REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 6 a.m. GMT/1 a.m. ET

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro threatened to close the border with Colombia on Thursday as opposition leader Juan Guaido and some 80 lawmakers ran a gauntlet of roadblocks trying to get to the frontier to receive humanitarian aid.

MIDEAST-CRISIS-USA/ U.S. to leave 200 American peacekeepers in Syria after pullout

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will leave “a small peacekeeping group” of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal. U.S.

USA-IMMIGRATION-LAWSUIT/ U.S. judge weighs expanding lawsuit over family separations to cover more children

A U.S. judge on Thursday appeared open to ordering the government to find potentially thousands of additional children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration, which could greatly expand the scope of a lawsuit challenging the separations. USA-TRUMP-MARKETING-LAWSUIT/

Trump, adult children urge dismissal of marketing scam lawsuit NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and his adult children on Thursday urged a federal judge to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit accusing them of using the family name to promote sham marketing opportunities to vulnerable, financially struggling investors.

BUSINESS USA-TRADE-CHINA/

U.S., China haggle over toughest issues in trade war talks WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators haggled on Thursday over the details of a set of agreements aimed at ending their trade war, just one week before a Washington-imposed deadline for a deal expires and triggers higher U.S. tariffs.

TESLA-MODEL-3-CHINA/ Tesla starts Model 3 delivery in China earlier than expected

BEIJING (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has started delivering Model 3 cars in China slightly ahead of schedule, as the U.S. luxury electric vehicle maker looks to revive sales in the world’s biggest auto market. ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-JUSSIE-SMOLLETT/ Jussie Smollett staged Chicago 'hate crime' seeking higher pay: police

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Actor Jussie Smollett paid two brothers to stage a racist and homophobic attack on him and pose as supporters of President Donald Trump because he was unhappy with his pay on the hip-hop TV drama “Empire,” Chicago’s police chief said on Thursday. PEOPLE-MICHAEL-JACKSON/

Jackson estate says HBO film violates non-disparagement contract: lawsuit LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The estate of Michael Jackson filed a lawsuit on Thursday against HBO saying that its documentary about allegations of child sex abuse by the late singer breached a previous agreement by the cable channel not to disparage him.

SPORTS OLYMPICS-INDIA/PAKISTAN

IOC urges India isolation after Pakistani athletes denied visas NEW DELHI,(Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee have suspended all Indian applications to host future events and urged international sports federations not to stage competitions in the country after two Pakistanis were denied visas to compete in New Delhi.

SOCCER-AUSTRALIA/FACILITIES FFA renews calls for govt funding as participation grows

SYDNEY,(Reuters) - Football Federation Australia (FFA) repeated calls for increased government funding to boost and improve facilities on Friday after releasing a report showing participation rates in soccer had risen by 13 percent in the past year. UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS BRITAIN-EU/IRELAND-LEGISLATION

Irish government to publish no-deal Brexit contingency legislation Government has already published the outline of the bill and what laws it will include.

22 Feb 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT KENYA-LGBT/ (PIX) (TV)

Kenyan landmark case to legalise gay sex continues Kenyan court to rule in case seeking to decriminalise consensual sex between same sex adults. The law against gay sex in Kenya was introduced during British rule.

22 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT ASIA-SAUDI/CHINA-XI (PIX) (TV)

Saudi Arabia's crown prince meets Chinese President Xi in Beijing Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

22 Feb 04:30 ET / 09:30 GMT VENEZUELA-POLITICS/CONCERT (PIX) (TV)

Branson-backed Aid Live concert to raise funds for Venezuela Pop stars lead a concert in Colombia's border city of Cucuta organized by billionaire Richard Branson that hopes to raise $100 million for Venezuela's humanitarian emergency.

22 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE

MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-TURKEY Turkish President Erdogan to hold election rallies, may respond to U.S. Syria peacekeepers decision

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan holds election rallies and may respond to a U.S. decision to leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout. 22 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE IRAN-MONEYLAUNDERING/

Global anti-money laundering watchdog rules on Iran compliance Global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF is to decide whether Iran has brought its rules up to international standards.Compliance is important for whether Iran can access a European special purpose vehicle aimed at keeping trade flowing between Europe and Iran.

22 Feb 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

USA-TRADE/EU-NEWSER (TV) EU trade chief gives newser after meeting on U.S. negotiations

EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom gives a news conference with Romania's trade minister after the conclusion of a meeting of EU trade ministers that included discussions on the possible start of trade negotiations with the United States. 22 Feb 07:45 ET / 12:45 GMT

USA-FED/CLARIDA Federal Reserve's Clarida speaks at monetary policy forum

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida speaks before the 2019 Monetary Policy Forum hosted by The Initiative on Global Markets, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, in New York. 22 Feb 12:00 ET / 17:00 GMT

USA-FED/INFLATION Fed's Williams, Daly speak on inflation

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams and San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President May Daly participate in panel, "Prospects for Inflation with a High-Pressure Economy" at the 2019 Monetary Policy Forum hosted by The Initiative on Global Markets, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, in New York. 22 Feb 10:15 ET / 15:15 GMT

CANADA-PIPELINE/ Canadian regulator reports on expansion of Trans Mountain oil pipeline

Canada's National Energy Board makes a recommendation to the Canadian government on whether it should approve an expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which the government owns. The board is taking a second look at the project, after a court last year ruled that it had not properly considered the pipeline's impact on marine life off the British Columbia coast. 22 Feb 12:00 ET / 17:00 GMT

AMAZON.COM-HEALTHCARE/ Judge to rule in fight over Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan health venture's new hire

A federal judge plans to rule on Friday on a request by UnitedHealth Group Inc to block a former executive from working at the new healthcare venture launched by Amazon.com Inc, Berkshire Hathaway Inc and JPMorgan Chase. 22 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

KINGSPAN-RESULTS/ Kingspan FY results

22 Feb 02:00 ET / 07:00 GMT USA-FED/POTTER

Federal Reserve's Potter speaks at quantitative tools research event Federal Reserve Bank of New York Executive Vice President Simon Potter speaks before the First Annual Joint Research Day on Quantitative Tools for Monitoring Macroeconomic and Financial Conditions organized by the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and New York, in New York.

22 Feb 12:30 ET / 17:30 GMT USA-FED/BALANCESHEET

Federal Reserve's Bullard, Harker and Quarles speak about central bank's balance sheet at monetary forum Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker and Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles participate in panel, "The Future of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet" before the 2019 Monetary Policy Forum hosted by The Initiative on Global Markets, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, in New York.

22 Feb 13:30 ET / 18:30 GMT SERBIA-CPI/

Serbia's January inflation Stats office to release January inflation data

22 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT WORLD-WORK/JP MORGAN

JPMorgan trades banker offices for shared 'hot desks' JPMorgan Chase & Co is tearing down walls and moving San Francisco investment bankers onto "hot desks", a space-saving layout that has long been a fixture at tech companies, while redesigning offices in Dallas and other cities.

22 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT USA-FED/PIVOT (PIX) (GRAPHIC)

INSIGHT -A Fed pivot, born of volatility, missteps, and new economic reality The Federal Reserve's promise to be "patient" about any further interest rate hikes reflects more than just a pause in its long quest to bring rates near levels last seen before the global financial crisis.

22 Feb 01:00 ET / 06:00 GMT SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SPACE-SPACEX/ NASA to decide whether SpaceX ready for test flight to space station

NASA is slated on Friday to announce whether SpaceX is cleared to fly its first unmanned test flight to the international space station under the US space agency's multibillion-dollar Commercial Crew Program. 22 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT FASHION-MILAN/VERSACE (PIX) (TV)

Versace presents latest line at Milan Fashion Week Italian fashion house Versace unveils its autumn/winter 2019 womenswear creations in Milan.

22 Feb 14:00 ET / 19:00 GMT FASHION-MILAN/ETRO-BLUMARINE (PIX) (TV)

Etro, Blumarine present creations at Milan Fashion Week Italian luxury labels Etro and Blumarine unveil their autumn/winter 2019 womenswear creations in Milan.

22 Feb 12:00 ET / 17:00 GMT SPORTS

SOCCER-EUROPA/DRAW (PIX) Soccer - Europa League - Round of 16 Draw

UEFA holds the draw for the Europa League Round of 16 at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. 22 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

SOCCER-RUSSIA/ (PIX) Soccer Russian Football Union elects president

Russia's Football Union elects a new president after Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko resigned from the post last year. 22 Feb 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT

RELIGION POPE-ABUSE/SUMMIT (TV)

Second day of abuse summit starts with prayer, presentations by cardinals The second day of a Vatican conference on sexual abuse starts with an opening prayer, following by presentations by Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich.

22 Feb 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT