WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 2200 GMT/6 PM ET @ 3/21/2017 3:34:24 AM

Editor: Paul Grant + 1 202 898 8322

Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775

Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595

(All times GMT/ET)

TOP STORIES

FBI head denies Trump wiretap claim, confirms Russia election probe

WASHINGTON - Head of FBI publicly challenges U.S. President Donald Trump, denying Republican's claim that former president Barack Obama wiretapped his 2016 election campaign and confirming his agency launched criminal investigation of any collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. (USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA (UPDATE 10, PIX, TV), moving shortly, by Patricia Zengerle and Warren Strobel, 700 words)

+ See also:

- USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-FACTBOX (UPDATE 1, FACTBOX), moving shortly, 500 words

Democrats raise doubts about Trump's high court nominee Gorsuch

WASHINGTON - Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nominee, emphasizes need for judicial independence even as Trump castigates jurists who rule against him, while Democrats question whether he would rule against abortion rights and gun control while favoring corporations. (USA-COURT/GORSUCH (UPDATE 8, PIX, GRAPHIC, TV), moved, by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung, 898 words)

+ See also:

- USA-COURT/GORSUCH-CASES (FACTBOX), moving shortly, 600 words

Britain's May to launch EU divorce proceedings on March 29

LONDON/BRUSSELS - Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger Britain's divorce proceedings with European Union on March 29, launching two years of negotiations that will reshape future of country and Europe. (BRITAIN-EU/ARTICLE50 (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by William James, Elizabeth Piper and Gabriela Baczynska, 863 words)

Macron, Le Pen aim to consolidate poll lead in French TV debate

PARIS - Top candidates in France's presidential election go head-to-head in televised debate as polls show centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen pulling away from pack five weeks before first round. (FRANCE-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 3, TV, PIX), expect by 2230 GMT/6.30 PM ET, by Ingrid Melander and Michel Rose, 400 words)

North Korea engine test may be prelude to partial ICBM flight

SEOUL - North Korea likely masters technology to power different stages of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and may show it off soon, analysts say, but it is likely still long way from being able to hit mainland United States. (NORTHKOREA-MISSILES/ (UPDATE 4, PIX), moved, by Ju-min Park, 748 words)

U.S. to ban some airline passengers from carrying electronics

WASHINGTON - U.S. authorities are planning to ban passengers traveling on certain U.S.-bound foreign airline flights from carrying on larger electronic devices in response to unspecified terrorism threat, U.S. government official tells Reuters. (USA-AIRLINES/ELECTRONICS (UPDATE 1), moving shortly, by David Shepardson and Mark Hosenball, 300 words)

G20 ministers give Mnuchin space to define Trump trade agenda

BADEN BADEN, Germany - Wary of their first official encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump's blustery trade agenda, world's top finance officials are relieved to find new Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin polite and business-like. But they yield ground to newcomer's push for Group of 20 major economies to abandon decade-old pledge to resist protectionism and to delete communique language on financing fight against climate change. (G20-GERMANY/USA (ANALYSIS, PIX), moved, by David Lawder, 685 words)

EXCLUSIVE-Iran struggles to coax Bank of England to open clearing accounts -sources

LONDON/ANKARA - Iran asks Bank of England to set up special clearing accounts for its banks, but is so far been rebuffed in its effort to resolve impasse that leaves it excluded from banking in London more than year after sanctions are lifted. (IRAN-BRITAIN/BANKS (EXCLUSIVE, PIX), moved, by Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi, 1,148 words)

AMERICAS

EXCLUSIVE-Venezuela taps small banks to handle dollar deals

CARACAS/MEXICO CITY - Venezuela's government is using little-known banks, including small Puerto Rican lender, as intermediaries for some international trade operations after Citigroup stopped providing such services, according to owner of one of the banks and government officials. (VENEZUELA-BANKS/ (EXCLUSIVE, PIX), moved, by Corina Pons and Ana Isabel Martinez, 726 words)

Scandal roils Brazil meat sector; China, EU, S. Korea suspend imports

SAO PAULO/BEIJING - Fallout from meatpacking industry scandal in Brazil, world's biggest exporter of beef and poultry, widens as China, EU, South Korea and Chile curtail meat imports from country after inspectors are accused of taking bribes to allow sales of tainted food. (BRAZIL-CORRUPTION/FOOD (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Brad Brooks and Dominique Patton, 682 words)

EXCLUSIVE-Almost half of Canadians want illegal border crossers deported - Reuters poll

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/OTTAWA - Nearly half of Canadians want to deport people who are illegally crossing into Canada from United States, and similar number disapprove of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is handling influx, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. (CANADA-IMMIGRATION/POLL (UPDATE 2, EXCLUSIVE, PIX, GRAPHIC, TV), moved, by Rod Nickel and David Ljunggren, 885 words)

MIDDLE EAST

EXCLUSIVE-Syrian Kurdish YPG aims to expand force to over 100,000

BEIRUT - Syrian Kurdish YPG militia aims to expand its force by about two-thirds to more than 100,000 fighters this year, it tells Reuters, plan that would strengthen autonomous Kurdish enclaves that are of deep concern to neighboring Turkey. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-YPG (EXCLUSIVE, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Tom Perry, 763 words)

U.S.-allied Kurd militia says struck Syria base deal with Russia

BEIRUT - Syrian Kurdish YPG militia says Russia is setting up military base in northwestern Syria under bilateral agreement and will help train its fighters - step that would anger Turkey as it tries to block Kurdish gains near its borders. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RUSSIA (UPDATE 3, PIX), moved, by Tom Perry, 734 words)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)