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

Here are the top stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 11 a.m. GMT/6 a.m. ET. For a full schedule of news and events, go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning.

TOP STORIES

GLOBAL

INDONESIA-CRASH-FAMILY/

Distraught families of Sriwijaya Air victims visit Java Sea crash site

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Relatives of those killed in the Sriwijaya Air plane crash on Jan. 9 wept and threw red and white petals into the ocean on Friday after an Indonesian navy vessel took them to the site in the Java Sea where their loved ones perished.

RUSSIA-POLITICS-NAVALNY/

Navalny, anticipating arrest, planned protests to force Kremlin to release him, ally says

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Before he returned to Russia, opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his supporters had anticipated he would be arrested and planned to force the Kremlin to release him by staging repeated protests, a close ally has said.

U.S.

USA-BIDEN/

Biden to sign order to increase pandemic-related food aid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign two executive orders aimed at speeding pandemic stimulus checks to families who need it most and increasing food aid for children who normally rely on school meals as a main source for nutrition.

USA-BIDEN-IMMIGRATION-BILL/

Biden's bold immigration overhaul may face a Republican wall in Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a bold opening salvo from the incoming administration of President Joe Biden: an immigration bill that would open a path to citizenship for roughly 11 million people living in the country illegally. But even the Democratic senator leading the charge acknowledged on Thursday that passing it would be "a Herculean task."

BUSINESS

TAIWAN-TRADE/

Taiwan says realistic about U.S. trade deal, but one will happen eventually

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is under no illusions it can quickly sign a long hoped for free trade deal with the United States but feels when the time is right "success will flow naturally", the island's chief trade negotiator said on Friday.

ALPHABET-LOON/

Alphabet shutting Loon, which used balloon alternative to cell towers

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc is shutting down Loon after concluding the business, which offers balloons as an alternative to cell towers, is not commercially viable, Google's parent company said on Thursday.

ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-BRITAIN-WEDDING/

A sick couple rushed to marry in UK COVID ward. Now they have a second chance

MILTON KEYNES, England (Reuters) - British couple Elizabeth Kerr and Simon O'Brien had been planning to marry in June. Then COVID-19 struck.

SPORTS

OLYMPICS-2020-CANCELLATION/

Japan denies Olympics will be cancelled

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan stood firm on Friday on its commitment to host the Tokyo Olympics this year and denied a report of a possible cancellation but the pledge looks unlikely to ease public concern about holding the event during a pandemic.

AUSTRALIA-TENNIS-COURT/

Expected Australian honor for tennis great Court stirs controversy

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia is to award tennis great Margaret Court the country's highest honor next week, media reported on Friday, a decision that has stoked controversy because of her history of anti-gay views.

UPCOMING

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CHRONIC PATIENT CASE (TV)

Chronically ill young man gets special vaccination permission

A chronically ill young man has been granted a controversial special permission to get vaccinated although he is not in the over 70 risk group. 30-year-old Benni Over has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and can only move his fingers, he has to be on an artificial-respirator all the time. He petitioned the state Prime Minister who arranged for him to get vaccinated as a special case, but will this make a precedent for other chronically ill patients.

22 Jan 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CDC-RESPONSE (PIX)

How U.S. CDC missed opportunities to spot COVID's silent spread

Critics have widely asserted that the CDC fumbled key decisions during the coronavirus scourge because President Donald Trump and his administration meddled in the agency's operations and muzzled internal experts. Yet Reuters has found new evidence that the CDC's response to the pandemic also was marred by actions - or inaction - by the agency's career scientists and frontline staff. During a crucial moment in the pandemic when the first Americans were quarantined after possible exposure to the virus abroad, the agency declined or resisted potentially rich opportunities to study whether the disease could be spread by those without symptoms, according to previously undisclosed internal emails, other documents and interviews with key players.

22 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/MYANMAR-VACCINE (PIX)

India delivers COVID vaccines to Myanmar

Indian manufactured vaccines are being delivered to Myanmar and arrives on Friday. This is the first COVID-19 vaccines Myanmar received.

22 Jan 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/WHO BRIEFING (TV)

WHO chief Tedros and other officials due to give press conference

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), to give press conference on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, which also follows the first week of the WHO's Executive Board being held through Jan 26.

22 Jan 12:00 ET / 17:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

IVORYCOAST-COCOA/ (PIX)

Ivory Coast cocoa exporters curb exposure and inventories amid glut

Cocoa exporters in the world's top producer Ivory Coast are switching to cheaper long-term delivery contracts, and buying reduced volumes amid a glut, blaming the move on a scheme to charge a $400 per tonne premium aimed at curbing poverty among farmers.

22 Jan 06:30 ET / 11:30 GMT

BRITAIN-EU/MARITIME-TRADE (PIX) (TV)

Hauliers steer clear of UK landbridge as Brexit reshapes Ireland-EU supply chains

Brexit delays and customs checks have led to a surge in demand to ship goods in and out of Ireland direct to European ports like Cherbourg in France, signalling a potential long term shift in the supply chain away from decades of moving goods to mainland Europe through the previously far speedier U.K. "landbridge"

22 Jan 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

SWISS-STEINMETZ/ (TV)

Verdict due in Geneva trial of Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz on corruption charges

After a two-week trial, a Geneva criminal court is due to rule on corruption and forgery charges against Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz in connection with iron ore mining contracts in Guinea. The prosecutor has sought a five year jail sentence and 50 million Swiss francs in compensation. Verdict reading expected to take 2 hours

22 Jan 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT

SPORTS

OLYMPICS-2020/SIX-MONTHS-PREVIEW (PIX)

Olympics - Six months out, beleaguered organisers prepare for rearranged Tokyo Games

January 23 marks six months until the opening ceremony for the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. They were originally scheduled to begin in July 2020 but the IOC and organisers decided to postpone the Games by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

22 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

ETHIOPIA-CONFLICT/RAPE (PIX)

Ethiopia's Tigray sees spike in rapes, say U.N. and medical workers

The young coffee seller said she was given a stark choice by the Ethiopian soldier who had separated her from her family and friends: rape or death. The conflict in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray has been marked by a surge in sexual violence, said victims, aid workers and the United Nations.

22 Jan 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT

USA-TRUMP/CAPITOL-ARRESTS

Oath Keeper accused of conspiring to attack U.S. Capitol to appear in court

Donovan Crowl, one of three Oath Keepers facing conspiracy charges for an alleged plot to storm the U.S. Capitol, will be in court in Dayton Ohio on Friday to argue he should not be detained pending trial.

22 Jan 11:30 ET / 16:30 GMT

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

GERMANY-POLITICS/CDU (PIX) (TV)

CDU counts postal votes to confirm their new leader Laschet

CDU counts the postal votes to confirm their new leader Armin Laschet, elected during the party's political congress held online last week

22 Jan 10:30 ET / 15:30 GMT