ACCRA, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana&#8217;s parliament has suspended most of its activities for three weeks after at least 17 MPs and 151 staff members were infected with the coronavirus, the speaker said on Tuesday.
President Nana Akufo-Addo warned last month that infection rates were skyrocketing and threatened to overwhelm Ghana&#8217;s health system, part of a second wave of the virus across Africa that has been far more serious than the first.
&#8220;Having regard to the upsurge in coronavirus cases in the House &#8230; I have, in consultation with leadership, decided that the sitting of the House be suspended for three weeks,&#8221; Speaker Alban Bagbin told parliament.
However, he said that parliament&#8217;s appointments committee would continue to meet to consider the ministerial nominees of Akufo-Addo, who was re-elected in December.
Ghana has reported 72,328 infections and 472 coronavirus-related deaths, some of the highest totals in West Africa. (Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Editing by Aaron Ross and Alex Richardson)
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Ghana parliament shuts down after COVID-19 outbreak

By Laurie Goering
Feb 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; A generation of young activists eager to set the agenda on global warming and clean energy should seek government jobs as a way to get lagging climate goals back on track, a top U.N. energy official said on Tuesday.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t keep doing things from outside,&#8221; Damilola Ogunbiyi, co-chair of U.N. Energy and chief executive of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), told an online youth summit on achieving universal clean energy access.
With the world falling behind on goals to bring clean, affordable energy to billions more people by 2030, &#8220;changing the minds of leaders has to happen inside and outside government&#8221;, said Ogunbiyi, a former Nigerian rural electrification director.
Amina J. Mohammed, U.N. deputy secretary-general, said nearly 790 million people around the world still lack access to any source of electricity, and 2.8 billion continue to risk their health by cooking with dirty fuels.
About a quarter of Africa&#8217;s health facilities also lack access to electricity &#8211; a major problem as health officials try to roll out coronavirus vaccines, many of which need refrigeration, she told the summit.
Worst, even as governments plan trillions of dollars in pandemic stimulus spending, both rich and poor governments continue to pour too much cash into polluting fossil fuels that drive climate change, she said.
&#8220;Most governments continue to build a polluting economy. This is unacceptable,&#8221; said Mohammed, a former Nigerian environment minister.
Ogunbiyi said the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine showed the world can act swiftly to meet global challenges, but that investment in energy access was now also needed to make sure the vaccine reached everyone.
Putting money into expanding the use of clean energy, besides helping deliver vaccines, could open up job possibilities for Africa&#8217;s huge number of young people, she said at the SEforAll-organized youth summit.
Particularly important, she said, is providing &#8220;productive&#8221; levels of energy &#8211; not just enough to power lights and phones but to run job-creating businesses.

CHEAPER OPTION
Vanessa Nakate, a young climate activist from Uganda, said schools she has been working to outfit with solar power and cleaner cooking methods are usually eager to make the change, but often lack the upfront cash for solar panels or batteries.
Bringing down prices &#8211; and finding the means of financing the switch &#8211; is key to scaling up use of clean energy systems in Africa, she said.
&#8220;People love a cheaper alternative, so making it more affordable is good,&#8221; she said, noting that once the systems are in place &#8220;in the long run it&#8217;s actually a cheaper option&#8221;.
Wenhao Sun, a Chinese student at Columbia University in New York, said one source of finance might be millennials concerned about climate change who are eager to put their green ideals into practice.
Many want to invest in clean power and other efforts to curb planetary heating but &#8220;lots of people don&#8217;t know how to do it&#8221;, he said.
Ana Sophia Mifsud, who works at the U.S.-based Rocky Mountain Institute, helping cities and states develop carbon-free buildings, said it was crucial to overcome views that switching to clean energy required painful sacrifices.
&#8220;The reality is we don&#8217;t have to choose, often, between increasing our economic standards or mitigating climate change. We have the technology today to do both and we should do both,&#8221; she said in an online panel. (Reporting by Laurie Goering @lauriegoering; Editing by Helen Popper: (Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)
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Move into government, U.N. official urges young climate activists

