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-- TOP STORIES --

+ US Fed cuts rate again despite uncertainty

+ Verdicts due in shocking French rape trial

+ Macron heads to cyclone-devastated Mayotte

+ Trump opposes deal to avert gov't shutdown

+ Nut-loving squirrels can also be predators

US-economy-Fed-rate-inflation,WRAP

WASHINGTON

The US Federal Reserve trims interest rates by a quarter point and signals a slower pace of cuts ahead, amid uncertainty about inflation and President-elect Donald Trump's economic plans.

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France-women-assault-trial,WRAP

AVIGNON, France

The French man who has admitted to enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily-sedated wife faces 20 years' jail as the court issues its verdicts after a three-month trial that shocked France and resonated around the world.

650 words 0130 GMT by David Courbet with Olivier Lucazeau in Marseille. Pictueer. Video

Also moving: France-women-trial-assault,PROFILE

France-Mayotte-weather-cyclone-climate,WRAP

MAMOUDZOU, France

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to arrive in Mayotte to assess the devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the Indian Ocean archipelago, as rescuers race to search for survivors and supply desperately needed aid.

750 words 0430 GMT by Thibault Marchand. Picture. Video. Graphic

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US-politics-Congress-economy,WRAP

WASHINGTON

Donald Trump urges Republican lawmakers to scupper a cross-party deal to avert a fast-looming US government shutdown, as the White House accuses the president-elect of "playing politics."

700 words 0130 GMT by Frankie Taggart

US-animal-squirrel

WASHINGTON

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart and devour small rodents.

450 words moved by Issam Ahmed. Picture. Video

-- AMERICAS --

US-health-virus-bird-flu,WRAP

WASHINGTON

An elderly patient in Louisiana is in "critical condition" with severe avian influenza, the first serious human case in the country as fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic.

700 words moved by Issam Ahmed

US-Canada-politics-diplomacy-trade,WRAP

OTTAWA

US President-elect Donald Trump says it would be "a great idea" for Canada to become the 51st US state, teasing on social media that "many Canadians" welcome the idea, as Ottawa is wracked by a political crisis.

650 words by Michel Comte with Anne-Marie Provost in Montreal. File picture

-- MIDDLE EAST --

Syria-conflict,WRAP

DAMASCUS

The UN envoy to Syria calls for "free and fair" elections after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, voicing hope for a political solution for Kurdish-held areas.

850 words moved by Maher Al Mounes with Marisol Rifai in Beirut. Picture. Video

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Syria-conflict-politics-developments,FACTS

Syria-conflict-missing,FOCUS

-- ASIA --

Vanuatu-earthqake,WRAP

PORT VILA

Foreign rescuers join the hunt for survivors in the rubble of shattered buildings in earthquake-rocked Vanuatu, with officials saying the toll of nine dead is set to rise.

600 words 0200 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic

Vietnam-fire-arson,WRAP

HANOI

A fire rips through a karaoke bar in the Vietnamese capital killing 11 people and injuring two others in a suspected arson attack, police say.

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Ukraine-Russia-conflict-NKorea-US-allies,lead

SEOUL

North Korea lashes out at "reckless provocation" by the United States and its allies for criticising Pyongyang's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, including the deployment of troops.

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Macau-China-identity-politics-culture,FEATURE

MACAU

Seated in the audience at Macau's Dom Pedro V Theatre in the 1970s, 16-year-old Miguel de Senna Fernandes understood not a word of the "strange language" spoken on stage -- but right away he was mesmerised.

850 words 0300 GMT by Holmes Chan and Kloe Zheng. Video. Picture

Asia-tsunami-anniversary-Indonesia-conflict,FOCUS

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia

Former rebel commander Muharram Idris once led 3,000 men to fight Indonesia's army in separatist Aceh, but now serves as a local official after the legacy of a devastating tsunami two decades ago brought peace to the province.

800 words 0300 GMT by Marchio Gorbiano. Picture. Video. Graphic

- Please see our special advisory on the Indian Ocean tsunami anniversary -

-- EUROPE --

Ukraine-Russia-conflict-Putin,WRAP

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his annual end-of-year press conference Thursday, almost three years into his Ukraine offensive and two days after a Kyiv-orchestrated killing of a general on the streets of Moscow.

500 words 0130 GMT. Picture. Video

Also moving: EU-politics-summit-Ukraine-Russia-conflict-Syria

Also moved: Ukraine-Russia-conflict-bomb-suspect,WRAP

France-politics-justice-Sarkozy,WRAP

PARIS

France's highest appeals court orders former president Nicolas Sarkozy to wear an electronic tag for a year -- a first for a former head of state -- after confirming his convictions for corruption and influence peddling.

600 words moved by Anne Lec'hvien and Jurgen Hecker. File Picture. Video

Spain-politics-corruption,WRAP

MADRID

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez denies wrongdoing in court testimony to an investigation into alleged corruption, one of several legal cases connected to the minority left-wing government.

700 words moved by Wafaa Essalhi. Picture. Video. File picture. File video

Also moved: Spain-politics-corruption,FACTS

Britain-US-politics-internet,FOCUS

LONDON

Concerns are growing in the UK as tech billionaire Elon Musk takes an increasingly close interest in Britain's political scene, appearing to cosy up to hard-right firebrand lawmaker Nigel Farage.

700 words 0300 GMT by Marie Heuclin. File picture

Spain-crime

MADRID

A must-have download for disoriented travellers, Google Maps has guided Spanish investigators to resolve a year-long mystery by capturing the moment a person stowed a suspected corpse into a car.

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-- AFRICA --

Sudan-filmmaking-women,FOCUS

PORT SUDAN, Sudan

Far from the front lines of Sudan's devastating war, a new generation of amateur women filmmakers is gathering in the formerly sleepy city of Port Sudan to explore the untold stories of their troubled country.

650 words 0130 GMT. Video

-- SPORT --

Fbl-ENG-Pr-ManUtd-Rashford

LONDON

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says he wants to keep Marcus Rashford in his squad after the England forward suggests he could leave Old Trafford for a "new challenge".

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