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

China warned the United States on Thursday it would take “firm counter measures” in response to U.S. legislation backing anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and said attempts to interfere in the Chinese-ruled city were doomed to fail.

NEWZEALAND-CRASH-EREBUS/ Forty years on, New Zealand apologizes for Antarctic plane disaster

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologized on Thursday for the then-government’s handling of a plane crash in Antarctica 40 years ago that took the lives of 257 people in the country’s worst peacetime disaster. U.S.

USA-THANKSGIVING-TRAVEL/ Storms snarl U.S. Thanksgiving travel, stranding cars and planes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two winter storms blasted the United States on Wednesday, stranding motorists and causing thousands of flight delays as Americans jammed highways and airports to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. CHEMICALS-FIRE-TPC-PORTNECHES/

Residents flee fourth major Texas petrochemical fire this year PORT NECHES, Texas (Reuters) - Three workers were injured and residents of four towns were told to evacuate after explosions on Wednesday at a Texas petrochemical plant, the latest in a series of chemical plant accidents in the region.

BUSINESS AMAZON-COM-TECH-SILICON-EXCLUSIVE/

Exclusive: Amazon's cloud unit readies more powerful data center chip - sources Amazon.com Inc’s cloud computing unit has designed a second, more powerful generation of data center processor chip, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, the latest sign that the company is pouring money into custom silicon for its fastest-growing business.

WESTPAC-REGULATOR/ Australia's Westpac to refund people who bought new shares before money laundering bombshell

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) offered to refund investors who bought new shares weeks before a bombshell lawsuit accusing it of millions of breaches of money laundering laws, a rare step to fend off criticism about its transparency. ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-ANNAWINTOUR/ Love your clothes and pass them on, says Vogue supremo Wintour

ATHENS (Reuters) - Clothes should be cherished, re-worn and even passed on to the next generation, Anna Wintour, the influential editor of Vogue magazine said, calling for more sustainability in the fashion world and less of a throwaway culture. SPORTS

FOOTBALL-NFL-WAS-NORMAN/ Redskins CB Norman to remain backup Sunday

Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman will suit up again, but only play as a backup, on Sunday at the Carolina Panthers, head coach Bill Callahan said Wednesday. ICEHOCKEY-PETERS-APOLOGY/

Calgary head coach Peters apologizes for offensive language Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters has apologized for using “offensive language” towards a Nigerian-born player in the minor leagues a decade ago, according to a letter obtained by Canadian network TSN.

UPCOMING BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

INDIA-BUDGET/SPENDING India finance minister seeks parliament nod for additional spending in 2019/20

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will seek parliament's approval for additional spending in the current finance year on Thursday around 12.00 pm (India local time), despite growing pressure on the fiscal deficit amid shortfall in revenue collections. 28 Nov 01:30 ET / 06:30 GMT

AUCTION-DROUOT/NAPOLEON (PIX) (TV) A pair of boots worn by Napoleon during his final exil in Saint Helena on display before auction

A pair of boots worn by Napoleon during his final exil in Saint Helena is expected to fetch fetch between 60,000 and 80,000 euros at a sale in Paris' Drouot auction 28 Nov 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

NOVARTIS-SWISS FACTORY/ (PIX) Novartis opens up a $90 mln cell and gene therapy factory in Switzerland

Novartis is opening a new factory to make Kymriah and Zolgensma on the Rhine River in northern Switzerland. 28 Nov 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NATO-SUMMIT/SERBIA-RUSSIA (PIX)

Ahead of NATO summit, Serbia buffeted between West and Russia Since October, President Emmanuel Macron has questioned the effectiveness of NATO, hit pause on EU enlargement and called for a new 'strategic relationship' with Russia, leaving heads spinning - or being scratched - across Europe.

28 Nov 02:00 ET / 07:00 GMT APPS-TRUMP/ (COLUMN)

COLUMN-In Trump era, Europeans want a very different foreign policy: Peter Apps As indicators of how America's allies now feel about Washington after three years of Donald Trump, there are a few statistics more stark than those on how Germans think about relying on the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

28 Nov 03:00 ET / 08:00 GMT BRITAIN-ELECTION/DUP

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party election manifesto launch 28 Nov 05:30 ET / 10:30 GMT

TURKEY-IRAQ/ Turkish foreign minister, Iraqi Kurdistan's Barzani to hold news conference

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu holds a news conference with Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq's Kurdistan region. 28 Nov 05:30 ET / 10:30 GMT

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE CHINA-DEFENCE/

Regular Chinese Defence Ministry news conference China's Defence Ministry holds regular news conference, where topics ranging from China's new aircraft carrier to Hong Kong could come up.

28 Nov 02:00 ET / 07:00 GMT TURKEY-SECURITY/ERDOGAN

Turkey's Erdogan to make speech, may comment on Syria, U.S. relations President Tayyip Erdogan will make a speech at the end of an Islamic council meeting and may comment on issues such as Syria and relations with the United States.

28 Nov 05:30 ET / 10:30 GMT SPORTS

SPORT-DOPING/RUSSIA (PIX) (TV) Russian Olympic Committee holds annual meeting

Russia's Olympic Committee holds an annual meeting with sports federations, local Olympic committees, top coaches and athletes. One of the issues on the agenda is Russia's participation in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The meeting will be followed by a news briefing by the Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov. 28 Nov 03:00 ET / 08:00 GMT

ATHLETICS-KENYA/ (PIX) (TV) Olympic hopeful Cheruiyot pushed by fellow Kenyan runner

When Kenyan runner Timothy Cheruiyot is sprinting to the finish at the world's top races he knows one man can stand between him and gold: his best friend. 28 Nov 05:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY CLIMATE-CHANGE/ACCORD-EU (PIX) (TV)

EU lawmakers to pass 'climate emergency' resolution ahead of UN conference A majority of European Union lawmakers are expected to vote through a "climate emergency" resolution on Thursday ahead of a United Nations climate conference in Madrid. The lawmakers will also pass a resolution on the European Parliament stance for the UN COP25 climate conference.

28 Nov 06:30 ET / 11:30 GMT