VACCINES TO FIGHT NEW VARIANTS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE BY THIRD QUARTER, SAYS SHABIR MADHI, LEAD INVESTIGATOR FOR OXFORD/ASTRAZENECA VACCINE TRIAL IN SOUTH AFRICA
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VACCINES TO FIGHT NEW VARIANTS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE BY THIRD QUARTER, SAYS SHABIR MADHI, LEAD INVESTIGATOR FOR OXFORD/ASTRAZENECA VACCINE TRIAL IN SOUTH AFRICA

MBABANE, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; eSwatini Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi said on Tuesday that her country, which borders South Africa, would no longer use AstraZeneca&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine.
South Africa has put on hold the rollout of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine, after preliminary trial data showed it gave only minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by South Africa&#8217;s dominant coronavirus variant.
&#8220;The country has considered its close proximity with South Africa. We felt that the variant could be in the country already. We will no longer be using AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine,&#8221; Nkosi said in an interview on local television.

(Reporting by Lunga Masuku; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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eSwatini won’t use AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, minister says

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; A development bank run by the BRICS group of major developing nations has disbursed $1 billion to help fund the Brazilian government&#8217;s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement from the lender on Tuesday.
The New Bank of Development (NDB), run by the BRICS group comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has earmarked $10 billion for fighting the pandemic. Eventually, Brazil is expected to receive a fifth of those funds.
Brazil has the world&#8217;s deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside the United States, with 232,170 fatalities among more than 9.5 million cases. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Brazil gets $1 billion from BRICS bank to fight coronavirus

* Black, Asian Britons more likely to die from COVID-19
* Mistrust, marginalisation add to vaccine hesitancy
* White Britons twice as likely to get coronavirus shot
By Lin Taylor
LONDON, Feb 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; Will I become infertile? Are you sure it&#8217;s safe? Why was it developed so quickly? I just don&#8217;t trust it.
When it comes to questions about COVID-19 vaccines, medical assistant Rukshana Fahima has heard it all &#8211; and she is well-placed to answer. She had her own doubts too.
&#8220;At first I was quite apprehensive with the vaccine because &#8230; they created it in just a year. I was concerned,&#8221; she said, wearing protective equipment inside an east London mosque that has been turned into a vaccination centre.
&#8220;You hear so many things from different people and it sometimes plays on you. But you&#8217;ve got to do your own research. I feel more confident now that the vaccine is there to protect everybody,&#8221; the 24-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Fahima, who has Bangladeshi heritage and has since had a COVID-19 shot, is one of several health workers vaccinating people at the mosque in a bid to boost inoculation rates among Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
Though Britain&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccination drive has been underway since January, official data shows many people from ethnic minorities are not showing up.
Nearly all recipients of the vaccine in England as of Feb 2. have been white, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners, which analysed data by the state-run National Health Service (NHS).
Of those who have been vaccinated so far, 1.7% were Black and 5.3% were Asian &#8211; far short of the 3.5% and 7.8% that each group represents as a share of the country&#8217;s total population, the report added.
White people were more than twice as likely to receive the jab than Black British people, and one-and-a-half times more likely than those with Asian heritage, the analysis showed.

MEDICAL MISTRUST
The coronavirus crisis in Britain has exposed health disparities between different ethnic groups.
Black and Asian people in England are up to 50% more likely to die after becoming infected with the virus, and tend to live in poor, overcrowded households and have jobs that put them at greater risk, according to an official study.
Misinformation spread through social media and messaging apps, coupled with greater mistrust of the government, and the legacy of historical medical experiments conducted on Black people have stoked vaccine hesitancy, health experts said.
Last year, a French doctor sparked outrage by suggesting COVID-19 treatments should be tested in Africa.
&#8220;People are understandably uncomfortable because of this history of structural medical racism,&#8221; said Sandra Husbands, the director of public health in Hackney, an ethnically diverse district in east London.
From slave plantations to the 1932 Tuskegee experiment, in which African American men were falsely told they were being treated for syphilis, Black people have historically been mistreated in the name of science, said Husbands.
&#8220;They&#8217;re just concerned about putting themselves forward for something they think might be experimental. Now at this point, things aren&#8217;t actually experimental and that&#8217;s what we need to get people to understand,&#8221; she said.
A January survey of more than 12,000 people in Britain showed 18% of respondents, mostly Black people and those of South Asian descent, said they were unlikely to take the COVID-19 vaccine if offered one.
&#8220;Everyone would assume that because ethnic minorities are dying at a higher rate that they would flock to these vaccines, but it&#8217;s not that simple,&#8221; said Gwenetta Curry, a racial health disparities lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.
&#8220;(The pandemic) has highlighted all these inequalities that have always existed.&#8221;

DEPRIVATION
Britain&#8217;s health ministry said it was investing 8 billion pounds ($11 billion) to help councils tackle false information about vaccines within ethnic minority groups as well as the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on these communities.
&#8220;We want every eligible person to benefit from a free vaccine, regardless of their ethnicity or religious beliefs,&#8221; Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said in a written statement.
As well as dying at a higher rate during the pandemic from COVID-19, people from ethnic minority groups in Britain have also been hit harder by job losses, researchers found last June.
&#8220;The whole pandemic has highlighted what an unequal society we are, both in financial deprivation and health disparities,&#8221; said Farzana Hussain, a local doctor who runs a medical practice in Newham, one of London&#8217;s most deprived areas.
Having been part of the community for more than two decades, Hussain said she has worked hard at earning trust from her patients, which she believes is instrumental in combating vaccine misinformation and alleviating fears.
&#8220;A lot of people are scared to call their GP (general practitioner). I want people to be armed with the fact, not the fiction, and to talk to people like me about what their fears are,&#8221; said the British-Bangladeshi doctor.

REPRESENTATION
As the only Somali doctor in Leicester, in central England, Samira Hassan spends much of her time busting myths about the vaccines online and within her community &#8211; even convincing her own mother to go for the jab.
&#8220;Not a lot of (ethnic minority) people have access to doctors and health professionals who can speak their mother tongue, who can understand their cultural background,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;That representation is not there, and it&#8217;s very difficult to bridge that gap if people don&#8217;t feel like an institution is working for them and serves them.&#8221;
Hassan said official information about vaccines needed to be better communicated to Black and ethnic minority communities and not forced onto anyone who is still trying to figure it out.
At the London mosque, Marklene, a 61-year-old Black care home worker, was nonchalant about the vaccine she had just received.
&#8220;In the beginning, knowing nothing about it and hearing what people are saying &#8230; maybe you think (there&#8217;s something wrong with it),&#8221; she said.
&#8220;But I have friends that take it and they said it&#8217;s alright. I&#8217;m going to have to take it &#8230; because this virus isn&#8217;t going away anytime soon, so better to protect myself.&#8221; ($1 = 0.7280 pounds) (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls; Editing by Helen Popper. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)
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FEATURE-Fear, mistrust fuel COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among UK ethnic minorities

* S.Africa puts on hold AstraZeneca vaccinations
* To start with Johnson &amp; Johnson shots instead
* Government consults with experts on how to proceed
* Adviser says options include combining vaccines
By Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa is looking at ways to deploy AstraZeneca&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine after temporarily putting on hold plans to roll it out to healthcare workers, government advisers said on Tuesday.
The government had planned to start rolling out 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot later this month, but trial data published after they had arrived showed the vaccine offered minimal protection against mild-to-moderate disease caused by the country&#8217;s dominant coronavirus variant.
South Africa now plans to start its vaccination programme with Johnson &amp; Johnson shots in mid-February, after the U.S. company promised to expedite deliveries.
Members of the government&#8217;s Ministerial Advisory Committee said the plan was not to discard the AstraZeneca shots. Rather, their use would be suspended until more evidence was available on whether the vaccine protects against severe COVID-19 from the 501Y.V2 variant, which is more contagious and currently accounts for more than 90% of the country&#8217;s cases.
&#8220;AstraZeneca may well have a place, it may well have a significant place. This is only a suspension, not turfing it out,&#8221; Professor Barry Schoub told Reuters. &#8220;We have got in South Africa a problem with the variant, it all hinges on that.&#8221;
Schoub said a number of options were being looked at for the AstraZeneca shots, including whether they could be used in combination with another vaccine, to see whether one dose &#8220;either the prime or the booster with the AstraZeneca may work well synergistically with another vaccine&#8221;.

