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Protests erupted across Iran for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on the leadership after the military admitted it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner at a time when Tehran feared U.S. air strikes.

IRAQ-SECURITY-USA Pentagon chief says no specific evidence Iran was plotting to attack four U.S. embassies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said he did not see specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran was planning to attack four U.S. embassies, an assertion made by President Donald Trump in justifying the killing of Iran’s top general. U.S.

USA-ELECTION-ELECTABILITY Desperate to defeat Trump, Democrats grapple with 'electability'

MASON CITY, Iowa/DAVENPORT, Iowa (Reuters) - Kristen Marttila braved sub-freezing temperatures on Saturday to knock on doors in Mason City, Iowa, trying to convince voters to cast their lot with Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren in the state’s nominating contest on Feb. 3. USA-TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT

Pelosi says Republicans will pay price for denying impeachment witnesses WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats will determine on Tuesday when to send formal impeachment charges against President Donald Trump to the Senate and warned that Republicans will pay a political price for denying a trial with witnesses.

BUSINESS USA-TRADE-CHINA

China's U.S. trade deal commitments not changed in translation: Mnuchin WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China’s commitments in the Phase 1 trade deal with the United States were not changed during a lengthy translation process and will be released this week as the document is signed in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

USA-POLITICS-SEATTLE As Amazon.com flexes its muscle, Seattle moves to curb corporate political donations

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle, the Pacific Northwest city where home-grown online retailer Amazon.com has increasingly flexed its political muscle, is expected to approve on Monday legislation banning political contributions by companies with at least 5% foreign ownership. ENTERTAINMENT

USA-BOXOFFICE Box Office: '1917' Defeats 'Star Wars' With $36.5 Million Weekend

LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) - Sam Mendes’ “1917” marched to box office victory, earning a solid $36.5 million from 3,434 theaters in its first weekend of wide release. AWARDS-BRITS-NOMINATIONS

Rapper Dave and singer Capaldi lead BRIT Award nominations LONDON (Reuters) - Rapper Dave and Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi lead the nominations for this year’s BRIT Awards with four nods each, in a new, slimmed-down list of prizes at Britain’s top pop music honors.

SPORTS TENNIS-ATPCUP

Djokovic leads Serbia to ATP Cup glory SYDNEY (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic inspired Serbia to victory in the inaugural ATP Cup team event in Sydney after defeating his long-term Spanish rival Rafael Nadal in singles on Sunday before playing a pivotal role in the deciding doubles match.

IRAN-DEFECTION-ALIZADEH Iran's only female Olympic medalist says she has defected

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s only female Olympic medalist has said on social media she had left her homeland because she had had enough of being used by its authorities as a propaganda tool. UPCOMING

DISASTERS / ACCIDENTS IRAN-CRASH/CANADA (PIX) (TV)

Thousands of Canadians mourn Iran crash victims at memorials Two-thousand people packed a memorial in Toronto on Sunday to remember the victims of a Ukrainian airliner shot down in Iran in a disaster that killed 57 Canadians, mainly of Iranian descent. Thousands more are expected at a memorial in Edmonton, Alberta late Sunday afternoon, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will speak there.

12 Jan 17:00 ET / 22:00 GMT PHILIPPINES-VOLCANO/TAAL (PIX) (TV)

Philippines braces for hazardous volcanic eruption, evacuates thousands, grounds flight Taal volcano, one of the world's smallest active volcanoes, spewed a massive cloud of ash that drifted across the Philippine capital on Sunday, forcing the cancellation of flights and closure of schools and government offices as authorities warned of a possible “explosive eruption”.

13 Jan PUERTORICO-QUAKE/

Puerto Rico works to recover from earthquakes Puerto Rico continues to recover from series of powerful earthquakes.

13 Jan IRAN-CRASH/CANADA (PIX)

Canada's TSB holds briefing on Ukraine jet accident investigation The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) holds a news conference on the investigation into the crash of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 on 8 January 2020

13 Jan 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

USA-ELECTION/BUTTIGIEG U.S. presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa U.S. presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa at a town hall meeting in Des Moines.

12 Jan 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT USA-IMPEACHMENT/TRUMP-CIPOLLONE

White House counsel to lead Trump's defense in Senate trial A reported profile of Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel who will lead Trump's defense against charges that he abused the powers of his office and obstructed an impeachment investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.

13 Jan JORDAN-GERMANY/MINISTER (PIX) (TV)

German foreign minister visits Jordan German foreign minister Heiko Maas discusses with senior Jordanian officials escalating tension in the Middle East following the killing of a top Iranian military commander in Iraq by the United States.

13 Jan COLOMBIA-PEACE/ (PIX) (TV)

Peace mediator on the future of Colombia's accord with the FARC rebels Economist and former UN official Henry Acosta, a long-time go-between for the FARC rebels and the government before Colombia’s 2016 peace deal, speaks to Reuters about the future of the country's relationship with the ex-guerrillas.

13 Jan TURKEY-ITALY/ (TV)

Italian PM Conte visits Turkey to meet with President Erdogan Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will visit Turkey on Monday to meet with President Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders will discuss bilateral ties, as well as the situation in Libya and other regional developments, according to the Turkish presidency.

13 Jan USA-ELECTION/BUTTIGIEG (PIX)

U.S. presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa at town hall meetings in Winterset and Ames.

13 Jan HONGKONG-PROTESTS/LEGAL (TV)

Hong Kong marks the beginning of the legal year Hong Kong's Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma and other judges inspect the police forces and members of the judiciary in a ceremony outside the City Hall to mark the beginning of a new legal year. The ceremony will be followed by speeches by Ma and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng.

