JOHANNESBURG, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa hopes to get some doses of Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine around the end of this week, a senior health official said on Monday, after halting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to disappointing trial data.
Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s (J&amp;J) vaccine was a good fit at this stage, health ministry Deputy Director-General Anban Pillay told state broadcaster SABC, but did not say how many doses the country would soon receive.
Previously, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country had secured 9 million J&amp;J doses that were due to start arriving in the second quarter.
The J&amp;J vaccine is not yet authorised for use in South Africa, although the U.S. company has initiated a &#8220;rolling submission&#8221; with local regulator SAHPRA.
Pillay said the J&amp;J vaccine had shown in trials to be highly effective in preventing hospitalisation and death, and said it was an advantage that it was a one-shot vaccine that could be stored at fridge temperatures.
&#8220;So we think it will be a good vaccine at this point in time for South Africa,&#8221; he said.
On Sunday, the government said it was temporarily halting a large-scale rollout of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine to healthcare workers after preliminary data from a clinical trial found it gave &#8220;minimal protection&#8221; against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the dominant 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant in South Africa.
The trial did not assess the vaccine&#8217;s efficacy against severe infection, and its findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.
AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine with Oxford University, says it believes its vaccine can protect against severe disease and has already started adapting it against the 501Y.V2 variant.
Asked whether the sample size of the AstraZeneca trial was large enough to draw conclusions from, Pillay said: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we can be confident to say the vaccine doesn&#8217;t work, but we also don&#8217;t have the data to say it certainly will work. What we have are potential indicators.&#8221;
He said the government needed a &#8220;broader discussion&#8221; with local and global scientists to interpret the trial data and say what the best way forward would be.
South Africa &#8211; which has reported the highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Africa and over 46,000 coronavirus-related deaths &#8211; hopes to vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of the population, to achieve some level of herd immunity. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Susan Fenton)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

South Africa hopes to get some J&J COVID-19 vaccines this week

* Angolan state oil company says stake transfer was corrupt
* Half-billion dollar investment linked to ex-first daughter
* Isabel dos Santos says graft saga is political persecution (Adds Esperaza comment)
By Noah Browning
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Angola has asked a Dutch court to hand over a half-billion-dollar stake in the Portuguese oil company Galp linked to ex-first daughter Isabel Dos Santos, its lawyers told Reuters.
Angola&#8217;s government says top officials under former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos took advantage of high oil prices in the last decade to spin a global web of business deals that led to their personal enrichment at the country&#8217;s expense.
Battered by COVID-19 economic fallout and mired in foreign debt, Angola is seeking to recover assets it says were siphoned off.
Its prime focus is Isabel dos Santos, the ex-president&#8217;s daughter, a business tycoon who became Africa&#8217;s richest woman.
The legal bid for the Galp stake has not previously been reported.
Dos Santos briefly ran state oil company Sonangol from 2016 until 2017, when her father&#8217;s four-decade rule ended.
Representatives for Isabel dos Santos, who lives outside Angola, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.
She has denied any connection to the holding company at the centre of the case &#8211; Exem &#8211; which she says was owned by her late husband, rejects charges of wrongdoing and says she faces a political witch hunt by Angola&#8217;s new leadership.
Representatives of Exem did not reply to a request for comment. Dutch law firm Van Doorne, which represents Exem in the lawsuit, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The legal claim by Sonangol is due to be heard in the last week of May in the Amsterdam court of appeal, the 100%-state owned company&#8217;s lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard of law firm Shearman &amp; Sterling said.
It will argue that Exem&#8217;s stake was acquired through embezzlement and money laundering.
&#8220;It&#8217;s all corruption &#8230; you (Exem) owe us the shares, the indirect participation in Galp, because it&#8217;s theft. It&#8217;s illegal, therefore you have to pay it back,&#8221; Gaillard said.

HOLDING COMPANIES
Sonangol&#8217;s lawyers say the sale by Sonangol of part of its stake in Esperaza to Exem made no business sense for Angola and was made to enrich the former first family.
Under President Dos Santos, Sonangol sold a 40% stake in an offshore holding company, Esperaza, to another holding company &#8211; Exem &#8211; owned by Isabel&#8217;s husband Sindika Dokolo, a Congolese businessman who died in a diving accident last year.
Esperaza, in which Sonangol retained a 60% stake, in turn partnered with the business empire of Portugal&#8217;s Amorim family to form yet another holding company, Amorim Energia, which is the largest shareholder in Portuguese oil company Galp Energia with a 33.3% stake.
The value of holding company Exem&#8217;s indirect stake in Galp fluctuates with oil prices and is currently worth about $500 million.
A source with knowledge of the Amorim family&#8217;s position, who declined to be named, said its main interlocutor in the joint stake was not Exem but Sonangol, calling their partnership with the state firm &#8220;good and close&#8221;.
&#8220;(The case) does not affect these relations, it does not change anything,&#8221; the source added.
Galp has said it has no dealings with Dos Santos. It declined further comment for this story.
The dispute, which is being heard in Amsterdam after both sides agreed on arbitration, already resulted in a ruling last September that removed Exem&#8217;s representative from Esperaza’s board and put its stake under the control of a court-appointed trustee.
Camilo Schutte, the Amsterdam lawyer selected by the court to represent Esperaza, said he was not currently party to the litigation and referred questions to representatives of Sonangol and Exem.
(Additional reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Jan Harvey)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="803" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-1110x803.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-393037" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-1110x803.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-300x217.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-820x593.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-768x556.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-1536x1111.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-104899247-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. AFP PHOTO / Kimihiro Hoshino (Photo credit should read KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



SEOUL/GENEVA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was poised to become the first African and first woman to lead the embattled World Trade Organization, after a South Korean rival withdrew on Friday and the United States reversed its previous opposition.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala poses outside a Nigerian diplomatic residence in Chambesy, near Geneva, Switzerland, September 29, 2020. 



The government of President Joe Biden expressed its strong support for Okonjo-Iweala in a statement late Friday, lauding her experience at the World Bank and leading Nigeria’s finance ministry, and pledging to work with her on needed reforms.



The twin developments ended months of uncertainty over the leadership of the global trade body, and cleared the way for WTO members to conclude a consensus-based process and confirm Okonjo-Iweala as the next WTO director-general.



The U.S. administration of former President Donald Trump had blocked Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy after a WTO selection panel recommended her as chief in October. The decision required consensus.



Okonjo-Iweala said she was looking forward to the conclusion of the race and moving forward with needed reforms.



“There is vital work ahead to do together,” the former World Bank executive said in a statement.



The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it was ready to get work with Okonjo-Iweala, noting she was “widely respected for her effective leadership and &#8230; proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.”



“The Biden Administration looks forward to working with a new WTO Director General to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO,” it said. Last week it also pledged a commitment to “positive, constructive and active engagement” on reforms.



The Geneva-based watchdog has gone without a director-general since Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo quit a year early in August and his replacement must contend with a COVID-induced recession, U.S.-China tensions and rising protectionism.



South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, a finalist selected from among eight candidates, on Friday withdrew her name after months of diplomatic pressure to bow out.



“In order to promote the functions of WTO and in consideration of various factors, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy,” Yoo said in a statement. She said her decision was made after consulting with allies including the United States.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WAITING FOR WASHINGTON</h2>



Observers say the leaderless WTO is facing the deepest crisis in its 25-year history. It has not clinched a major multilateral trade deal in years and failed to hit a 2020 deadline on ending subsidies for overfishing.



Many hope the change in U.S. administration will lead to meaningful reforms of the WTO. Some of its functions are paralyzed after the Trump administration blocked judge appointments to its top appeals body.



Okonjo-Iweala has previously stressed the need for the WTO to play a role in helping poorer countries with COVID-19 drugs and vaccines &#8212; an issue on which members have failed to agree in ongoing negotiations.



The WTO could in theory call a meeting of its 164 members to confirm the next chief at short notice.



However, some delegates saw that as unlikely given that Biden’s choice of trade representative, Katherine Tai, has not yet been sworn in. Nor has a Geneva-based deputy been selected.



The International Chamber of Commerce’s John Denton urged WTO members to act quickly.



“With geopolitical tensions high, the global economy in recession and ‘vaccine nationalism’ threatening an equitable recovery, there is now no reason for further delay in filling this critical role with the well-qualified candidate at the ready,” he said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director f

Nigerian woman poised to lead WTO after rival withdraws, Washington offers support