&#8216;TWO-STEP ROLLOUT&#8217;
Another adviser, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, told local TV channel Newzroom Afrika that a &#8220;two-step rollout&#8221; was being considered for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
After an initial round of vaccinations, hospitalisation rates would be assessed &#8220;and if we are happy that it&#8217;s within the range we want to see, then we continue with the rollout,&#8221; he said.
South Africa aims to vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of the population, to achieve some level of herd immunity.
AstraZeneca&#8217;s chief executive said on Tuesday that his company believed its vaccine should still protect against severe COVID-19. The British-Swedish firm said earlier that it was adapting its vaccine to the 501Y.V2 variant.
Abdool Karim suggested on Monday that South Africa could start by giving 100,000 people the AstraZeneca jab to see how well it worked on preventing hospitalisation and death.
But Schoub said that was still under discussion.
Separately, local pharmaceutical company Lamar International said it was looking to sell 15 million doses of Russia&#8217;s Sputnik vaccine to the government.
It declined to name the price per dose, but said it could start supplying them if regulator SAHPRA granted approval for the vaccine to be used. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Alex Richardson)
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South Africa looking at ways to use AstraZeneca vaccine, advisers say

(Repeats item with no changes in text. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
* GRAPHIC &#8211; Iron ore imports by Japan, South Korea and Western Europe: https://tmsnrt.rs/3pXu28p
By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; The iron ore market is focused mainly on developments in China, which isn&#8217;t surprising given the world&#8217;s biggest buyer of commodities takes about 70% of global seaborne cargoes.
But that other 30% does matter &#8211; and there are signs of a recovery in demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The total global volume of seaborne iron ore discharged at ports in January was 134 million tonnes, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.
This was up from 122.82 million tonnes in December and 125.18 million in November, and also some 6.5% higher than the volume for January 2020.
These figures do point to a recovery in the world seaborne market. And the breakdown does lend support to the view that the major buyers other than China &#8211; namely Japan, South Korea and Western Europe &#8211; are starting to pull their weight.
China&#8217;s seaborne imports of the steel-making ingredient in January were 98.79 million tonnes, meaning the rest of the world was at 35.21 million.
For the same month in 2020, imports by the world ex-China were 34.07 million tonnes, a rise of 3.3% year-on-year.
That may not seem like a massive increase, but in terms of the damage done to the global economy during the lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus during much of 2020, it&#8217;s actually a solid rebound.
Japan&#8217;s iron ore imports were 7.68 million tonnes in January, up marginally from 7.64 million in December and 7.42 million in November, but down a touch from the 7.78 million in January 2020.
South Korea imported 5.98 million tonnes in January, up a smidgeon from 5.97 million in December, but down from 6.94 million in November, and also below the 6.27 million from January 2020.
Imports by Western European countries stood at 7.29 million tonnes in January. That was up from 6.64 million in December and 6.94 million in November, and only slightly below the 7.78 million from January 2020.
It&#8217;s of note that Western Europe&#8217;s imports have rebounded 53.2% from the 2020 low of 4.76 million tonnes in June.
Similarly, Japan&#8217;s January imports were 51.2% above the lowest month last year, the 5.08 million tonnes from June, and South Korea&#8217;s were 19.6% stronger than the worst month in 2020, the 5 million tonnes from February.