13 Jan 03:30 ET / 08:30 GMT USA-ELECTION/DEBATE (PIX)

ANALYSIS-With pressure on in Iowa, Democratic debate carries higher stakes Six Democratic presidential contenders on Tuesday face perhaps the most pressure-packed debate yet, with voters in Iowa set to kick off the 2020 nominating contest in just weeks. A look at the stakes for the candidates on stage in Des Moines.

13 Jan 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT PORTUGAL-ENVIRONMENT/WASTE (PIX) (TV)

Portuguese town fights against foreign trash Struggling to cope with skin rashes, plagues of insects and nasty smells, residents of a tiny Portuguese town are standing up against a local landfill dumping large quantities of foreign trash.

13 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT BRITAIN-POLITICS/LABOUR

Deadline for Labour Party leadership hopefuls to reach nominations threshold Candidates to succeed Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn must have received at least 22 nominations by 1430 GMT to proceed to the next stage of the contest.

13 Jan 09:30 ET / 14:30 GMT BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

SAFRICA-ESKOM/EMISSIONS (PIX) South Africa's Eskom deadline for plan to tackle severe Kendal Power Station air pollution

South Africa's Green Scorpions issued a compliance notice to Kendal Power Station to prepare a maintenance plan to enable the power station to meet minimum air quality standards. Even if they submit the plan on time, implementation could take months or years. Eskom has been criticised for excessive emissions of toxic chemicals like SO2. 13 Jan

USA-HEALTHCARE/JPMORGAN JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

Biotech and big pharma head to San Francisco for the JP Morgan conference, which companies use as a venue to announce major M&A deals or other initiatives. 13 Jan

EDF-NUCLEARPOWER/ EDF press briefing on winter nuclear power supply

French utility EDF briefs the press on the short and medium-term availability of its nuclear fleet. 13 Jan 03:00 ET / 08:00 GMT

USA-FED/ROSENGREN Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Rosengren speaks at economic conference

HARTFORD, Conn. - Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren speaks before the Connecticut Business and Industry Association's "Economic Summit and Outlook 2020," in Hartford, Conn. 13 Jan 10:05 ET / 15:05 GMT

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT BRITAIN-ROYALS/ (PIX) (TV)

British royals meet for crisis talks on Harry and Meghan Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William meet Prince Harry on Monday at the queen’s Georgian mansion at Sandringham an attempt to end the crisis triggered by Harry and Meghan’s announcement that they will step back from royal duties. Meghan may join part of the talks by conference call from Canada.

13 Jan AWARDS-OSCARS/NOMINATIONS (PIX) (TV) (GRAPHIC)

Oscar nominations are announced live Nominations are announced for the 2020 Oscars, the highest awards in the film industry.

The 92nd Academy Awards nominations in all 24 Oscar categories will be announced in a two-part live presentation. 13 Jan 08:30 ET / 13:30 GMT

AWARDS-OSCARS/NOMINATIONS-PITT (PIX) (TV) Brad Pitt bounces back with Oscar acting nod

Brad Pitt scored an Oscar nomination on Monday for his performance as a charming stuntman in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," cementing his return to forefront of showbusiness. 13 Jan 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE LIBYA-SECURITY/BRITAIN-ABEDI

Trial starts at Old Bailey of Hashem Abedi, brother of Manchester arena bomber 13 Jan

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE NEW YORK-STABBING/ (PIX) (TV)

Suspect in New York stabbing due in federal court The man accused of stabbing five people at a Hanukkah gathering in December is expected to appear in federal court in White Plains, NY for preliminary hearing.

13 Jan SLOVAKIA-CRIME/ (TV)

Main trial opens with four suspected of murder of Slovak journalist and his fiancee Four suspects in the murder of a Slovak investigative journalist and his fiancée go on trial in a case that has triggered mass protests against corruption. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, both 27, were gunned down in their house outside the capital Bratislava in February 2018.

13 Jan BRITAIN-NIGERIA/CORRUPTION (PIX)

UK attempts to confiscate fortune from convicted Nigerian politician British prosecutors make a fresh attempt to confiscate tens of millions of pounds from James Ibori, former governor of the Nigerian oil-producing state of Delta, who pleaded guilty in a London courtroom in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering and was sentenced to 13 years in prison -- a landmark case in the fight against international corruption.

After serving half of his sentence, Ibori returned home to Nigeria in 2017 and remains influential in Delta State politics. However, the asset confiscation process has dragged on for years due to various appeals and legal complications. A first attempt, in 2013, to confiscate £90 million worth of assets was abandoned due to unresolved legal wrangling. Investigators may have discovered additional assets since then. Ibori is not expected to attend the hearing but says his lawyers will be fighting for him to keep hold of his assets.

13 Jan CLIMATE-CHANGE/TRIAL (TV)

Tribunal delivers verdict in trial of Swiss climate activists vs Credit Suisse for tennis sit-in Verdict for a dozen Swiss climate activists who have refused to pay a fine for playing tennis inside branches of Credit Suisse bank last year in a "civil disobedience" stunt intended to highlight the bank's fossil fuel investments and push tennis star Roger Federer to ditch his sponsorship deal with the bank.

13 Jan 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

SOUTHKOREA-ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/JOBS (PIX) (TV) 'Smile with your eyes': How to beat Korea's AI hiring bots and land a job

In cram school-obsessed South Korea, students fork out for classes in everything from K-pop auditions to real estate deals. Now, top Korean firms are rolling out artificial intelligence in hiring - and jobseekers want to learn how to beat the bots. 13 Jan

THAILAND-ENVIRONMENT/TURTLES (PIX) (TV) Thailand helps sea turtles swim again with prosthetic flippers

Injured by fishing nets and other sea debris, sea turtles in Thailand get prosthetic flippers that can help them swim again. 13 Jan 00:00 ET / 05:00 GMT