ruled island prepares to be led for the first time since the 1959 revolution by someone whose last name is not Castro. (CUBA-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Sarah Marsh and Nelson Acosta, 621 words)
+ See also:
- CUBA-ELECTION/SYSTEM (FACTBOX), moved, 543 words
Hundreds urged to wash clothes after UK nerve agent attack
SALISBURY, England - Hundreds of visitors to the Zizzi restaurant or the Mill pub in the English city of Salisbury are told to wash their clothes after traces of nerve agent used to attack a former Russian spy last week are found at both sites. (BRITAIN-RUSSIA/HAMMOND (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Henry Nicholls and Alex Fraser, 665 words)
After protests, Slovak PM faces tough talks to keep government together
BRATISLAVA - Following the biggest street protests in decades, Slovakia’s long-serving Prime Minister Robert Fico faces a deadline to ditch his closest ally or risk breaking apart his coalition government. (SLOVAKIA-CRIME/POLITICS, moved, 481 words)
BBC appeals to UN over “collective punishment” of its journalists by Iran
LONDON - British broadcaster the BBC says it is appealing to the United Nations to protect its journalists in Iran after it said persecution and harassment by the Iranian authorities escalated in 2017. (BRITAIN-IRAN/JOURNALISTS, moved,46 words)
Syrian army splinters rebel enclave in Ghouta onslaught
BEIRUT - The Syrian army breaks apart the rebel enclave in eastern Ghouta, cutting off two major towns from the rest of the area, state media say, after a fierce battle under cover of an unrelenting bombardment. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-GHOUTA (UPDATE 3, PIX), moved, 830 words)
+ See also:
- SYRIA-CRISIS/USA-MATTIS (UPDATE 1), moved, by Phil Stewart, 463 words