PRICE SUPPORT?
Overall, what the data show is that while China is still the dominant importer of iron ore, and swings in Chinese demand have an outsized impact on volumes, the role of the smaller importers is likely being underestimated.
This is especially the case if the growth in Chinese demand, seen in the second half of 2020 as Beijing ramped up stimulus spending, starts to fade as the monetary taps are tightened somewhat in 2021.
A recovery in Japan, South Korea and other smaller Asian importers would work to offset any moderation in Chinese demand.
Western Europe is somewhat separate to Asia as an iron ore market. But one of its top suppliers is Brazil, and rising demand will have the effect of lowering the amount of iron ore the South American country can ship to China.
Also, if Western Europe&#8217;s demand was weak, it would have meant that some its suppliers, such as Canada, would have been encouraged to ship to Asia, thus boosting competition with the iron ore heavyweights &#8211; Australia, Brazil and South Africa, the world&#8217;s top three shippers.
Iron ore prices are still largely driven by China market dynamics, and the spot price for benchmark 62% ore &lt;MT-IO-QIN62=ARG&gt;, as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, has remained at historically high levels as China&#8217;s demand has been resilient.
The spot price ended at $159.60 a tonne on Monday, up from the low so far this year of $149.85 on Feb. 2, but down from the $175.40 on Dec. 21 &#8211; the highest price in nearly 10 years.
Iron ore prices have come under pressure in recent weeks on the back of signs that Beijing may taper its stimulus spending this year, and official comments that steel output should be lower to reduce pollution and energy consumption.
It may be the case that stronger demand in the rest of Asia is lending some support to prices. (Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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RPT-COLUMN-Iron ore imports outside China show signs of recovery: Russell

RABAT, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; London-listed mining company Emmerson Plc said on Tuesday it had received a licence from authorities in Morocco giving it exclusive rights to develop a $400 million potash plant.
The mine, near the city of Khemisset, 94 kilometres (58 miles) east of the capital Rabat, has the potential to produce up to 735,000 tonnes of muriate of potash and 1 million tonnes of de-icing salt a year, a feasibility study showed in the summer.
The company plans to start building the potash mine, Africa&#8217;s largest, by the end of 2021 and expects to start production in late 2023, Chief Executive Graham Clarke told Reuters.
The potash will be exported through the port of Casablanca, providing easy access to the main markets, he said.
The company said the project would increase Moroccan mineral exports by 8% and generate up to $63 million a year for the Moroccan government in taxes. (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi. Editing by Mark Potter)
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Emmerson gets go-ahead for Moroccan potash plant

* China called systemic rival, U.S. paralysed WTO appeals body
* EU enforcement rule passed, bill on procurement in works
* Harder push to make free trade partners comply with agreements
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Hardened by the pain of Brexit, clashes with the Trump presidency and a new realism over China, a bruised European Union is due next week to set out a future trade policy designed to help it deal with partners it does not trust.
Enforcement of global rules and ensuring equal market access will be cornerstones of a new strategy to be unveiled by the European Commission that is strikingly harder in tone than the &#8220;Trade for All&#8221; mantra of the last revamp in 2015.
As coordinator for the 27 EU countries, the Commission wants trade to support a green and digital recovery, while also stressing greater resilience to a future pandemic and fair play – the so-called &#8220;level playing field&#8221; demand that became such a bone of contention in its post-Brexit talks with Britain.
&#8220;We are reinforcing our toolkit to be able to react in case third countries are not playing by the rules so we are better equipped to protect ourselves,&#8221; Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told a seminar last week.
Dombrovskis did not name the third countries and nor will the review, but few doubt China and the United States are the focus. The enforcement push was already gathering pace in 2019 when the EU first declared China a &#8220;systemic rival&#8221; and when the Trump administration paralysed the World Trade Organization&#8217;s Appellate Body, removing the ultimate arbiter of global trade.
&#8220;Trump&#8217;s unilateral action is what caused the EU to respond by beefing up its capacity to act, not outside the WTO, but in a more rapid and vigorous manner,&#8221; said Andre Sapir, senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.
The EU&#8217;s enforcement regulation is a result. Set to enter force in weeks, it will allow the bloc to retaliate if a third country blocks dispute settlement, such as by appealing a WTO panel ruling to its non-existent Appellate Body.
The EU has agreed an interim appeals system with trading partners, including China, but not the United States. Conceived in the face of Trump&#8217;s trade tactics, the system could spell conflict with the new U.S. administration of Joe Biden.
The international procurement instrument, likely to be agreed this year, is a further piece in the EU&#8217;s armoury. It could penalise trading partners that do not open government tenders as much as the European Union does.
It is designed to push China towards reciprocity but could also bring a challenge to Biden&#8217;s new &#8220;Buy American&#8221; order.
The legislation was first put forward in 2012 but was blocked by EU countries. However, Germany and others have now changed their views.

