WORLD-NEWS-SCHEDULE AT 1500 GMT/1000 AM ET

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TOP STORIES

Kenya says to complete delayed vote count on Friday

NAIROBI - Kenya says it is determined to complete the count in a tight presidential race that has put Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of his main rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga and in with a chance of outright victory. (KENYA-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 6), expect by 1630 GMT/1130 AM ET, by Duncan Miriri and Richard Lough, 960 words)

+ See also:

- KENYA-ELECTIONS/MOMBASA (PICTURE), moved, by Drazen Jorgic, 850 words

Leaders from Cuba to Iran attending Chavez's funeral

CARACAS - At least two dozen heads of state are due to attend Hugo Chavez's funeral during outpouring of grief for charismatic but divisive Venezuelan leader who changed face of politics in South America. (VENEZUELA-CHAVEZ/ (UPDATE 1, PICTURE, TV, GRAPHIC), moving shortly, by Daniel Wallis and Andrew Cawthorne, 900 words)

+ See also:

- VENEZUELA-CHAVEZ/CHAVISMO (ANALYSIS), moving shortly, by Andrew Cawthorne, 1,250 words

UN slaps sanctions on North Korea, Kim visits frontline

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL - The United Nations imposes new sanctions on North Korea aimed at curtailing its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and China, the isolated regime's only major ally, says it wants the measures fully implemented. (KOREA-NORTH/ (WRAPUP 1, PICTURE), moved, by Louis Charbonneau and Jack Kim, 840 words)

+ See also:

- KOREA-NORTH/MILITARY (PICTURE, GRAPHIC), moved, 900 words

- USA-KOREA/THREAT (ANALYSIS), moved, by Paul Eckert, 730 words

The impossible job: God's CEO on earth

VATICAN CITY - The man who would be pope must take on a 2,000-year-old institution whose reputation is tarnished, be a spiritual guide for millions, an inspiration for the oppressed and the manager of a malfunctioning bureaucracy. Like Jesus Christ, but with an MBA. (POPE-SUCCESSION/CHALLENGES (SPECIAL REPORT, PICTURE, GRAPHIC, TV), moved for subscribers to Special Reports, by Tom Heneghan, 2,500 words)

+ See also:

- POPE-SUCCESSION/AFRICA, moved, by Elias Biryabarema, 420 words

EUROPE

Road to election of pope enters last stretch before conclave

VATICAN CITY - A conclave to elect the new pope will be held early next week, the Vatican says. Roman Catholic cardinals will vote later on Friday on its precise start date. (POPE-SUCCESSION/START (UPDATE 2, PICTURE, TV), moving shortly, by Crispian Balmer, 600 words)

+ See also:

- POPE-SUCCESSION/SECURITY, moving shortly, by Naomi O'Leary, 800 words

Renzi big beneficiary of Italy vote, tops poll for premier

ROME - The big winner in Italy's election was populist leader Beppe Grillo, but young Florence mayor Matteo Renzi is emerging as a less obvious beneficiary of a huge protest vote that threatens to destroy the old political system. (ITALY-VOTE/RENZI (ANALYSIS, UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Barry Moody, 1,200 words)

+ See also:

- EUROPE-POPULISTS/ (ANALYSIS, PICTURE), moved, by Paul Taylor, 1,100 words

German reform angst sets in a decade after "Agenda 2010"

BERLIN - With its record low unemployment, thriving "Mittelstand" companies and consensus-seeking unions, Germany has been held up as a model of economic management at a time when many of its European partners are mired in crisis. But critics are sounding the alarm bell. (GERMANY-REFORMS/ (ANALYSIS, PICTURE), moved, by Noah Barkin, 1,300 words)

MIDDLE EAST

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces in West Bank, Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank and at a holy site in Jerusalem as tensions rise just weeks before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama. (PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/VIOLENCE (UPDATE 2, PICTURE, TV), moved, 560 words)

Syrian rebels say no talks underway to free UN peacekeepers

BEIRUT - Rebels holding 21 U.N. peacekeepers near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria say no talks are under way to free the men and gives no indication that they will be released soon. (SYRIA-CRISIS/PEACEKEEPERS (UPDATE 1), moved, by Oliver Holmes, 600 words)

Thousands march in Egypt's Port Said over deaths

PORT SAID, Egypt - Thousands of Egyptians pack the streets in the Suez Canal city of Port Said in protest at the deaths of local people in clashes with police and ahead of a court decision in a contentious football riot case. (EGYPT-VIOLENCE/PORTSAID (PICTURE, TV), expect by 1630 GMT/1130 AM ET, by Yusri Mohamed, 400 words)

Egypt's opposition scents chance in election debacle

CAIRO - To Egypt's opposition, a court ruling throwing the electoral process into limbo offers an opportunity to force Islamist President Mohamed Mursi into compromise as the country heads towards economic and security chaos. (EGYPT-OPPOSITION/ (ANALYSIS), moved, by Yasmine Saleh, 1,500 words)

UNITED STATES

Bin Laden son-in-law faces conspiracy charges in New York court

NEW YORK - A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden faces arraignment in a federal court in New York, where he is charged with conspiracy to kill Americans. (USA-MILITANT/ (UPDATE 1, PICTURE, TV), expect by 1600 GMT/11 AM ET, by Jonathan Allen, 500 words)

U.S. to step up pressure on North Korea over human rights

WASHINGTON - The United States will lead a push at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next week to create a commission to scrutinize North Korea, adding a new form of international pressure on the nuclear saber-rattling state. (USA-KOREA/RIGHTS, expect by 2000/ 3 PM ET, by Paul Eckert, 700 words)

AMERICAS

Falkland Islands defy Argentine sovereignty push with referendum

BUENOS AIRES - Voters in the remote British-ruled Falkland Islands hold a referendum on their future on Sunday that seeks to challenge Argentina's increasingly vocal sovereignty claim. (FALKLANDS-REFERENDUM/ (PICTURE, TV), moved, by Helen Popper, 900 words)

AFRICA

Thieves blight Nigeria's swamps with spilt oil  NEMBE - In a mangrove forest at the edge of a Nigerian swamp, a film of oil shimmers in rainbow colours for hundreds of metres around Royal Dutch Shell's Nembe creek pipeline. The cause of this latest environmental catastrophe, Shell says, was an unprecedented level of oil theft targeting a pipeline pumping 150,000 barrels of oil a day to the Atlantic coast. (NIGERIA-OILTHEFT/ (PICTURE, TV), moved, by Tife Owolabi, 500 words)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Can singer Bowie turn acclaim into commercial hit?

LONDON - He caught music world napping with first new songs in decade and had critics searching for superlatives in reviews of new album "The Next Day". Next big question for David Bowie is whether critical acclaim turns into record sales as record hits stores next week. (MUSIC-DAVIDBOWIE/ALBUM, expect by 1700 GMT/12 PM ET, by Mike Collett-White, 750 words)

+ See also:

- PEOPLE-JUSTINBIEBER/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 250 words

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130308/world-news-schedule-at-1500-gmt1000-am-et