* MSCI all-country world share index at record high
* European indexes climb early on, U.S. futures gain
* Oil crosses $60 a barrel
* Hopes of $1.9 trln U.S. stimulus, vaccines boosting sentiment
* U.S. dollar retreats from recent highs
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2021 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
*
By Marc Jones
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; World shares hit a record high on Monday and oil surpassed $60 a barrel for the first time in a year, on hopes that a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package will be passed by U.S. lawmakers as soon as this month.
Even news that South Africa had halted the rollout of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine after a study showed it gave only limited protection against the country&#8217;s more contagious variant of the virus wasn&#8217;t going to put equity markets off.
MSCI&#8217;s 50-country index of world stocks hit its ninth record high of 2021 overnight as Tokyo&#8217;s Nikkei jumped on talk of Japan relaxing emergency restrictions and as China&#8217;s markets got busy before the start of the lunar new year.
Europe then made a strong start as higher oil prices and inflation expectations lifted basic resource and banking shares, and France&#8217;s Veolia launched a hostile 11.3 billion-euro takeover bid for waste and water rival Suez.
&#8220;A generalised risk-on tone is pushing stocks higher,&#8221; UniCredit&#8217;s analysts said in a note.
Bond markets were focused on how far inflation might rise if the current mix of stimulus, rising oil and food prices and expectations for a reopening economies continue to hold.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields, which are one of the main drivers of global borrowing costs, climbed to 1.2%, their highest since the peak of coronavirus uncertainty last March. Break-even rates, which are designed to account for inflation, traded as high as 2.21%, their highest since 2014.
In Europe, Germany&#8217;s 10-year yields were up 3 basis points at -0.415%, near five-month highs.
&#8220;It will be hard not to see inflation in something when we get what is likely to be a short-term stimulus boost,&#8221; Deutsche Bank&#8217;s Jim Reid said, referring to planned U.S. stimulus.
&#8220;Whether that will be in goods, wages or asset prices or all three remains to be seen, but it seems inevitable there will be an impact.&#8221;
Brent crude touched an intraday high of $60.06 a barrel, the highest since January last year.
Saudi Arabia&#8217;s pledge of extra supply cuts in February and March on the back of reductions by other OPEC members its allies, including Russia, is helping to balance global markets and support prices.
In a sign that supplies are tightening, the six-month Brent spread &lt;LCOc1-LCOc7&gt; hit its highest in more than year, $2.45. OCBC&#8217;s economist Howie Lee said the Saudis had sent another &#8220;very bullish signal&#8221; last week by keeping its Asian prices unchanged.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think anybody dares to short the market when Saudi is like this,&#8221; he said.

STIMULUS
Asia&#8217;s overnight rally had seen Japan&#8217;s Nikkei close up 2%, Chinese blue-chip shares advance 1.3% and Australian shares finish 0.6% higher.
Wall Street futures were also pointing higher after the Nasdaq and S&amp;P 500 both climbed to record highs on Friday as weak monthly U.S. jobs data supported expectations of stimulus and after some strong corporate earning.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress forged ahead with their stimulus plan on Friday as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle through in the coming weeks without Republican support.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yallen predicted the United States would reach full employment next year if Congress can pass its support package.
&#8220;That&#8217;s a big call, given full employment is 4.1%, but one that will sit well with the market at a time when the vaccination program is being rolled out efficiently in a number of countries,&#8221; said Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief strategist at Pepperstone.
Expectations of a U.S. economic recovery have not boosted the dollar, though, &#8220;because this shift in prospects is seen by the market as part of a global recovery,&#8221; Westpac economists wrote in a note.
&#8220;Investors therefore favour risk taking, and so value the safety of the U.S. dollar less.&#8221;
Indeed, the dollar came off a four-month high against the Japanese yen to be last at 105.50.
The euro was weaker at $1.2027 after rising 0.7% on Friday to a one-week high.
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar eased from a one-week high to $0.7675 while South Africa&#8217;s rand fell nearly 0.5% after its vaccine troubles.
(Additional reporting by Swati Pandey in Sydney, editing by Larry King)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares reach record high, oil tops $60 a barrel

* Rouble hits two-week high to dollar
* MSCI EM stocks index near record high
* Hungarian forint dips on weak trade data
By Ambar Warrick
Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Russia&#8217;s rouble was propped up by strong oil prices on Monday, while emerging market stocks traded close to record highs on optimism over a global economic recovery, enabled by steady vaccine rollouts.
But South Africa&#8217;s rand fell 0.5%, as its vaccination programme hit a snag after the government put on hold the use of AstraZeneca&#8217;s vaccine.
A trial showed the vaccine gave only minimal protection from mild-to-moderate infection caused by the coronavirus variant that is dominant in South Africa, although it was effective in preventing severe infection.
The rouble rose 0.4% to an over-two-week high against the dollar, as oil prices hit a their highest in over a year on supply cuts and hopes of recovering demand.
Russian stocks were supported by the heavyweight energy sector, adding 1.3%.
Broader emerging market stocks also rose as investors bet on global vaccine rollouts resulting in a quick economic recovery, with the MSCI&#8217;s index of EM stocks trading about 11 points below a record high.
Turkey, South Africa and most Asian countries have begun vaccination drives since last month, which are expected to spur an eventual return to normalcy.
U.S. stocks had ended Friday at record highs, while bourses across Asia also gained in anticipation of new U.S. stimulus, as well as expectations of easy monetary policy.
&#8220;Slowing coronavirus infections, continued rollout of vaccines, and anticipation of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue package is keeping the bull market well and truly alive,&#8221; Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, wrote in a note.
&#8220;Investors will need to closely monitor when monetary policymakers in the U.S. and the rest of the world signal that they are turning the music down. That would be the time for exit. Until then, bulls are likely to continue enjoying the ride.&#8221;
While EM stocks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose, most currencies retreated slightly from strong gains made last week.
Most central European stocks rose, while currencies in the region fell slightly against the euro.
The Hungarian forint lagged its peers after the country&#8217;s trade surplus came slightly below expectations in December.
The Polish zloty was muted to the euro, while stocks rose 0.4% after the central bank said interest rates in the country would likely remain stable in coming months. 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 Ed Osmond)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