TOUGHER ON PARTNERS TOO
With a new chief enforcement officer, the European Union will also raise disputes with its free trade partners to ensure deals are met in full, not only over market access, but also covering &#8220;sustainable&#8221; issues, such as labour rights and environmental policy.
The bloc kicked off 2021 with an arbitration panel ruling in its favour on a dispute with South Korea, which the European Union said had not fulfilled commitments on labour rights in a trade agreement that entered force a decade ago.
It appears the shape of things to come, with another panel ruling related to wood exports from Ukraine done and another due on poultry exports to southern Africa.
The EU&#8217;s agreements with Britain on trade and China on investment, both struck at the end of December, are models of how to reach accords with partners one does not really trust, both filled with sections on how to resolve disputes.
The European Union wants to promote its values, insisting for example all free trade partners sign up to the Paris climate change accord.
Whether the enforcement has teeth remains to be seen. Critics say that, while market access disputes can lead to sanctions, enforcement of environmental or labour standards, such as in both the Korea and China deals, is in the form of a panel finding that is more of a shaming exercise.
The EU&#8217;s new arsenal may also never be used, particularly against potential new U.S. allies, and serve more to increase leverage in trade-related discussions.
&#8220;The EU has preferred the diplomatic route,&#8221; said Guillaume Van der Loo, research fellow at think tanks EPC and Egmont Institute. &#8220;Will it now use its bazookas? I think only as a last resort. It will pursue other avenues first.&#8221; (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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ANALYSIS-In a harsher trade world, EU arms itself for future conflicts

* Rouble gains limited by political concerns
* South African rand rises on J&amp;J vaccine plans
* Turkish lira retreats from six-month high
By Ambar Warrick
Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Most emerging market currencies strengthened on Tuesday and stocks neared record highs as investors weighed the effects of a prospective $1.9 trillion U.S. stimulus package on bond yields and the dollar.
South Africa&#8217;s rand and Russia&#8217;s rouble led gains across currencies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
But gains were limited, as the prospect of higher U.S. fiscal spending could push up treasury yields and drive money away from emerging market debt and currencies.
The dollar retreated as investors showed more doubts about the pace of an economic recovery in the United States.
&#8220;The globally low interest rate environment supports EM currencies. Rising inflation expectations in the U.S. and rising U.S. yields on the other hand are negative,&#8221; You-Na Park-Heger, foreign exchange and emerging market analyst at Commerzbank wrote.
&#8220;There is not just uncertainty as to whether the package entails risks of overheating but also as to how the Fed would react &#8230; whereas high inflation puts pressure on the dollar the Fed’s proactive measures would support the dollar.&#8221;
Emerging market stocks, which stand to benefit the most from increased global liquidity, rose 0.3% and were trading just below a record high. Most EMEA stocks also gained.
Stocks have by far gained the most from a risk-driven rally this year, even outperforming their developed world peers on expectations that steady vaccination campaigns and stimulus will enable a strong economic recovery this year.
The rouble was set to rise for a fifth consecutive day, hitting an more than two-week high on a spike in oil prices. Investors were also pricing in a possible interest rate hike by the central bank this Friday.
Reuters reported that Russian authorities were considering a new social spending package worth at least $6.7 billion to address discontent over falling living standards before an autumn election.
But concerns about political unrest in the country, caused by the jailing of a prominent Kremlin critic, kept gains in the rouble subdued. Russian stocks fell slightly.
Turkey&#8217;s lira dropped 0.8% from a six-month high as investors paused a recent buying streak.
The Turkish central bank has vowed to keep monetary policy tight until inflation is contained, but its measures to rebuild depleted foreign exchange reserves will be a point of focus.
Turkish stocks rose 0.8%.
South Africa&#8217;s rand rose 0.5%, as the country looked to start a vaccination campaign with Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine after data showed AstraZeneca&#8217;s shot offered minimal protection against mild-to-moderate illness from the dominant local virus variant.
Most central European currencies dropped against the euro, but rose slightly to the dollar.
For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

For TOP NEWS across emerging markets
For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see
For TURKISH market report, see
For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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EMERGING MARKETS-EMEA FX rises on stimulus hopes, stocks near record high

COVID &#8211; OXFORD&#8217;S POLLARD SAYS: SOUTH AFRICA HAVE PAUSED NOT HALTED ASTRA ROLLOUT
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COVID – OXFORD’S POLLARD SAYS:  SOUTH AFRICA HAVE PAUSED NOT HALTED ASTRA ROLLOUT

Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; Cricket South Africa have written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) seeking redress following Australia’s withdrawal from a three-test tour of the country next month that will have potentially dire financial consequences for the host nation.
Cricket Australia said the team would not travel on the advice of medical experts, despite South Africa’s government lifting a number COVID-19 restrictions and a sharp decrease in the number of cases in the country in recent weeks.
CSA said its disappointment arose from the fact that they had accepted every safety demand of the tourists, and that they were not consulted by the visitors before the uniliteral decision was made not to tour.
They also said CA&#8217;s decision devalues the ICC’s World Test Championship.
&#8220;There&#8217;s got to be some understanding of how we manage the impact to less-wealthy nations,&#8221; Stavros Nicolaou, the chairman of CSA&#8217;s interim board told ESPNcricinfo.
&#8220;Unilateral decisions of this nature are punitive to less-wealthy cricket-playing nations and there has to be some discussion around redress.&#8221;
Australia also pulled out of series against West Indies, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and New Zealand since the pandemic started, but did manage to play England (away) and India (home), their two most lucrative tours.
CA chief executive Nick Hickley last week defended the decision to postpone the South Africa trip, saying the &#8220;weight of medical advice and our duty of care to players and staff meant we were really left with no alternative&#8221;.
(Reporting by Nick Said Editing by Gareth Jones)
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Cricket-South Africa seeks redress from ICC after Australia no-show

Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd on Tuesday said it expected half-year headline earnings to increase more than fourfold, buoyed by higher metals prices and a weaker rand during the pandemic.
The platinum miner also said refined six-element (6E) platinum-group production for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2020, was expected to increase by 29% to 1.694 million ounces, helped by the inclusion of production from its Canadian unit.
Headline earnings per share is expected between 1,812 U.S. cents and 1,899 U.S. cents, compared with 436 U.S. cents per share reported a year earlier, the miner said.
(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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S. Africa’s Impala Platinum sees earnings soar over 300%

Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa coach Mark Boucher blamed mental fragility and an inability to drive home their advantage in key moments of the second test for the side&#8217;s series loss to Pakistan that centred around now all too familiar batting collapses.
South Africa were defeated by 95 runs in Rawalpindi on Monday to lose the two-match series 2-0.
Chasing a daunting 370 for victory, they were well-placed just after lunch on the fifth day on 241 for three with two set batsmen, but lost their last seven wickets for the addition of only 33 runs.
&#8220;The way we played in big moments really cost us,&#8221; Boucher told reporters. &#8220;Our match awareness of when to tighten the screws was lacking. That is the reason why we lost the game.
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t bat well, didn&#8217;t field well but our bowling stood out. We created opportunities (in the field), we just didn&#8217;t take them. That cost us, in this game alone, about 150 runs.&#8221;
Boucher feels there was a hangover from heavy series defeats in India and Sri Lanka in recent years that created anxiety within the team when cool heads were needed.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s more mental. There&#8217;s lots of scars from past tours to the sub-continent. Some guys who have had technical issues in the past, like Aiden Markram, spent time at the crease and was able to fight his way through it. It&#8217;s more mental than anything else.
&#8220;It&#8217;s stupid ways to get out in really important moments of the game.&#8221;
South Africa have no test series for the foreseeable future after Australia pulled out of a planned tour of the country in March-April citing fears over the COVID-19 pandemic, despite Cricket South Africa agreeing to all their safety demands.
&#8220;It will be good to get some four-day games in the domestic competition and get everyone playing,&#8221; Boucher said, looking for a silver lining.
&#8220;That&#8217;s where the guys get some good confidence and match awareness gets highlighted.&#8221;
(Reporting by Nick Said Editing by Robert Birsel)
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Cricket-Boucher bemoans mental frailties after Pakistan series loss

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
* GRAPHIC &#8211; Iron ore imports by Japan, South Korea and Western Europe: https://tmsnrt.rs/3pXu28p
By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; The iron ore market is focused mainly on developments in China, which isn&#8217;t surprising given the world&#8217;s biggest buyer of commodities takes about 70% of global seaborne cargoes.
But that other 30% does matter &#8211; and there are signs of a recovery in demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The total global volume of seaborne iron ore discharged at ports in January was 134 million tonnes, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.
This was up from 122.82 million tonnes in December and 125.18 million in November, and also some 6.5% higher than the volume for January 2020.
These figures do point to a recovery in the world seaborne market. And the breakdown does lend support to the view that the major buyers other than China &#8211; namely Japan, South Korea and Western Europe &#8211; are starting to pull their weight.
China&#8217;s seaborne imports of the steel-making ingredient in January were 98.79 million tonnes, meaning the rest of the world was at 35.21 million.
For the same month in 2020, imports by the world ex-China were 34.07 million tonnes, a rise of 3.3% year-on-year.
That may not seem like a massive increase, but in terms of the damage done to the global economy during the lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus during much of 2020, it&#8217;s actually a solid rebound.
Japan&#8217;s iron ore imports were 7.68 million tonnes in January, up marginally from 7.64 million in December and 7.42 million in November, but down a touch from the 7.78 million in January 2020.
South Korea imported 5.98 million tonnes in January, up a smidgeon from 5.97 million in December, but down from 6.94 million in November, and also below the 6.27 million from January 2020.
Imports by Western European countries stood at 7.29 million tonnes in January. That was up from 6.64 million in December and 6.94 million in November, and only slightly below the 7.78 million from January 2020.
It&#8217;s of note that Western Europe&#8217;s imports have rebounded 53.2% from the 2020 low of 4.76 million tonnes in June.
Similarly, Japan&#8217;s January imports were 51.2% above the lowest month last year, the 5.08 million tonnes from June, and South Korea&#8217;s were 19.6% stronger than the worst month in 2020, the 5 million tonnes from February.

PRICE SUPPORT?
Overall, what the data show is that while China is still the dominant importer of iron ore, and swings in Chinese demand have an outsized impact on volumes, the role of the smaller importers is likely being underestimated.
This is especially the case if the growth in Chinese demand, seen in the second half of 2020 as Beijing ramped up stimulus spending, starts to fade as the monetary taps are tightened somewhat in 2021.
A recovery in Japan, South Korea and other smaller Asian importers would work to offset any moderation in Chinese demand.
Western Europe is somewhat separate to Asia as an iron ore market. But one of its top suppliers is Brazil, and rising demand will have the effect of lowering the amount of iron ore the South American country can ship to China.
Also, if Western Europe&#8217;s demand was weak, it would have meant that some its suppliers, such as Canada, would have been encouraged to ship to Asia, thus boosting competition with the iron ore heavyweights &#8211; Australia, Brazil and South Africa, the world&#8217;s top three shippers.
Iron ore prices are still largely driven by China market dynamics, and the spot price for benchmark 62% ore &lt;MT-IO-QIN62=ARG&gt;, as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, has remained at historically high levels as China&#8217;s demand has been resilient.
The spot price ended at $159.60 a tonne on Monday, up from the low so far this year of $149.85 on Feb. 2, but down from the $175.40 on Dec. 21 &#8211; the highest price in nearly 10 years.
Iron ore prices have come under pressure in recent weeks on the back of signs that Beijing may taper its stimulus spending this year, and official comments that steel output should be lower to reduce pollution and energy consumption.
It may be the case that stronger demand in the rest of Asia is lending some support to prices. (Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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COLUMN-Iron ore imports outside China show signs of recovery: Russell

Feb 9 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s AngloGold Ashanti said on Tuesday it expected annual earnings to almost triple, boosted by a surge in gold prices during 2020 as investors rushed to buy the precious metal seen as a safe-haven asset in turbulent times.
The gold miner expects to report a headline earnings per share between 229 U.S. cents and 247 U.S. cents for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared with 91 U.S. cents reported a year earlier, it said. (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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