REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 11:00 a.m. GMT/6:00 a.m. ET

Scores of new coronavirus cases and a first death in South Korea fanned fears on Thursday of the global spread of the pathogen as research suggested it was more contagious than thought and China appealed to its Southeast Asian neighbours for solidarity.

BRITAIN-ASSANGE/ Trump offered to pardon Assange if he denied Russia helped leak Democrats' emails: lawyer

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he said that Russia had nothing to do with WikiLeaks' publication of Democratic Party emails in 2016, a London court heard on Wednesday. U.S.

USA-PENTAGON-BRAININJURY-INSIGHT/ 'Hit with a truck' - How Iran's missiles inflicted brain injury on U.S. troops

In the wee hours of Jan. 8, Tehran retaliated over the U.S. killing of Iran's most powerful general by bombarding the al-Asad air base in Iraq. USA-TRUMP-PARDONS-BLAGOJEVICH/

Former Illinois governor Blagojevich thanks Trump for commuting sentence CHICAGO (Reuters) - Rod Blagojevich, a former Illinois governor forced out of office for trying to peddle Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat, thanked President Donald Trump on Wednesday for commuting his prison sentence and again proclaimed his innocence.

BUSINESS VOLKSWAGEN-CFO/

Volkswagen CFO will leave in summer next year: Manager Magazin BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen finance chief Frank Witter will leave the German car group in the summer of 2021, business publication Manager Magazin reported on Thursday.

DAIMLER-MANAGEMENT/ Daimler slims down Mercedes management in efficiency drive

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German cars and trucks maker said it would revamp the management of its finance, production and development portfolios to remove duplicate layers between Mercedes-Benz and Daimler AG. ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-HARVEY-WEINSTEIN/ Jurors in Weinstein rape trial ask to review Rosie Perez testimony

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jurors in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial appeared to take a methodical approach in their deliberations on Wednesday, asking to review testimony from a former production assistant who says Weinstein raped her as well as from actress Rosie Perez. TELEVISION-HUNTERS-PREMIER/

Pacino turns Nazi hunter in TV series debut for Amazon LONDON (Reuters) - In a screen career spanning more than five decades, it has taken Al Pacino until now to act in a television series.

SPORTS MOTOR-MOTOGP-MARQUEZ/

MotoGP champion Marquez renews with Honda until 2024 Spain's six times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has signed a four-year contract extension with Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) through to the end of 2024, the team said on Thursday.

CHINA-HEALTH-TOKYO-OLYMPICS/ London can host 2020 Games if moved over coronavirus: mayor candidate

TOKYO (Reuters) - London would be ready to host the 2020 Olympics if the outbreak of the coronavirus forced the Games to be moved from Tokyo, Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for mayor of the British capital, has said. UPCOMING

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE SYRIA-SECURITY/TURKEY

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, opens library in Ankara President Tayyip Erdogan holds a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev (0900 GMT). The two presidents then attend an opening ceremony of presidential library in Ankara (1100 GMT).

20 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT USA-CHINA/DEFENSE

U.S. panel holds hearing on China military power projection U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission conducts hearing on "China's Military Power Projection and U.S. National Interests"

20 Feb 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

CANADA-PENSIONS/CDPQ Canadian pension fund at the heart of Alstom-Bombardier deal reports results

Charles Emond, chief executive of the Canadian pension fund at the heart of Alstom's deal to buy Bombardier's rail deal will address reporters at a briefing on its 2019 financial results. 20 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

USA-SHALE/OUTLOOK Shale industry keeps taking hits, as margins worsen and stock prices suffer

The shale industry's outlook continues to worsen, owing to a combination of oversupply, weak prices for oil and gas and a surprising softness in sales of liquids like butane and propane, which until recently had been something of a salve for oil producers. 20 Feb 11:00 ET / 16:00 GMT

AIRBUS-A220/ (PIX) Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury and Quebec's premier meet with reporters

Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury and the premier of the Canadian province of Quebec meet with reporters in Montreal, after Bombardier sold off its remaining minority stake in the A220 jetliner program. 20 Feb 11:30 ET / 16:30 GMT

USA-FED/BARKIN Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Barkin speaks at Harvard University

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin participates in "A Conversation with Tom Barkin" hosted by Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. 20 Feb 13:20 ET / 18:20 GMT

HAITI-ECONOMY/ Haiti sinks deeper into poverty even as unrest subsides

The protests may have subsided but the repercussions of Haiti's countrywide lockdown, "peyi lock" in creole, are still unfolding. Busineses were decapitalised, some had to close, others had to slash jobs, while the violent unrest in the Caribbean island nation spooked would-be investors and tourists. Some hotels folded. 21 Feb

EDF-NUCLEARPOWER/FESSENHEIM (PIX) (TV) France's EDF stops power generation at its oldest Fessenheim 1 nuclear reactor

French utility EDF halts power generation at its Fessenheim 1 nuclear power reactor, the first reactor to be shut down in nuclear-dependent France as part of a planned reduction of atomic power in its energy mix. 21 Feb

NORWAY-SWF/ Application deadline for Norway wealth fund CEO job

Deadline to apply for the position of CEO of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest with assets of $1.1 trillion 21 Feb

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-STONE (PIX) (TV)

Roger Stone, longtime Trump adviser, to be sentenced in case that roiled Washington Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump, will be sentenced on Thursday in a criminal case that has roiled the Justice Department and drawn the president's ire.

20 Feb 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT IRELAND-POLITICS/ (TV)

Irish parliament to meet for first time with no majority in sight Ireland's parliament meets for the first time since an inconclusive Feb. 8 election with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar obliged to put forward his name for re-election amid slow moving government formation talks. He will assume the role in a caretaker capacity if, as is almost certain, no party leader secures a majority to replace him. It took Varadkar's predecessor Enda Kenny four such votes and 70 days to form an administration after the last election in 2016. Fianna Fail, the party that marginally won the most seats, said on Wednesday it would step up efforts to break the deadlock but lawmakers from all sides expect talks to take a number of weeks.

20 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT USA-IMMIGRATION/VIDEO GAME (PIX) (TV)

From refugee camp to video game maker Lual Mayen learned to code in a refugee camp after fleeing South Sudan. Now, he's a video game developer in Washington, DC, who's using his talents toward inspiring empathy for others like him. Mayen's creation, called "Salaam" ("peace" in Arabic) - which will launch this summer - puts players in the shoes of a refugee fleeing a war torn region.

20 Feb 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT EU-BUDGET/ (PIX) (TV) (GRAPHIC)

EU Council meets to decide on the EU's long-term budget The 27 EU countries meet to discuss the 2021-2027 budget. They are split about it because of Britain's withdrawal from the bloc and also due to different priorities such as tackling climate change and migration on top of traditional heavy spending areas such as agriculture and regional development

20 Feb 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT USA-ELECTION/BIDEN

CNN hosts town hall with Biden CNN hosts hour-long town hall with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden.

20 Feb 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT BRITAIN-POLTICIS/LABOUR

Ballot opens in vote to elect new leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party Members of Britain's opposition Labour Party begin voting to elect a new leader. The ballot closes on April 2.

21 Feb SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

TELECOMS-5G/ US State Department's Robert Strayer to discuss 5G at roundtable at US embassy

Robert Strayer, deputy assistant secretary for cyber, international communications and information policy at the U.S. State Department, discusses 5g internet and cybersecurity at a roundtable with reporters at the US embassy in Madrid during a visit to Spain to speak to the government on the same topic. 20 Feb 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT

CHINA-HEALTH/JAPAN-SHIP (TV) Virus-hit cruise liner passengers continue disembarking in Japan

More passengers on the virus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess moored near Tokyo are expected to disembark, after a controversial two-week quarantine that saw more than 600 people infected with the new coronavirus originating in China. Disembarkation of all passengers who have tested negative is expected to be completed by Friday. 21 Feb 20:30 ET / 01:30 GMT

CHINA-HEALTH/BALLET (PIX) (TV) Dancing in masks - Shanghai ballerinas return to training amidst virus outbreak

One of Shanghai's top ballet companies resumed training this week after an extended break caused by the ongoing coronavirus epidemic with dancers sporting masks for protection as they are put through their paces. 21 Feb

CHINA-HEALTH/CRUISE Taking a cruise amid the novel coronavirus

As the novel coronavirus spreads across the world, passengers are still packing cruise liners, despite one ship being detained for over two weeks off Japn 21 Feb

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE PEOPLE-HARVEY WEINSTEIN/ (PIX) (TV)

Jury continues deliberations in Weinstein rape trial The jury is expected to continue deliberations in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial.

20 Feb 09:30 ET / 14:30 GMT NIGERIA-LGBT/CRIME (PIX) (TV)

WIDER IMAGE - A police raid, viral videos and the broken lives of Nigerian gay crime suspects The 57 men stumbled out of the back of a dark police truck into the glare of a sunny courtyard and a phalanx of cameras. Some clutched another's hand, as if for comfort. Almost all tried to hide their faces. Standing behind a bank of microphones, the Lagos state police commissioner told the gathered journalists that he personally had ordered the raid that swept up the men after authorities received a tipoff that young men were being initiated into a "homosexual club."

21 Feb SPORTS

OLYMPICS-2020/KENDO (PIX) (TV) Olympics - 'All about the spirit': Japan's kendo master readies for Olympic torch relay

Shigeru Aoki, 70, an eighth-degree kendo master, will in May take off his kendo gear and hold the torch aloft as he runs the Olympic relay in southwestern Japan. He will represent a former mining district in the region's largest city, Fukuoka. 21 Feb 22:00 ET / 03:00 GMT

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

Milan Fashion Week (Fall/Winter) People witness the launch of the latest seasonal garments designed by popular fashion brands and designers.

21 Feb RELIGION

CHINA-TIBET/DALAILAMA-PROFILE (TV) File of Dalai Lama ahead of his 80th anniversary of enthronement

File footage of the Dalai Lama who will mark the 80th anniversary of his enthronement as the Tibetan spiritual leader on Feb 22 when he was four years old. The Nobel peace laureate, who fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, lives in exile in the northern hill town of Dharamshala. 21 Feb

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