REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 11:00 a.m. GMT/06:00 a.m. ET

07 Dec 2020 / 19:03 H.

Here are the top stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 11:00 a.m. GMT/06:00 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

USA-CHINA-SANCTIONS-EXCLUSIVE/

Exclusive: U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown - sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, according to three sources, including a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

IRAN-NUCLEAR-EUROPE/

European powers rebuke Iran after uranium enrichment announcement

PARIS (Reuters) - France, Germany and Britain said on Monday they were alarmed by an Iranian announcement that it intended to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and by legislation that could expand its nuclear programme.

U.S.

USA-BIDEN/

Biden makes picks for key public health roles as pandemic rages: sources

WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden has made his selections for two key public health positions, sources said on Sunday, as he prepares to take office next month as the coronavirus pandemic rages to new levels across the United States.

TRUMP-GIULIANI/

Giuliani tests positive for COVID-19, latest in Trump's inner circle

President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for COVID-19, Trump said on Sunday, prompting one state legislature to close for a week after Giuliani visited to try to persuade lawmakers to help reverse Trump's election defeat.

BUSINESS

BRITAIN-EU/

Brexit crunch time: stand-off puts EU-UK trade deal on a knife edge

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Post-Brexit trade talks hung in the balance on Monday as Britain and the European Union made a last-ditch attempt to bridge significant differences and reach a deal that would avoid a disorderly exit in just 24 days.

CAPITAL-ONE-FIN-PAYMENTS/

Capital One stops 'risky' buy-now-pay-later credit card transactions SYDNEY (Reuters) - Capital One Financial Corp (CapOne) has barred customers using its credit cards to clear buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) debt as the transactions bear unacceptable risk, it told Reuters, making it the first to distance itself from the finance alternative.

ENTERTAINMENT

CHRISTMAS-SEASON-AUSTRALIA-TREES/

Australian Christmas tree farms run out as shoppers seek a merrier end to a tough 2020

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Christmas tree farms in Australia are already shutting up shop this year, as pandemic-weary consumers eager for some festive joy spurn plastic versions and seek out fresh pine trees to spruce up their homes.

SPORTS

OLYMPICS-2020-COSTS-TOKYO-RESIDENTS/

Residents uncertain about Games as costs, COVID-19 cases rise

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese residents are torn between trepidation and tentative support for next year's Olympic Games that are now set to be far more expensive than expected amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

olympics-2032-brisbane/

Australia's Queensland to resume Brisbane 2032 Games bid

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's northeastern state of Queensland will resume work on Brisbane's bid for the 2032 Olympics after shelving the project for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Monday.

UPCOMING

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

USA-ECONOMY/DATA (PIX) (GRAPHIC)

New data show depth of downturn

Nine months after a state of emergency was declared to fight the coronavirus pandemic, daily deaths and new infections are hitting new records, hospital capacity is more stretched than ever, and debate over an economic response has devolved into a battle over who deserves help and who doesn't.

New data released this week on state and metro level employment and wages by industry show just how unevenly the economic pain of those first months was spread, and how a crash reminiscent of the Great Depression in New York left workers in Montana collecting about the same amount of wages in the April through June period as they did in from January through February.

7 Dec 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

DOORDASH-IPO/

DoorDash set to price IPO, seeking up to $27 billion valuation

U.S. food delivery startup DoorDash Inc is set to price its initial public offering (IPO), looking to raise up to $2.8 billion at a valuation of $27 billion in one of the year's largest stock market debuts.

8 Dec

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

USA-ELECTION/DEPOSITIONS (PIX)

EXPLAINER-Trump under oath

Trump faces depositions in defamation cases brought by women who say he sexually assaulted them. A look at these cases and how Trump has fared before in depositions.

7 Dec 06:00 ET / 11:00 GMT

EU-MERCOSUR/BRAZIL

Brazil pledge on Amazon forest needed to save EU-Mercosur trade deal - diplomat

Until Brazil makes a political commitment to curbing deforestation in the Amazon, the trade deal between the European Union and South America's Mercosur trade bloc will not advance toward ratification in Europe, the EU's envoy in Brasilia says in an interview.

7 Dec 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

USA-SOUTHKOREA/BIEGUN

U.S. envoy Biegun arrives in South Korea for 4-day visit

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will travel to Seoul, South Korea on Dec. 8 through 12 to discuss the U.S.-ROK Alliance's commitment to mutual security, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, and continued close coordination on North Korea.

8 Dec

BRITAIN-EU/

EU ministers meet may discuss a new Brexit deal

European affairs ministers of the 27-nation bloc meet and may discuss the bloc's new trade deal with Britain if negotiators have delivered it by then.

8 Dec

LIBERIA-POLITICS/

Liberia holds referendum on presidential terms and dual citizenship

Liberia is due to hold a referendum on constitutional changes including proposals to reduce the length of the president's term and allow for dual citizenship.

8 Dec

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/GREECE

Greek government spokesman will possibly unveil plan for lockdown relaxing ahead of Christmas

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas will possibly unveil Greece's plan for a further, staggered relaxing of a nationwide lockdown ahead of Christmas. Greece has extended to Dec. 14 a nationwide lockdown imposed last month to contain a surge in new coronavirus cases. Only some dozens of seasonal stores, selling Christmas items, were allowed to reopen on Monday.

7 Dec 06:30 ET / 11:30 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/FRANCE-LOUVRE-AUCTION (PIX) (TV)

Auction of donated artwork and rare tours held in aid of locked-down Louvre

France's Louvre holds an online auction of works donated by artists and experiences -- including a close encounter with the Mona Lisa and a tour of its roofs -- to raise money as the museum struggles to plug a 90 million euro hole in its finances as visitors stay home because of the coronavirus epidemic.

7 Dec 09:00 ET / 14:00 GMT

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/MYANMAR (PIX) (TV)

Myanmar health workers under strain as coronavirus cases grow

No break, overwork and depression, medical workers in Myanmar are under strain as coronavirus cases in the country are expected to pass the 100,000 threshold.

8 Dec

CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

USA-COURT/GERMANY

Supreme Court hears Germany's appeal in Nazi art dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court hears Germany's bid to block it from facing a lawsuit in American court over medieval artwork that its former Nazi government pressured Jewish art dealers to sell in the 1930s.

7 Dec 10:00 ET / 15:00 GMT

NEWZEALAND-SHOOTING/ (PIX) (TV)

New Zealand releases the royal commission report on mosque shootings

New Zealand releases an 800-page royal commission report looking into the killing of 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to release a pre-recorded speech.

8 Dec 22:00 ET / 03:00 GMT

SPORTS

OLYMPICS-IOC/ (PIX) (TV)

Olympics-IOC Executive Board meeting

The International Olympic Committee holds its executive board in Lausanne. IOC President Thomas will hold a news conference.

7 Dec 12:00 ET / 17:00 GMT

CONFLICTS / WAR / PEACE

TAIWAN-SECURITY/

Taiwan president speaks at security forum

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at an Indo-Pacific security forum in Taipei.

8 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT