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ASIA:
MALAYSIA-PLANE
PERTH, Australia — Searchers send a robotic submarine deep into the Indian Ocean for the first time after failing to pick up any signals from the missing Malaysian airliner's black boxes for six days, the leader of the search effort said. By Margie Mason. Sent: 900 words, photos.
WITH:
— MALAYSIA-PLANE-RED HERRINGS. A list of false leads, dashed hopes that have punctuated the search for the missing Malaysian plane. SENT: 720 words, photos.
VIETNAM-DISSIDENTS RELEASED
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has released two more high-profile dissidents in an unusual move that comes as the country is negotiating a free trade deal with Washington that may not get congressional approval unless Hanoi shows it is improving its human rights record. SENT: 400 words.
DYING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, HFR
BANGKOK — Prajob Naowa-opas battled to save his community in central Thailand from the illegal dumping of toxic waste — until a gunman in broad daylight fired four shots into him. Three suspects are now on trial, dumping has been halted and villagers are erecting a statue to their slain hero. But the prosecution of Prajob's murder is a rare exception. A comprehensive global survey says that only 10 killers of 908 environmental activists slain around the world over the past decade have been convicted. By Dennis Gray. Hold for release: 850 words, for use after 0000 GMT, Tuesday, April 15.
PHILIPPINES-ABU SAYYAF
MANILA, Philippines — Police commandos storm a southern Philippine hideout of suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists blamed for kidnappings and extortion, triggering a firefight that led to the killing of two militants and the capture of six others. SENT: 260 words.
BUSINESS
UBER-ASIA
MUMBAI, India — Riding on its startup success and flush with fresh capital, taxi-hailing smartphone app Uber is making a big push into Asia. There's a twist, though: Instead of being the game-changing phenomena it was in the U.S., Uber faces a slew of competitors using similar technology. The concept Uber helped pioneer just four years ago has transformed some markets before it even had a chance to enter them. Homegrown taxi apps are already slogging it out for dominance in numerous Asian countries. By Kay Johnson. SENT: 900 words, photos.
CHINA-GLENCREXSTRATE
BEIJING — A group of Chinese state-owned companies is buying a Peruvian copper mine from Glencore Xstrata Plc for $5.85 billion, adding to a wave of Chinese resource acquisitions abroad. SENT, photos.
US & INTERNATIONAL
UKRAINE
DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian separatists seize a police building in yet another city in Russian-leaning eastern Ukraine, defying government warnings that it was preparing to act against the insurgents. The events in Horlivka were the latest sign of trouble in Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions, in which pro-Russian gunmen have seized or blocked government buildings in at least nine cities demanding more autonomy. By Peter Leonard. SENT: 680 words, photos.
NIGERIA-EXPLOSION
ABUJA, Nigeria — Dozens of people are feared dead in an explosion that blasted through a busy commuter bus station on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, as people were traveling to work. Reporters saw rescue workers and police gathering body parts and ambulances rushing the wounded to the hospital. Suspicion immediately fell on the Boko Haram terrorist network that has been threatening to attack the capital, in the middle of the country and hundreds of miles from its traditional base in the northeast, where it has killed nearly 1,500 people this year. By Bashir Adigun. SENT: 530 words. UPCOMING: 600 words by 8 a.m., photos.
PISTORIUS-TRIAL
PRETORIA, South Africa — The chief prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius accuses him of tailoring his version of how he killed his girlfriend to fit evidence at the scene and exhaustively alleges inconsistencies in the athlete's account of the fatal shooting of Reeva Steenkamp. The court temporarily adjourned twice when the double-amputee runner started to sob while testifying about the moments before he killed Steenkamp in his home last year. By Gerald Imray. SENT: 620 words, photos; developing from continuing testimony.
ENTERTAINMENT:
HONG KONG FILM AWARDS
HONG KONG — Wong Kar Wai's much lauded kung fu epic "The Grandmaster" claims more honors, a record 12 wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film and best director. Sent: 420 words, photos.
MTV MOVIE AWARDS
LOS ANGELES — Last year, the MTV Movie Awards moved up its broadcast date from June to April to incorporate a summer movie plug-fest. Sunday night's show cemented that change, as clips from anticipated blockbusters debuted at the madcap ceremony. And oh yes, there were some awards, too. By Jessica Herndon. SENT: 820 words, photos, video.
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YOUR QUERIES: The editor in charge at the AP Asia-Pacific Desk in Bangkok is David Thurber. Questions and story requests are welcome. The news desk can be reached at (66) 2632-6911 or by email at asia@ap.org.
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Between 1600 GMT and 0000 GMT, please refer queries to the North America Desk in New York at (1) 212-621-1650.
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