REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 6 a.m. GMT/2 p.m. SGT

Three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the strait that controls the flow of Middle East oil to the world, but backed off when confronted by a Royal Navy warship, Britain said on Thursday.

NORTHKOREA-CONSTITUTION/ New North Korea constitution calls Kim head of state, seen as step to U.S. peace treaty

SEOUL (Reuters) - Kim Jong Un has been formally named head of state of North Korea and commander-in-chief of the military in a new constitution observers said was possibly aimed at preparing for a peace treaty with the United States. U.S.

USA-CENSUS/ Trump drops census citizenship question, vows to get data from government

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump retreated on Thursday from adding a contentious question on citizenship to the 2020 census, but insisted he was not giving up his fight to count how many non-citizens are in the country and ordered government agencies to mine their databases. STORM-GULFMEXICO/

Tropical Storm Barry nears New Orleans, raising flood threat NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Nervous New Orleans residents prepared to flee as Tropical Storm Barry closed in on Thursday, with forecasts of “extreme rain” and more flooding ahead of the storm’s predicted landfall by early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.

BUSINESS BOEING-MOVES/

Boeing reshuffles management of grounded 737: memo SEATTLE/PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing Co has reassigned the head of its next airplane project to run the troubled 737 program, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Thursday, as the grounding of its 737 MAX in the wake of two accidents commands the U.S. planemaker’s full attention.

USA-FED-BOSTIC/ Fed's Powell affirms rate cut view; others see U.S. economy humming

ATLANTA/VICTOR, Idaho (Reuters) - As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kept the focus Thursday on global risks that could trigger a Fed rate cut in coming weeks, his colleagues from regional Fed districts painted a rosier picture of continued U.S. economic growth and a solid business outlook. ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-RKELLY/ R&B singer R. Kelly arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges: media

Grammy Award-winning singer R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges, NBC News said, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. FILM-LION-KING-REVIEWS/

New 'Lion King' movie lands with a critical whimper LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The much-anticipated new version of animated movie classic “The Lion King” landed with a whimper rather than a roar on Thursday with critics hailing it as visually impressive but tame in terms of character and storytelling.

SPORTS TENNIS-WIMBLEDON/

Long road back to singles competition, says Murray Former world number one Andy Murray has said it could take up to a year for him to regain the strength in his hip needed for a return to singles action.

MOTOR-F1-BRITAIN/ Hamilton critical of British GP fixture clashes

SILVERSTONE, England, July 11 (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton would like more of the limelight on a crowded sporting Sunday that could see the Mercedes driver win his home British Grand Prix for a record sixth time. UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS SAFRICA-ZUMA/ (PIX) (TV)

South African court decides whether Zuma's son guilty of culpable homicide A South African court rules on whether Duduzane Zuma, son of former president Jacob Zuma, is guilty of culpable homicide and negligent driving over a fatal car crash in 2014.

12 Jul 03:00 ET / 07:00 GMT UKRAINE-ELECTION/CANDIDATE (PIX) (TV)

Open audition: Ukraine’s comedian president invites citizens to run in July poll Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited members of the public to run on his party's ticket in the snap parliamentary election on July 21. One of them, Roman Hryshchuk, is a young comedian and entrepreneur running in a student district in west Kiev. Hryshchuk was one of more than 3,500 people who applied to run for Zelenskiy’s party through a specially created website.

12 Jul 03:00 ET / 07:00 GMT MOZAMBIQUE-UN/ (TV)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visits Mozambique cyclone survivors United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visits survivors of cyclone Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique's northern port city of Beira.

12 Jul 04:00 ET / 08:00 GMT NORTH CAROLINA-GERRYMANDERING/

U.S. battle over partisan electoral maps to face major test in North Carolina After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled federal judges cannot curb partisan gerrymandering, reform advocates vowed to take their fight to state courts that retain the power to police the practice of drawing electoral lines for political gain.

12 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT USA-ELECTION/HEALTHCARE

Democratic presidential candidates seize on drug prices as campaign issue In the wake of the White House abandoning a proposal aimed at lowering drug prices, Democrats featured their own proposals and began pressing the issue.

12 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT BRITAIN-EU/IRELAND

British pro-EU lawmaker Dominic Grieve gives address in Dublin 12 Jul 08:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

BRITAIN-EU/LEADER-DEBATE (PIX) (TV) Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt take part in Conservative Party leadership hustings

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt take part in Conservative Party leadership hustings in race to become Prime Minister. This debate will take place in Cheltenham. 12 Jul 14:00 ET / 18:00 GMT

BRITAIN-EU/LEADER-INTERVIEWS UK PM candidates Johnson and Hunt are interviewed by BBC

The two candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May will be interviewed by BBC journalist Andrew Neil. 12 Jul 14:00 ET / 18:00 GMT

DISASTERS / ACCIDENTS STORM-BARRY/ (PIX) (TV)

Storm Barry bears down on New Orleans with 'extreme rain,' flooding risk Tropical Storm Barry was headed towards New Orleans on Friday, packing heavy rains and a damaging storm surge as it was forecast to make landfall by early Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.

12 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

HONGKONG-EXTRADITION/STUDENTS (TV) Hong Kong University students to rally against Vice-Chancellor over extradition remarks

Students at the University of Hong Kong will protest against the administration of Carrie Lam and request that University Vice-Chancellor Xiang Zhang withdraw a controversial statement condemning violence by political demonstrators. 12 Jul 08:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS VOLKSWAGEN-FORD/ALLIANCE (PIX) (TV)

Ford, Volkswagen promise details on electric, autonomous vehicle alliance Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG said on Thursday they are expanding their global alliance announced in January with deals that are expected to involve collaboration on electric and autonomous vehicles.

12 Jul 08:00 ET / 12:00 GMT KENYA-UK/

UK’s Secretary of State for International Development holds news conference Topic to be determined, but will be on climate and the environment.

12 Jul 10:30 ET / 14:30 GMT

Also Read: UPDATE 1-Police fire teargas at Shi'ite protesters in Nigerian capital - Reuters witness