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TOP STORIES

France's Macron dismisses talk of gay extra-marital relationship

PARIS - Emmanuel Macron, the independent centrist who is favourite to win the French presidential election, has dismissed rumours he has a gay relationship outside his marriage. (FRANCE-ELECTION/ (PICTURE), expect by 1400, 700 words)

+ See also:

- FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Chine Labbé, 290 words

Appeals court to hear arguments on Trump's travel ban

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department will face off with opponents in a federal appeals court on Tuesday over the fate of President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. (USA-TRUMP/IMMIGRATION (WRAPUP 1, PICTURE), moved, by Dan Levine and Timothy Gardner, 520 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TRUMP/DEFENSE (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Steve Holland, 280 words

- USA-TRUMP/IMMIGRATION-MEDICAL (PICTURE, TV), moved, by Chris Francescani, 537 words

Syria carried out mass hangings at military prison - Amnesty International

BEIRUT - The Syrian government has executed thousands of prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at a military jail near Damascus, rights watchdog Amnesty International says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-AMNESTY, moved, 300 words)

Romanian president tears into government after protests

BUCHAREST - Romania's centrist president tears into the leftist-led government but backs it to remain in power, in a potential reprieve for embattled Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu after a week of street protests over a contested corruption decree. (ROMANIA-GOVERNMENT/ (UPDATE 1, TV, PICTURE), moving shortly, by Radu-Sorin Marinas, 315 words)

MIDDLE EAST

Syria's Assad sees Trump's Islamic State view as promising

AMMAN - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says U.S. President Donald Trump prioritising the fight against jihadists by Islamic State is promising although it is too early to expect any practial steps, state news agency SANA reports. (MIDEAST-CRISIS-SYRIA/ASSAD (UPDATE 1), moved, 180 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TRUMP/ISLAMIC STATE (ANALYSIS, PICTURE, TV), moved, by Samia Nakhoul, 1,300 words

- MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-IDLIB (PICTURE), moved, 230 words

Iran leader rebuffs Trump warning, says he shows America's "real face"

DUBAI - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismisses U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the tycoon-turned-politician had shown the "real face" of what he calls American corruption. (USA-TRUMP/IRAN-SPEECH (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), expect by 1130 GMT/6.30 AM ET, 260 words)

Netanyahu, Trump align on Iran ahead of Israeli leader's visit

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON - Seizing on an Iranian missile test, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new U.S. President Donald Trump are nearing common ground on a tougher U.S. policy towards Tehran ahead of their first face-to-face talks at the White House. (ISRAEL-USA/IRAN (TV, PICTURE), moved, by Jeffrey Heller and Matt Spetalnick, 1,140 words)

EUROPE

Hopes for a thaw as Poland's Kaczynski meets Merkel

WARSAW/BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Warsaw amid signs its conservative rulers are keen to repair the cooperation essential for European Union attempts to handle economic and political problems ahead. (POLAND-GERMANY/ (PICTURES), moved, by Justyna Pawlak and Andreas Rinke, 660 words)

UK lawmakers reject first set of amendments to Brexit law

LONDON - British lawmakers reject the first set of proposed amendments to legislation that will give Prime Minister Theresa May the right to notify the European Union of Britain's intention to leave the bloc. (BRITAIN-EU/MAY (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, 290 words)

ASIA

China, United States cannot afford conflict - Chinese foreign minister

SYDNEY - There will no winner from conflict between China and the United States, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warns, seeking to dampen tension between the two nations that flared after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. (AUSTRALIA-CHINA/TRUMP (TV), moved, by Colin Packham, 350 words)

Philippines' defence minister says peace talks with rebels possible

MANILA - Peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels to end nearly five decades of conflict are possible even though the president has ordered "all-out war", the defence minister says. (PHILIPPINES-REBELS/, moved, 355 words)

S.Korea's prosecutor indicts former top Park aide, ex-minister

SEOUL - South Korea's special prosecutor indicts a former culture minister and a former top aide to President Park Geun-hye on charges of abuse of power, coercion and perjury for their role in drafting a blacklist of dissenting artists, a spokesman says. (SOUTHKOREA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 365 words)

Taiwan to build 66 jet trainer aircraft by 2026 to bolster defences

TAICHUNG - Taiwan plans to build 66 jet trainer aircraft, with a scheduled maiden flight by 2020, to bolster defences against China which has never renounced the use of force to take back what it sees as its territory. (TAIWAN-DEFENCE/, moved, 374 words)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Sting, Wayne Shorter win 2017 Polar Music Prize

STOCKHOLM - British rock star Sting and American jazz musician Wayne Shorter have been awarded Sweden's Polar Music Prize, committee officials say. (MUSIC-POLARPRIZE/ (TV, PICTURE), moved, 165 words)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)