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

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term at the helm of Africa’s largest economy and top oil producer, the electoral commission chairman said on Wednesday, following an election marred by delays, logistical glitches and violence.

NORTHKOREA-USA-SUMMIT/ Trump says 'my friend Kim' has great opportunity at second summit

HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet on Wednesday for their second summit, betting their personal relationship can break a stalemate over the North’s nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. U.S.

USA-IMMIGRATION-BAN/ U.S. denied tens of thousands more visas in 2018 due to travel ban: data

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department refused more than 37,000 visa applications in 2018 due to the Trump administration’s travel ban, up from less than 1,000 the previous year when the ban had not fully taken effect, according to agency data released on Tuesday. USA-TRUMP-RUSSIA-WHITAKER/

Former U.S. AG Whitaker to clarify House testimony: Nadler WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker agreed to meet with lawmakers to clarify his testimony, a congressional leader said on Tuesday, referring to an appearance where Whitaker was quizzed about whether President Donald Trump had sought to influence investigations.

BUSINESS HYUNDAI MOBIS-SHAREHOLDERS/

Hyundai rejects Elliott's payout call, shares rise ahead of showdown meeting Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday rejected demands by U.S. activist investor Elliott Management for a combined 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion) dividend payout and new board members, complicating efforts to revamp South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate.

JAPAN-ECONOMY/BOJ Dissenter urges BOJ to ramp up stimulus to hit price goal early

TAKAMATSU, (Reuters) -Bank of Japan board member Goushi Kataoka said on Wednesday the central bank must ramp up monetary stimulus to achieve its inflation target and warned maintaining current policy settings for too long could cause major swings in economic growth. ENTERTAINMENT

FASHION-PARIS/DIOR Dior celebrates 1950s rebels at fashion week lacking Lagerfeld

PARIS,(Reuters) - Christian Dior lit up the Paris catwalk with a celebration of 1950s youth culture on Tuesday while designers paid tributes to this fashion week's big absentee, late Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld. NORTHKOREA-USA/SCENE

Bomb bunker, war reporters and Charlie Chaplin: Hanoi's storied Metropole hosts Kim-Trump summit A storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the Vietnam War is set to host U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet for a second nuclear summit on Wednesday.

SPORTS RUGBY-UNION-SUPER/HIGHLANDERS

Highlanders rest All Blacks trio in test of Australian resurgence WELLINGTON, (Reuters) - The Otago Highlanders are well aware they may be facing the cutting edge of a resurgence in Australian Super Rugby teams in Melbourne on Friday but have still rested three All Blacks to face a confident Rebels side.

TENNIS-ACAPULCO/ Nadal looks strong in opening Acapulco win

Rafa Nadal showed no signs of rust in his first action in a month as the top seed easily dispatched Mischa Zverev 6-3 6-3 at the Acapulco International on Tuesday. UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FRANCE-GERMANY/MACRON-MERKEL (PIX) (TV)

French President Emmanuel Macron receives German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Elysee Palace French President Emmanuel Macron meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Elysee Palace with Brexit, European defence issues at the top of the agenda.

27 Feb 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-COHEN (PIX) (TV)

Michael Cohen testifies publicly to House panel Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies in open session to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

27 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT AUSTRIA-POLITICS/

Weekly Austrian cabinet meeting 27 Feb 02:30 ET / 07:30 GMT

USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-CONTACTS FACTBOX - What Mueller’s indictments tell us about Trumpworld’s links to Russia

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has yet to hand over his report on his investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign and Russia. But, indictments brought by Mueller over the past few months already paint a detailed picture of key interactions between Trump advisers and Russian figures, a review of the indictments shows. 27 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

THAILAND-ELECTION/ (PIX) Thai party leader's criminal case to be decided after election - prosecutors

Thai prosecutors said on Wednesday they would decide after a March 24 election whether to pursue criminal charges against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of a new political party who criticised the military junta in a speech on Facebook last year. 27 Feb 01:30 ET / 06:30 GMT

MIDEAST-CRISIS/NETANYAHU-PUTIN (PIX) (TV) Israel's Netanyahu visits Russia for talks with President Putin

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Feb. 27, Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, with the focus likely to be on Middle East issues led by Syria 27 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

MYANMAR-UN/ (PIX) (TV) Myanmar minister expected to address Conference on Disarmament at UN in Geneva

Myanmar's Union Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Tin is scheduled to address the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. An earlier version of the meeting agenda had listed de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi as the scheduled speaker. 27 Feb 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

SPAIN-POLITICS/CATALONIA (PIX) (TV) Former Spanish PM Rajoy testifies in trial of Catalan leaders

Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy testifies as a witness in the trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders over their involvement in an independence drive in 2017 when he was PM. 27 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

BRITAIN-EU/FEB27 PM May faces another day in parliament: What happens on Wednesday?

British Prime Minister Theresa May will on Wednesday update parliament on her progress towards securing a Brexit deal, giving lawmakers the chance to challenge her approach and vote on alternatives. 27 Feb 13:30 ET / 18:30 GMT

USA-TRUMP/TRANSGENDER (PIX) Most Americans favor letting transgender people serve in military-Reuters/Ipsos poll

Fifty-nine percent of Americans said transgender people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that comes amid criticism of a Trump administration policy restricting military service by transgender people, a topic that will be examined on Wednesday by a House Armed Services subcommittee. 27 Feb 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

TURKEY-CHAD/ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan holds talks with Chad President Idriss Deby

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hosts Chad President Idriss Deby at the presidential palace. After talks they will hold a signing ceremony and joint news conference (1615 GMT). 27 Feb 09:30 ET / 14:30 GMT

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE NORTHKOREA-USA/F35 (PIX)

Questions abound about U.S. proposal for F-35s to shoot down North Korean missiles Looking for a quick way to stop North Korean missiles immediately after lift-off, the nearest term option the Pentagon is studying would deploy a group of F-35 fighter jets to hover around North Korean airspace to pick off freshly-launched rockets.

27 Feb 01:00 ET / 06:00 GMT CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

VENEZUELA-POLITICS/EVIDENCE (PIX) (GRAPHIC) INSIGHT-One witness, conflicting evidence: How Venezuelan justice targets the opposition

Jose Rengel, an opposition leader in Caracas' outskirts, has spent five weeks in a cramped detention cell after a single witness accused him and eight other men of burning down a office during a riot. But the building still stands. The men's families say they were arbitrarily detained as part of a state crackdown on the opposition. 27 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

USA-COURT/CROSS (PIX) Supreme Court hears religious rights dispute over Maryland cross

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on a new fight over the separation of church and state. It concerns whether a towering cross-shaped war memorial erected in 1925 on public land in Maryland violates the Constitution’s ban on government endorsement of religion. 27 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS ECOPETROL-RESULTS/

Ecopetrol holds investor call on 2018 results Ecopetrol will hold a call with investors to discuss its fourth quarter and 2018 results.

27 Feb 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT CANADA-BUDGET/ALBERTA

Alberta government releases Q3 fiscal update Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta to release third quarter fiscal update with focus on budget deficit and any update on the mandatory oil production curtailments imposed by the government.

27 Feb 13:30 ET / 18:30 GMT EU-ECONOMY/COMMISSION (PIX) (TV)

EU Commission publishes economic analysis of economic and social policies for each EU country The Commission publishes Country Reports on the overall economic and social developments in each EU country. For some countries, these include an in-depth review.

27 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT USA-FED/POWELL (PIX)

U.S. Fed chief discusses economy before House panel U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before House Financial Services Committee, discussing monetary policy and economy.

27 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT HUNGARY-ECONOMY/ (PIX) (TV)

Hungary's economic top brass to speak at a conference Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, central bank Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy and Finance Minister Mihaly Varga to speak at an annual conference organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

27 Feb 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT USA-TRADE/CHINA-HOUSE (PIX) (TV)

U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer testifies on China issues U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testifies at U.S. House of Representatives hearing on U.S.-China trade issues

27 Feb 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT NORWAY-SWF/ (PIX) (GRAPHIC)

Norway wealth fund presents 2018 annual report The world's largest sovereign wealth fund presents fourth-quarter results and its annual report.

27 Feb 04:00 ET / 09:00 GMT USA-FED/COMMUNICATIONS (PIX) (GRAPHIC)

The Fed's policy statements are getting easier to read The Fed's policy statements grew so complicated after the recession that standard gauges of readability suggested people needed four years of university or more to understand them.

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

PHILIPPINES-TRAFFIC/ (PIX) WIDER IMAGE-Chaos, gridlock a daily ordeal for Manila's long-suffering commuters

It's 3.30 a.m. in the Philippines and much of San Jose Del Monte is fast asleep. Flashlight in hand, street sweeper Alejandro Galasao navigates out of a labyrinth of alleys to a main road to catch a bus to Manila. 27 Feb 18:00 ET / 23:00 GMT

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT FILM-CAPTAINMARVEL/ (PIX) (TV)

European gala performance of "Captain Marvel" takes place in London Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson and Jude Law attend the European gala performance of Captain Marvel at the Curzon Mayfair in London

27 Feb 13:00 ET / 18:00 GMT (PIX) (TV) (GRAPHIC)

FRANCE - BTF non-competitive bids 27 Feb 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT