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TOP STORIES

Trump likely to approve modest troop increase for Afghanistan

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is likely to open door to modest increase in U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan when he lays out his strategy for war there, America's longest military conflict, U.S. officials say. (USA-TRUMP/AFGHANISTAN (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moving shortly, by Steve Holland and John Walcott, 800 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TRUMP/AFGHANISTAN-COMMENTS (FACTBOX), moving shortly, 400 words

Ten sailors missing after U.S. warship, tanker collide near Singapore

SINGAPORE - Ten U.S. sailors are missing after collision between destroyer and tanker east of Singapore, second involving U.S. warship and merchant ship in Asia in about two months, triggering fleet-wide probe of operations and training. (USA-NAVY/CRASH (UPDATE 12, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Fathin Ungku and Masayuki Kitano, 1,000 words)

U.S., South Korea begin computer-simulated drills which North says are aimed at nuclear war

SEOUL - South Korean and U.S. forces begin computer-simulated military exercises amid tension over North Korea's weapons programs, while report it earns millions of dollars in exports is likely to raise doubt about impact of sanctions. (NORTHKOREA MISSILES/ (WRAPUP 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Christine Kim, 708 words)

Spanish police shoot dead suspected Barcelona attacker

BARCELONA, Spain - Spanish police shoot dead man they suspect was Islamist militant who drove van into Barcelona crowd, killing 13 people. (SPAIN-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 4, TV, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Angus Berwick, 643 words)

+ See also:

- SPAIN-SECURITY/STREETSCAPES (PIX), moved, by Tom Bergin, 999 words

Americans cheer as total solar eclipse spreads across country

SHERIDAN, Ore./SALMON, Idaho - Moon blacks out sun as first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in United States in nearly century begins in western Oregon, while millions of Americans look skyward in wonder through protective glasses, telescopes and cameras. (SOLAR-ECLIPSE/USA (UPDATE 6, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moving shortly, by Lee van der Voo and Steve Gorman, 700 words)

U.S. scales back Russian visa operations after Putin cuts embassy staff

MOSCOW - United States begins to scale back its visa services in Russia, drawing angry reaction from Moscow three weeks after President Vladimir Putin orders Washington to more than halve its embassy and consular staff. (USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA (UPDATE 3, TV, PIX), moved, by Andrew Osborn and Polina Devitt, 714 words)

U.S. seeks WTO dispute panel on China's grain import quotas

GENEVA - U.S. requests World Trade Organization panel be set up to investigate Chinese tariff-rate quotas for agricultural products, WTO says, setting up showdown between two largest economies. (USA-CHINA/WTO (UPDATE 1), moved, 275 words)

SPECIAL REPORT

Refiner Valero's secret campaign against U.S. biofuels mandates

U.S. biofuels regulations, which mandate mixing corn-based ethanol into gasoline, have lately drawn together diverse cast of political opponents. (USA-BIOFUELS/VALERO (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Chris Prentice, 2,274 words)

UNITED STATES

In Montana's Indian country, tribes take opposite sides on coal

LAME DEER, Mont. - Crow Nation and neighboring Northern Cheyenne live miles apart but stand on opposite sides of U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-energy agenda. Their differences reflect broader divide on drilling and mining among America's 567 federally recognized tribes. (USA-TRUMP/ENERGY-TRIBES (INSIGHT, PIX, TV, GRAPHICS), moved, by Valerie Volcovici, 1,163 words)

Texas university removes 'white supremacy' statues from campus

University of Texas at Austin removes four statues tied to Confederacy from its campus, saying they become symbols of white supremacy at time of protests and fierce debate about race and legacy of America's Civil War. (USA-PROTESTS/UNIVERSITYOFTEXAS (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moving shortly, by Alex Dobuzinskis, 390 words)

AMERICAS

Venezuela prepares world summit to defend new legislative body

CARACAS - Venezuela is preparing international summit to rally support for all-powerful lawmaking body, whose recent creation draws widespread foreign condemnation as power grab by leftist President Nicolas Maduro. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Diego Oré, 368 words)

EUROPE

EXCLUSIVE-Armed group stopping migrant boats leaving Libya

TUNIS/ROME - Armed group is stopping migrant boats from setting off across Mediterranean from city west of Tripoli that has been springboard for people smugglers, causing sudden drop in departures over past month, sources in area say. (EUROPE-MIGRANTS/LIBYA-ITALY (EXCLUSIVE, PIX), moved, by Aidan Lewis and Steve Scherer, 991 words)

Pope says migrants' rights should override national security concerns

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urges political leaders to defend migrants, saying their safety should take precedence over national security concerns and that they should not be subjected to collective deportations. (MIGRANTS-POPE/ (PIX), moved, by Philip Pullella, 456 words)

Finnish intelligence received tip-off on Moroccan stabbing suspect

HELSINKI/TURKU, Finland - Moroccan man suspected of stabbing dead two people in Finland was known to Finnish intelligence as suspected extremist but was not being monitored, authorities say, as prime minister urges parliament to fast-track new security law. (FINLAND-STABBING/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Jussi Rosendahl, Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and Tuomas Forsell, 668 words)

AFRICA

Nigeria's Buhari warns off separatists, takes back control after treatment

ABUJA - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he will stop separatist activists spreading unrest, seeking to reassert his hold on power after returning from his second stint of medical leave this year. (NIGERIA-BUHARI/ (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Felix Onuah, 601 words)

ASIA

Hong Kong leader says jailed activists are not political prisoners

HONG KONG - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says three student activists jailed for their roles in pro-democracy protests are not political prisoners and unreasonable criticism of city's judiciary could damage rule of law. (HONGKONG-POLITICS/ (PIX, TV), moved, by Venus Wu, 643 words)

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