GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks faltered and sterling slid on Monday as unease over a new coronavirus strain that was shutting much of the United Kingdom offset news that a deal had finally been struck on a long-awaited U.S. stimulus bill.
WORLD OIL PRICES
Oil prices slid in early trade on Monday as a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain in the United Kingdom raised concerns that tighter restrictions there and in other European countries could stall a recovery in the global economy and its need for fuel.
SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa's rand firmed on Friday, extending its rally to a fifth session as global risk appetite linked to a record stimulus package in the United States and a buoyant Chinese economy continued to offset worries about domestic growth.
MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling (KES=) was unchanged on Friday from the previous session amid thin demand for hard currency from importers, traders said.
SECURITY
Annas Shuaibu says he awoke to the sound of gunshots fired by men who burst into his boarding school in northwest Nigeria in a nighttime raid. He and hundreds of other boys were rounded up and forcibly marched out of the school and into a nearby forest.
CONFLICT
Ethiopia offered a 10 million birr ($260,000) reward on Friday for information on the location of fugitive leaders of a rebellious force in northern Tigray region.
AFRICAN REPUBLIC ELECTION
Central African Republic's main opposition coalition on Sunday demanded the Dec. 27 election be postponed due to violence by armed groups outside the capital Bangui, but the government insisted the vote would go ahead.
ELECTION
Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo faces a hung parliament after the opposition clinched the last undeclared seat on Friday, potentially complicating his ability to implement economic measures to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.