EMERGING MARKETS-Russian rouble gains on oil strength, rand hit by vaccine snag

Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Seamer Hasan Ali took a career-best 10 wickets in the match as Pakistan blitzed South Africa with the new ball on Monday to complete a 95-run victory in the second and final test in Rawalpindi and claim the series 2-0.
Chasing a target of 370 for victory, which would have been a test record in Pakistan, South Africa were well placed at 241 for three just after lunch on the fifth day following a century from Aiden Markram (108).
But when the home side took the new ball, Hasan (5-60) and Shaheen Afridi (4-51) decimated the South African middle order with expert swing bowling to dismiss the visitors for 274.
Hasan took career-best figures of 10-114 in the match as South Africa lost their last seven wickets for the addition of only 33 runs on their return to Pakistan for the first time since 2007.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Nick Macfie)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Cricket-Hasan Ali takes 10 wickets as Pakistan sweep test series v S Africa

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Trade-weighted sterling since Brexit vote http://tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; The pound was little changed on Monday, slightly down against a stronger dollar, while analysts were bullish on its outlook and latest positioning data showed the overall speculative long position on the British currency had increased.
The pound has strengthened against both dollar and euro in February, boosted by heightened risk appetite in global markets, optimism surrounding the UK&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and a lessening of negative rates expectations.
The Bank of England (BoE) reported the findings of its consultation with banks about the feasibility of implementing negative rates last week.
Banks told the BoE that they would need at least six months to work out how to respond to negative rates &#8211; prompting the pound to rise as investors scaled back any expectations of the policy being introduced.
Negative rates are &#8220;unlikely to happen over the next 6 months due to operational risks, while the need to go negative after the 6-month period will be rather low as we expect a strong 2Q economic recovery&#8221;, wrote ING FX strategists Francesco Pesole and Petr Krpata in a note to clients.
&#8220;Coupled with the fast vaccination, GBP is set to benefit and GBP/USD to grind slowly higher next week,&#8221; they said, adding that they expect cable to move towards $1.50 by the end of the year.
At 0845 GMT, the pound was down around 0.2% against a stronger dollar at $1.3716.
Versus the euro, it was little changed at 87.72 pence per euro.
Speculators&#8217; net long position on the pound got bigger in the week to Feb. 2, according to weekly CFTC futures data. The market has been net bullish on the pound since early December 2020, with the UK&#8217;s relative success in vaccine rollouts helping to lift sentiment.
Britain has injected over 12 million first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and is on track to meet a target to vaccinate everyone in the most vulnerable groups by mid-February.
South Africa halted the rollout of AstraZeneca&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccinations after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild infection from one variant, but Britain said the shot still stopped death and serious illness.
U.S. employment growth rebounded less than expected in January and job losses in December were worse than initially thought, prompting the dollar to dip but strengthening the argument for additional government funding to aid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, editing by Ed Osmond)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Sterling slips slightly versus dollar; speculators’ net long position increases

(repeats for additional subscribers, no change to text)
* Angolan state oil company says stake transfer was corrupt
* Half-billion dollar investment linked to ex-first daughter
* Isabel dos Santos says graft saga is political persecution
By Noah Browning
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Angola has asked a Dutch court to hand over a half-billion-dollar stake in the Portuguese oil company Galp linked to ex-first daughter Isabel Dos Santos, its lawyers told Reuters.
Angola&#8217;s government says top officials under former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos took advantage of high oil prices in the last decade to spin a global web of business deals that led to their personal enrichment at the country&#8217;s expense.
Battered by COVID-19 economic fallout and mired in foreign debt, Angola is seeking to recover assets it says were siphoned off.
Its prime focus is Isabel dos Santos, the ex-president&#8217;s daughter, a business tycoon who became Africa&#8217;s richest woman.
The legal bid for the Galp stake has not previously been reported.
Dos Santos briefly ran state oil company Sonangol from 2016 until 2017, when her father&#8217;s four-decade rule ended.
Representatives for Isabel dos Santos, who lives outside Angola, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.
She has denied any connection to the holding company at the centre of the case &#8211; Exem &#8211; which she says was owned by her late husband, rejects charges of wrongdoing and says she faces a political witch hunt by Angola&#8217;s new leadership.
Representatives of Exem did not reply to a request for comment. Dutch law firm Van Doorne, which represents Exem in the lawsuit, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The legal claim by Sonangol is due to be heard in the last week of May in the Amsterdam court of appeal, the 100%-state owned company&#8217;s lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard of law firm Shearman &amp; Sterling said.
It will argue that Exem&#8217;s stake was acquired through embezzlement and money laundering.
&#8220;It&#8217;s all corruption &#8230; you (Exem) owe us the shares, the indirect participation in Galp, because it&#8217;s theft. It&#8217;s illegal, therefore you have to pay it back,&#8221; Gaillard said.

