REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 6 a.m. ET/11 a.m. GMT

The sister of Thailand's king entered the race to become prime minister on Friday as the candidate of a populist party, an unprecedented foray into politics by a royal that instantly upended the first election since a 2014 military coup.

USA-PAKISTAN-EXCLUSIVE/ Exclusive: Once spoiler, Pakistan starts behind-scenes aid to U.S.-Taliban talks

WASHINGTON/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan, long at odds with the United States over the war in Afghanistan, has begun to play a behind-the-scenes but central role in supporting U.S. peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, including by facilitating travel to negotiations, U.S. officials and Taliban sources tell Reuters. U.S.

USA-COURT-ABORTION/ U.S. Supreme Court blocks restrictive Louisiana abortion law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stopped a Louisiana law imposing strict regulations on abortion clinics from going into effect in its first major test on abortion since the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy last summer. USA-CONGRESS-DINGELL/

John Dingell, longest-serving member of U.S. Congress, dead at 92 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Dingell, a gruff Michigan Democrat who entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955 to finish his late father's term and became a legislative heavyweight and longest-serving member of Congress, died on Thursday. He was 92.

BUSINESS USA-TRADE-CHINA/

No talks between Trump and China's Xi before trade deadline WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline set by the two countries to achieve a trade deal.

AMAZON-BEZOS/ Amazon's Bezos says National Enquirer owner tried to blackmail him

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has accused the owner of the National Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing "intimate photos" he allegedly sent to his girlfriend unless he said in public that the supermarket tabloid's reporting on him was not politically motivated. ENTERTAINMENT

FILM-LEGO2/ 'Lego Movie' sequel hopes to build on the first

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The residents of Bricksburg return to the big screen this week in "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part", this time finding themselves in an apocalyptic world after the invasion of strange heart and star-shaped extra terrestrials. FILMFESTIVAL-BERLIN/

Tales of power and injustice open a politically-charged Berlinale BERLIN (Reuters) - The ability of the weak to hold their own against the powerful loomed over the first day of the Berlinale, in which "The Kindness of Strangers", an ostensibly apolitical film, explored themes of injustice and inequality amid great wealth.

SPORTS SOCCER-SALA-CRASH-TRIBUTE/

Soccer: French League to pay tribute to Sala with minute's applause PARIS (Reuters) - All Ligue 1 and 2 games will hold a minute's applause before kick-off in memory of former Nantes player Emiliano Sala, whose body has been retrieved from the wreckage of a crashed plane in the English Channel, the French League said on Friday.

SOCCER-BRAZIL-FIRE/ Fire at Flamengo training center in Rio kills 10 people

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A fire at the training center of Rio de Janeiro soccer club Flamengo killed 10 people and injured at least three on Friday, firefighters said. UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS BRITAIN-EU/IRELAND-VARADKAR

Irish prime minister Varadkar visits Northern Ireland Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar visits Northern Ireland for talks with local political parties ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Threresa May in Dublin

8 Feb 08:20 ET / 13:20 GMT GREECE-MACEDONIA/NATO (PIX) (TV)

Greek parliament votes on North Macedonia's NATO accession protocol 8 Feb 13:30 ET / 18:30 GMT

USA-CONGRESS/WHITAKER (PIX) (TV) U.S. acting AG Whitaker to testify before House panel

U.S. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, whose unorthodox appointment by President Donald Trump has raised concerns among Democrats about the future of the U.S.-Russia probe, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. 8 Feb 10:30 ET / 15:30 GMT

SPAIN-CRYPTOCURRENCY/FALCIANI Banking whistleblower's next crusade: a clean cryptocurrency

One of banking's most wanted whistleblowers, Frenchman Herve Falciani, has picked unlikely new weapons to fight money-laundering and fraud - cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology behind it. 8 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

USA-SOUTHKOREA/ENVOY (PIX) U.S., S.Korea nuclear envoys expected to meet after Biegun's trip to North

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is expected to meet with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon on Saturday following his visit to North Korea. Biegun was in Pyongyang for working-level talks to hammer out details on the Feb. 27-28 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 9 Feb

ITALY-POLITICS/UNIONS Italy's biggest unions hold rally in Rome against govt's economic policy

Italy's biggest unions are holding a rally in Rome to protest against the government's economic policy. 9 Feb

ALGERIA-ELECTION/BOUTEFLIKA (PIX) (TV) Thousands of Bouteflika supporters to gather at Algiers' stadium

Supporters of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika including the ruling party, unions, businesses, and religious figures will gather at Algiers' stadium to kick off a pre-campaign, just days before he is expected to announce his intention to run a fifth term. 9 Feb

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE FLORIDA-SHOOTING/ANNIVERSARY-POLL

Where Americans stand on gun control a year after Parkland shooting - poll A new Reuters/Ipsos poll surveys Americans on their support for gun restrictions and arming teachers, as well as their level of concern on U.S. gun violence and their confidence in elected leaders to improve gun laws.

8 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

USA-FED/DALY Fed's Daly gives economic outlook talk in San Francisco

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly delivers a talk on the economic outlook to the Bay Area Council in San Francisco 8 Feb 13:15 ET / 18:15 GMT

BOEING-747/ANNIVERSARY (PIX) 50 years on, Boeing's iconic 747 clings to life as cargo carrier

Boeing's 747 jumbo jet, an aircraft that democratized global air travel in the 1970s but fell behind modern twin-engine passenger jets, has bounced back from near death to mark its 50-year flying anniversary on Saturday, thanks to a cargo market boom fueled by online shopping. 8 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

US STEEL-GARY/ (PIX) (GRAPHIC) INSIGHT - US Steel wins tax breaks from one of America's poorest cities

Last year, Gary, Indiana harbored hopes for a revival after President Trump imposed tariffs on steel imports, U.S. Steel's profits soared and the company planned a $750 million investment to modernize Gary Works. But it's now clear those hopes will not translate into new steel jobs, even after the city and state offered the firm a $47 million tax break package. 8 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

GLOBAL-ECONOMY/ Global economy week ahead view

View of the global economy in the week ahead, with this week a look at the link between political calm and economic growth as both the United States and the United Kingdom report their first estimates of GDP growth in the final quarter of 2018 8 Feb 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

PHILIPPINES-JAPAN/ Japan foreign minister visits Philippines, meets president, cabinet

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono meets Philippine officials in Manila and Davao, including Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his foreign secretary counterpart Teddy Locsin, as Tokyo seeks to bolster ties with a government that is moving closer towards China's orbit. 9 Feb

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT BOSNIA-YOUTHOLYMPICS/ (PIX) (TV)

Olympic spirit is back in Sarajevo bridging Bosnia ethnic divide Olympic spirit, bringing joy to young and old, is back in Sarajevo for the European Youth Olympics. Sarajevo and its Serb-run former suburb, East Sarajevo, have overcome ethnic divides to host the largest sport event in the region after the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics and the war of the 1990s.

8 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT FILM-ALITA BATTLE ANGEL/ (PIX) (TV)

'We're happy with it,' say makers of big budget 'Alita:Battle Angel' Big budget action film "Alita: Battle Angel" may have garnered lukewarm reviews, but the filmmakers behind the manga-inspired movie envisioned by James Cameron say they are delighted with how the film has turned out.

8 Feb 13:00 ET / 18:00 GMT FILMFESTIVAL-BERLIN/OUT STEALING HORSES (PIX)

Norwegian bestseller gets big screen outing in Berlin Stellan Skarsgard stars in the big screen adaptation of Per Petterson's bestselling novel, "Out Stealing Horses", which is screening in competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

9 Feb MUSIC-DOLLY PARTON/ (PIX) (TV)

Country singer Dolly Parton celebrated ahead of Grammy Awards The life and career of Dolly Parton is honored at the annual MusicCares gala dinner, with performances and tributes by Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood and Parton herself

8 Feb 23:30 ET / 04:30 GMT SPORTS

USA-DOGSHOW/CHAMPIONS (PIX) Westminster 'Best in Show' title vaults winners to doggie stardom

Like many Westminster grand champions, CJ became an A-list star when he won the most prestigious event on the U.S. dogshow calendar three years ago, but his owner says the German shorthaired pointer is still a beloved family pet at heart. This story looks at how life has changed for these top dogs. 8 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)