REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 10 a.m. GMT/5 a.m ET

Prime Minister Theresa May will try on Thursday to break the impasse in Britain's political elite over how to leave the European Union by searching for an emergency exit deal, though there is so far little sign of compromise.

CHINA-CANADA/

China brushes off outrage over death sentence, Canada fires back

BEIJING/SHERBROOKE, Quebec (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it was "not worried in the slightest" by mounting international concern over the death sentence handed to a Canadian for drug smuggling.

U.S.

USA-EDUCATION-LOS-ANGELES/

Los Angeles mayor to mediate in talks to settle first teachers' strike in 30 years

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Negotiators for 30,000 striking Los Angeles teachers and America's second-largest school district have agreed to return to the bargaining table on Thursday, with Mayor Eric Garcetti acting as mediator, his office said.

USA-TEXAS-COAL-POLLUTION/

Sixteen coal ash pits contaminating Texas groundwater: report

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Sixteen coal ash pits in Texas are leaking contaminants including arsenic, boron, cobalt and lithium into groundwater, according to a report released on Thursday by the Environmental Integrity Project.

BUSINESS

TAIWAN-CHINA/

Apple, Amazon called out for 'incorrect' Taiwan, Hong Kong references

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - One of China's top government-linked think tanks has called out Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and other foreign companies for not referring to Hong Kong and Taiwan as part of China in a report that provoked a stern reaction from Taipei.

HITACHI-NUCLEAR/

Hitachi freezes British nuclear project, books $2.8 billion hit

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Hitachi Ltd said on Thursday it has decided to freeze a 3 trillion yen ($28 billion) British nuclear power project and will consequently book a writedown of 300 billion yen.

ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-PARIS-JACKSON/

'Better than ever,' Paris Jackson dismisses treatment report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paris Jackson, the only daughter of late singer Michael Jackson, on Wednesday played down reports that she is undergoing treatment, saying she is "happy, healthy, and better than ever."

MUSIC-BEYONCE-LAWSUIT/

Beyonce drops lawsuit over 'Feyonce' items

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A lawsuit brought by Beyonce over the sale of "Feyonce" items to engaged couples has been dismissed at the singer's request, court documents showed on Wednesday.

SPORTS

TENNIS-AUSOPEN-SERENA/

Graf backs Williams to surpass Court's Grand Slam record

(Reuters) - Serena Williams will eventually overtake Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles even if the American fails to equal the mark at the ongoing Australian Open, according to former world number one Steffi Graf.

GOLF-FARMERS-WOODS/

Tiger set for season debut in Farmers Open at Torrey Pines

(Reuters) - Tiger Woods, who capped a dramatic comeback with his 80th PGA Tour win in September, will launch his 2019 campaign at Torrey Pines Golf Course next week, organizers of the Farmers Insurance Open said on Wednesday.

UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

POLAND-POLITICS

Poland's parliament sitting

18 Jan 18:00 ET / 23:00 GMT

USA-EDUCATION/LOS ANGELES-GARCETTI (PIX)

Los Angeles teachers' strike could dim Democratic mayor's White House hopes

Democratic two-term Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti likes to present himself as a problem-solver, so much so that he frequently tags his Twitter posts about his job #MayorsGetThingsDone.

17 Jan 10:30 ET / 15:30 GMT

USA-MEXICO/EL CHAPO (PIX)

Testimony continues in U.S. trial of 'El Chapo'

Testimony is expected to continue in the U.S. trial of accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The day begins with Alex Cifuentes, a former close associate of Guzman, on the witness stand.

17 Jan 09:30 ET / 14:30 GMT

DENMARK-IMMIGRATION/ (PIX) (TV)

New Danish citizens forced to shake hands in revamped citizenship ceremony

In order to achieve Danish citizenship, applicants must shake hands with controversial immigration minister Inger Stojberg in first new citizenship ceremony after law change, symbolizing the country's increasingly tougher stance on immigrants.

17 Jan 07:30 ET / 12:30 GMT

CUBA-CONSTITUTION/

Communist Cuba seeks improved governance

Cuba is on the verge of the most dramatic restructuring of its government in decades as part of a broader make over of the Communist-run Caribbean nation as popular criticism and frustration with sluggish economy and bureaucracy mount.

17 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

AUSTRIA-CZECH/

Austrian foreign minister meets Czech counterpart

Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl holds a joint news conference with her Czech counterpart Tomas Petricek after a bilateral meeting.

17 Jan 08:15 ET / 13:15 GMT

AUSTRALIA-PACIFIC/

Australian Prime Minister begins visit of Fiji, Vanuatu to offset China influence

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison begins his visit of Fiji and Vanuatu as part of a push to offset China's growing influence in the South Pacific.

18 Jan

USA-SHUTDOWN/ (PIX)

Partial U.S. government shutdown drags into its 28th day

Partial U.S. government shutdown drags into its 27th day, standoff triggered by President Donald Trump's demand for round of funding for his promised wall on U.S.-Mexico border. Congressional Democrats are opposed.

18 Jan

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE

USA-DEFENSE/MISSILES (PIX) (TV)

Trump attends presentation of U.S. missile defense review

President Donald Trump attends presentation of U.S. missile defense review.

17 Jan 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

USA-MILITARY/MEADE (PIX)

Fort Meade vows to fix 'broken' housing system Reuters exposed

A reform follow to Reuters' latest installment of Ambushed at Home, describing housing improvements planned at Maryland's Fort Meade.

17 Jan 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

USA-DEFENCE/RICHARDSON

U.S. Navy chief Richardson press roundtable in Tokyo

Admiral John Richardson, chief of U.S. Navy operations will hold a roundtable press briefing in Tokyo. As the most senior navy commander Richardson can answer questions about U.S. naval operations and defence posture in the Asia Pacific and around the world.

18 Jan 20:45 ET / 01:45 GMT

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

CHICAGO-POLICE/

Judge to give ruling in conspiracy trial of three Chicago cops

A judge is expected to give her ruling at 1 p.m. CT Jan. 17 in the bench trial of three current and former Chicago police officers David March, Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney, who are accused of conspiring to cover up facts of the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in order to protect fellow officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was convicted of McDonald's murder.

17 Jan 14:00 ET / 19:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

ADM-M&A/ (PIX)

EXCLUSIVE-ADM CEO says wrong time for "monster" acquisitions

U.S. grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland Co ADM has looked at buying rivals including Bunge Ltd. and dozens of other companies but decided the time is not right for "monster" acquisitions, the company's chief executive told Reuters.

17 Jan 12:30 ET / 17:30 GMT

POLAND-STABBING/

Ceremonies connected with stabbed Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz funeral start

17 Jan 11:00 ET / 16:00 GMT

USA-FED/QUARLES

Fed's Quarles on insurance regulation, supervision

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles will discuss pending changes to insurance regulation and how the central bank plans to avoid another crisis of securitization in the industry. He will attend the Insurance Information Institute 2019 Joint Industry Forum, in New York.

17 Jan 10:45 ET / 15:45 GMT

ARGENTINA-ECONOMY/LAYOFFS (PIX) (TV)

Despite economic crisis, Argentine firms avoid job cuts at all costs

When small businesses in most countries are hurting financially they shed staff to reduce operating costs. But in Argentina, labor laws that strongly favor workers make that next to impossible.

17 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

MORGAN STANLEY-RESULTS/

Morgan Stanley reports fourth quarter earnings

U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley is expected to report fourth-quarter results. Analysts on average predict a profit of $0.89 per share in the quarter, compared with $0.84 per share the company earned a year earlier, excluding one-time items.

17 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

USA-SHUTDOWN/REGULATION (PIX)

Trump's shutdown is starting to trample on his financial policy agenda

The U.S. government shutdown is starting to damage President Donald Trump's key policy objective of making life easier for banks and corporations, delaying long-sought rule easing, disrupting the public markets, and sewing regulatory confusion.

17 Jan 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

COLUMN-MILLER/OLDERWORKERS (PIX)

Finding the bright side in a graying U.S. workforce

Economists call it the "old-age dependency ratio" - a rough measure of the balance between people who work and retirees.The ratio compares the number of people over age 65 - classified as "old" - with those aged 15 to 64 - and it is not headed in a healthy direction: by 2040, there will be 2.7 working-age Americans for each retiree, down from 4.8 in 2010.

17 Jan 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

NETHERLANDS-GAS/COURT (PIX)

Dutch court to hear demands to end Groningen gas output

The Dutch High Court considers demands seeking an immediate end to gas production from the Groningen field, after the government said it would cut output gradually.

17 Jan 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

NETFLIX-RESULTS/ (PIX)

Netflix posts fourth quarter results

Netflix is expected to post a rise in international subscribers in the quarter, as original shows such as "Narcos" and "Birdbox" pulled in users." To fend off competition, Netflix has been pumping in funds to expand its portfolio of original content across different languages and strengthen its international presence.

17 Jan 16:00 ET / 21:00 GMT

USA-BANKS/TRADING

Trading operations stung banks in 4th qtr but dovish Fed fuels hope

Big trading operations were a thorn in the side of the top U.S. banks in the fourth quarter as fears about global growth sent credit markets into a tail spin, but a "dovish" turn from the Federal Reserve may mean the drama is over for now.

17 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

USA-ETHANOL/LIVESTOCK

U.S. ethanol downturn raises feed costs as farmers ditch byproduct

A steep downturn in U.S. ethanol output linked to the trade war with China is raising costs for American meat producers who feed a byproduct of the corn-based biofuel to hogs, cattle and chickens.

17 Jan 10:30 ET / 15:30 GMT

GLOBAL-ECONOMY/WEEKAHEAD

Global Economy Weekahead

A weekly look at key economic events for the global economy in the coming seven days.

18 Jan

INDIA-VIBRANTGUJARAT/ (PIX)

Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar

Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

18 Jan

CHINA-GERMANY/

German Finance Minister Scholz visits China

German Finance Minister Scholz visits Beijing to participate in the High-Level German-Chinese Financial Dialogue.

18 Jan

EUROPE-MAIZE/IMPORTS

EU maize imports surge to keep livestock fed after 2018 drought

EU is shipping in maize at a record pace, leaving the bloc in the unusual position of being a net cereal importer at the midpoint of the 2018/19 season. A shortfall in forage supply after last summer's drought has encouraged livestock feed makers to step up maize imports, encouraged by a bumper harvest in Ukraine.

18 Jan

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

LUNAR-ECLIPSE/

U.S. total lunar eclipse parties to gawk at super blood wolf moon

A super blood wolf moon is the guest star of lunar eclipse parties on Sunday, with some of the youngest fans ever gawking through telescopes at observatories across the United States and sharing sightings online with the world.

18 Jan