HOLDING COMPANIES
Sonangol&#8217;s lawyers say the sale by Sonangol of part of its stake in Esperaza to Exem made no business sense for Angola and was made to enrich the former first family.
Under President Dos Santos, Sonangol sold a 40% stake in an offshore holding company, Esperaza, to another holding company &#8211; Exem &#8211; owned by Isabel&#8217;s husband Sindika Dokolo, a Congolese businessman who died in a diving accident last year.
Esperaza, in which Sonangol retained a 60% stake, in turn partnered with the business empire of Portugal&#8217;s Amorim family to form yet another holding company, Amorim Energia, which is the largest shareholder in Portuguese oil company Galp Energia with a 33.3% stake.
The value of holding company Exem&#8217;s indirect stake in Galp fluctuates with oil prices and is currently worth about $500 million.
A source with knowledge of the Amorim family&#8217;s position, who declined to be named, said its main interlocutor in the joint stake was not Exem but Sonangol, calling their partnership with the state firm &#8220;good and close&#8221;.
&#8220;(The case) does not affect these relations, it does not change anything&#8221;, the source added.
A representative of Esperaza did not respond to a request for comment.
Galp has said it has no dealings with Dos Santos. It declined further comment for this story.
The dispute, which is being heard in Amsterdam after both sides agreed on arbitration, already resulted in a ruling last September that removed Exem&#8217;s representative from Esperaza’s board and put its stake under the control of a court-appointed trustee.
(Additional reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

COVID: SHABIR MADHI, PROFESSOR WHO LED STUDY IN SOUTH AFRICA ON OXFORD VACCINE, SAYS WE THINK THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE THAT IT WILL WORK AS WELL AS JOHNSON &amp; JOHNSON ON SEVERE DISEASE
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

COVID: SHABIR MADHI, PROFESSOR WHO LED STUDY IN SOUTH AFRICA ON OXFORD VACCINE, SAYS WE THINK THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE THAT IT WILL WORK AS WELL AS JOHNSON & JOHNSON ON SEVERE DISEASE

(Fixes typo in slug)
By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; An alliance of Somali opposition parties proposed the creation of a national council of lawmakers, opposition leaders and civil society to govern the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation after the president&#8217;s term expired on Monday with no clear plan for succession.
The power vacuum and divisions between political leaders was a boost to the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency, a Somali security analyst warned, citing a spate of recent attacks in a relatively peaceful part of the country.
The opposition alliance said they would reject any attempt to extend the term of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and suggested the council could elect a transitional leader to govern until a new president can be chosen by lawmakers.
&#8220;We are against time extension, suppression, violence and further delay to the election,&#8221; the alliance said in a statement. &#8220;An election schedule should immediately without delay be displayed with agreed upon specified time.&#8221;
There was no immediate comment from the presidency. Aides had previously privately floated the idea of extending his term.
Somalia was initially planning to hold its first direct election since civil war erupted in 1991, but delays in preparations and continuous attacks by al Shabaab forced Somalia to plan another indirect vote.
Clan elders should have chosen lawmakers in December and the lawmakers were due to choose a president on Monday.
But selection of lawmakers was delayed after the opposition accused President Mohamed &#8211; who was seeking a second term &#8211; of packing regional and national electoral boards with his allies.
Leaders in two of Somalia&#8217;s five federal states, Puntland and Jubbaland, have said they will no longer recognise President Mohamed.
On Sunday night at midnight, the capital Mogadishu lit up with gunfire and drums as residents said they were celebrating the end of the president&#8217;s term.
&#8220;We are firing into the sky to say goodbye to the dictator Farmajo, he has burnt Somalia these four years,&#8221; said a soldier Aden Ali, using President Mohamed&#8217;s common nickname.
Hussein Sheikh Ali, Somalia&#8217;s former national security advisor and founder of the Mogadishu-based Hiraal think-tank, said al Shabaab had already taken advantage of the security vacuum to launch attacks in portions of central Somalia that had been relatively peaceful for around a decade.
&#8220;They (al Shabaab) are laughing out loud,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is a failure by the president, Somalia&#8217;s political elite and the international community. They didn&#8217;t have a plan B to move forward.&#8221;
On Sunday, 12 security agents were killed by a roadside bomb outside the town of Dhusamareb in central Somalia where political leaders were meeting to try to resolve disagreements over the presidential selection process. Al Shabaab also launched repeated mortar attacks on the town.
The attack came a week after four al Shabaab suicide attackers killed five people at a hotel in Mogadishu. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; writing by Omar Mohammed; editing by Katharine Houreld and Michael Perry)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

REFILE-Somalia’s opposition cease recognising president as election row escalates

MELBOURNE, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Order of play on the main showcourts on the second day of the Australian Open on Tuesday (play begins at 0000 GMT, prefix number denotes seeding):

ROD LAVER ARENA
4-Sofia Kenin (U.S.) v Maddison Inglis (Australia)
Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic) v 5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
Laslo Djere (Serbia) v 2-Rafa Nadal (Spain)
Not before 0800 GMT
1-Ash Barty (Australia) v Danka Kovinic (Montenegro)
5-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) v Giles Simon (France)

MARGARET COURT ARENA
14-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) v Margarita Gasparyan (Russia)
12-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Jessica Pegula (U.S.)
Vasek Pospisil (Canada) v 4-Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
Not before 0800 GMT
Kevin Anderson (South Africa) v 9-Matteo Berrettini (Italy)
Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain) v Daria Gavrilova (Australia)

JOHN CAIN ARENA
7-Andrey Rublev (Russia) v Yannick Hanfmann (Germany)
Coco Gauff (U.S.) v Jil Teichmann (Switzerland)
Not before 0500 GMT
Tennys Sandgren (U.S.) v 21-Alex de Minaur (Australia)
Destanee Aiava (Australia) v Samantha Stosur (Australia)
(Compiled by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Tennis-Australian Open order of play on Tuesday

COVID &#8211; UK JUNIOR HEALTH MINISTER ARGAR SAYS ON ASTRAZENECA VACCINE: SOUTH AFRICA HAVE IMPOSED A TEMPORARY MEASURE
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

COVID – UK JUNIOR HEALTH MINISTER ARGAR SAYS ON ASTRAZENECA VACCINE:  SOUTH AFRICA HAVE IMPOSED A TEMPORARY MEASURE

* Angolan state oil company says stake transfer was corrupt
* Half-billion dollar investment linked to ex-first daughter
* Isabel dos Santos says graft saga is political persecution
By Noah Browning
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Angola has asked a Dutch court to hand over a half-billion-dollar stake in the Portuguese oil company Galp linked to ex-first daughter Isabel Dos Santos, its lawyers told Reuters.
Angola&#8217;s government says top officials under former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos took advantage of high oil prices in the last decade to spin a global web of business deals that led to their personal enrichment at the country&#8217;s expense.
Battered by COVID-19 economic fallout and mired in foreign debt, Angola is seeking to recover assets it says were siphoned off.
Its prime focus is Isabel dos Santos, the ex-president&#8217;s daughter, a business tycoon who became Africa&#8217;s richest woman.
The legal bid for the Galp stake has not previously been reported.
Dos Santos briefly ran state oil company Sonangol from 2016 until 2017, when her father&#8217;s four-decade rule ended.
Representatives for Isabel dos Santos, who lives outside Angola, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.
She has denied any connection to the holding company at the centre of the case &#8211; Exem &#8211; which she says was owned by her late husband, rejects charges of wrongdoing and says she faces a political witch hunt by Angola&#8217;s new leadership.
Representatives of Exem did not reply to a request for comment. Dutch law firm Van Doorne, which represents Exem in the lawsuit, also did not respond to a request for comment.
The legal claim by Sonangol is due to be heard in the last week of May in the Amsterdam court of appeal, the 100%-state owned company&#8217;s lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard of law firm Shearman &amp; Sterling said.
It will argue that Exem&#8217;s stake was acquired through embezzlement and money laundering.
&#8220;It&#8217;s all corruption &#8230; you (Exem) owe us the shares, the indirect participation in Galp, because it&#8217;s theft. It&#8217;s illegal, therefore you have to pay it back,&#8221; Gaillard said.

HOLDING COMPANIES
Sonangol&#8217;s lawyers say the sale by Sonangol of part of its stake in Esperaza to Exem made no business sense for Angola and was made to enrich the former first family.
Under President Dos Santos, Sonangol sold a 40% stake in an offshore holding company, Esperaza, to another holding company &#8211; Exem &#8211; owned by Isabel&#8217;s husband Sindika Dokolo, a Congolese businessman who died in a diving accident last year.
Esperaza, in which Sonangol retained a 60% stake, in turn partnered with the business empire of Portugal&#8217;s Amorim family to form yet another holding company, Amorim Energia, which is the largest shareholder in Portuguese oil company Galp Energia with a 33.3% stake.
The value of holding company Exem&#8217;s indirect stake in Galp fluctuates with oil prices and is currently worth about $500 million.
A source with knowledge of the Amorim family&#8217;s position, who declined to be named, said its main interlocutor in the joint stake was not Exem but Sonangol, calling their partnership with the state firm &#8220;good and close&#8221;.
&#8220;(The case) does not affect these relations, it does not change anything&#8221;, the source added.
A representative of Esperaza did not respond to a request for comment.
Galp has said it has no dealings with Dos Santos. It declined further comment for this story.
The dispute, which is being heard in Amsterdam after both sides agreed on arbitration, already resulted in a ruling last September that removed Exem&#8217;s representative from Esperaza’s board and put its stake under the control of a court-appointed trustee.
(Additional reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

By Colin Packham
CANBERRA, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Australia on Monday moved to reassure its citizens over the efficacy of AstraZeneca&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine after South Africa suspended use of the shot because data showed it offered limited protection against a new strain of the virus.
Citing data that showed the AstraZeneca vaccine reduced mild-to-moderate COVID-19 by 22%, South Africa said on Sunday it would put on hold the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
But Australia&#8217;s Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, said the vaccine is effective in its primary objective.
&#8220;There is currently no evidence to indicate a reduction in the effectiveness of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines in preventing severe disease and death. That is the fundamental task, to protect the health,&#8221; Hunt told reporters in Canberra.
Australia is expected approve the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine within days. Last month, it approved the use of the Pfizer -BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, although it has secured enough doses for less than half of its population and orders remain delayed.
Australia is expected to begin using the Pfizer vaccine later this month though Canberra&#8217;s hopes for a complete inoculation programme rests with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The country has ordered 53 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the vast majority of which will be manufactured locally by CSL Ltd.
Australia, however, is under less pressure to begin COVID-19 inoculations after successfully suppressing the spread of virus.
On Monday, just one new local case of COVID-19 was reported.
Australia has had just over 28,800 cases in the past year and 909 deaths. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Australia urges calm over AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after S.Africa suspends use

Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

South Africa halts rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine
https://on.ft.com/2LuCBIX

Yellen predicts full U.S. employment next year if stimulus is passed
https://on.ft.com/3p6Wjbz

Biden warns China will face &#8216;extreme competition&#8217; from U.S.
https://on.ft.com/2N2ANaz

TikTok takes on Facebook with U.S. ecommerce push
https://on.ft.com/3ty2jNM


Overview

South Africa has put a halt to its rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Plc vaccine after preliminary and limited evidence showed it failed to protect against mild and moderate forms of disease caused by a coronavirus variant first detected in the country.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States could reach full employment next year if Congress passes Preisdent Joe Biden&#8217;s $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

President Joe Biden said China would face &#8220;extreme competition&#8221; from the United States, in the latest sign of U.S.- China tensions after his administration said it would hold Beijing accountable for its &#8220;abuses&#8221; and rights record. Biden told CBS News he had not yet spoken to China&#8217;s President Xi Jinping since his inauguration.

TikTok is planning an expansion into ecommerce in the United States, where it will compete with Facebook Inc. The Chinese-owned video app has briefed advertisers on a number of new features for 2021, the FT reported, citing several people who have seen its plans. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times – Feb. 8

Feb 7 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday -19 Brooks Koepka (USA) 68 66 66 65 -18 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea Republic) 66 66 66 68 Xander Schauffele (USA) 66 64 65 71 -17 Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) 67 67 69 64 Jordan Spieth (USA) 67 67 61 72 Steve Stricker (USA) 65 66 69 67 -16 Matthew NeSmith (USA) 63 71 68 66 Andrew Putnam (USA) 67 69 67 65 Scottie Scheffler (USA) 67 65 66 70 -15 James Hahn (USA) 67 67 66 69 -14 Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 69 67 63 71 J.T. Poston (USA) 68 66 67 69 -13 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 70 67 70 64 Jon Rahm (Spain) 68 69 66 68 Justin Thomas (USA) 70 65 64 72 Harold Varner III (USA) 68 68 67 68 -12 Corey Conners (Canada) 69 68 68 67 Sungjae Im (Korea Republic) 72 67 68 65 Nate Lashley (USA) 64 69 69 70 Cameron Tringale (USA) 71 64 69 68 Will Zalatoris (USA) 71 66 64 71 -11 Keegan Bradley (USA) 66 65 70 72 Sam Burns (USA) 64 68 73 68 Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) 69 70 67 67 Henrik Norlander (Sweden) 68 71 67 67 Kevin Streelman (USA) 68 67 69 69 Brendon Todd (USA) 68 69 65 71 Bubba Watson (USA) 71 68 69 65 Richy Werenski (USA) 69 69 71 64 -10 Russell Henley (USA) 71 67 65 71 Mark Hubbard (USA) 63 73 71 67 Matt Jones (Australia) 68 69 69 68 Luke List (USA) 72 67 68 67 Brendan Steele (USA) 70 67 70 67 Bo Van Pelt (USA) 69 67 71 67 -9 Wyndham Clark (USA) 72 67 67 69 Brian Harman (USA) 71 68 69 67 Bo Hoag (USA) 67 71 71 66 Scott Stallings (USA) 67 70 66 72 Kyle Stanley (USA) 71 67 70 67 Matthew Wolff (USA) 68 71 69 67 -8 Nick Hardy (USA) 68 67 71 70 Max Homa (USA) 69 69 68 70 Zach Johnson (USA) 68 70 69 69 Matt Kuchar (USA) 69 67 73 67 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 71 67 69 69 Grayson Murray (USA) 70 68 68 70 Ryan Palmer (USA) 70 68 71 67 Webb Simpson (USA) 73 65 69 69 -7 Adam Hadwin (Canada) 67 70 73 67 Si Woo Kim (Korea Republic) 71 66 70 70 Patton Kizzire (USA) 69 65 69 74 -6 Byeong Hun An (Korea Republic) 69 69 70 70 Billy Horschel (USA) 66 68 71 73 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 69 69 72 Robby Shelton (USA) 72 66 70 70 -5 Sam Ryder (USA) 70 67 72 70 -4 Stewart Cink (USA) 69 70 71 70 Lucas Glover (USA) 72 63 74 71 Michael Kim (USA) 67 71 74 68 Davis Riley (USA) 72 66 71 71 Brian Stuard (USA) 70 68 72 70 -3 Satoshi Kodaira (Japan) 68 71 68 74 -2 Ted Potter Jr (USA) 66 71 71 74 -1 Xinjun Zhang (China PR) 70 69 73 71 0 Aaron Wise (USA) 74 65 73 72 
(c) Copyright Opta Sports Data 2021. All Rights Reserved
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open Scores

YAOUNDE, Feb 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Soufiane Bouftini and Ayoub El Kaabi both scored in the space of 11 second-half minutes to help Morocco secure a 2-0 victory over Mali in Sunday’s African Nations Championship final in Yaounde.
Morocco retained the trophy at the end of the 16-team tournament for national teams made up only of locally based players, in a dominant performance that emphasised their superiority over the last three weeks.
Bouftini opened the scoring after 68 minutes and El Kaabi added the second in the 79th.
The tournament also served as a test event for Cameroon, who next January host the 24-team Africa Cup of Nations finals. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Johannesburg; Editing by Toby Davis)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

News

South Africa hopes to get some J&J COVID-19 vaccines this week

EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

Nigerian woman poised to lead WTO after rival withdraws, Washington offers support

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares reach record high, oil tops $60 a barrel

EMERGING MARKETS-Russian rouble gains on oil strength, rand hit by vaccine snag

Cricket-Hasan Ali takes 10 wickets as Pakistan sweep test series v S Africa

Sterling slips slightly versus dollar; speculators’ net long position increases

RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

COVID: SHABIR MADHI, PROFESSOR WHO LED STUDY IN SOUTH AFRICA ON OXFORD VACCINE, SAYS WE THINK THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE THAT IT WILL WORK AS WELL AS JOHNSON & JOHNSON ON SEVERE DISEASE

REFILE-Somalia’s opposition cease recognising president as election row escalates

Tennis-Australian Open order of play on Tuesday

COVID – UK JUNIOR HEALTH MINISTER ARGAR SAYS ON ASTRAZENECA VACCINE: SOUTH AFRICA HAVE IMPOSED A TEMPORARY MEASURE

EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

Australia urges calm over AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after S.Africa suspends use

PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times – Feb. 8

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open Scores

Soccer-Morocco retain African Nations Championship

News Tips

Advertise With Us

News

South Africa hopes to get some J&J COVID-19 vaccines this week

EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

Nigerian woman poised to lead WTO after rival withdraws, Washington offers support

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares reach record high, oil tops $60 a barrel

EMERGING MARKETS-Russian rouble gains on oil strength, rand hit by vaccine snag

Cricket-Hasan Ali takes 10 wickets as Pakistan sweep test series v S Africa

Sterling slips slightly versus dollar; speculators’ net long position increases

RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

COVID: SHABIR MADHI, PROFESSOR WHO LED STUDY IN SOUTH AFRICA ON OXFORD VACCINE, SAYS WE THINK THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE THAT IT WILL WORK AS WELL AS JOHNSON & JOHNSON ON SEVERE DISEASE

REFILE-Somalia’s opposition cease recognising president as election row escalates

Tennis-Australian Open order of play on Tuesday

COVID – UK JUNIOR HEALTH MINISTER ARGAR SAYS ON ASTRAZENECA VACCINE: SOUTH AFRICA HAVE IMPOSED A TEMPORARY MEASURE

EXCLUSIVE-Angola moves to seize Dos Santos-linked asset in Dutch court

Australia urges calm over AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after S.Africa suspends use

PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times – Feb. 8

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open Scores

Soccer-Morocco retain African Nations Championship

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters