* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/fx-polls?RIC=ZAR= rand poll data
* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/fx-polls?RIC=CNY= yuan poll data
* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/fx-polls?RIC=RUB= rouble poll data
* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/fx-polls?RIC=TRY= lira poll data
By Vuyani Ndaba and Vivek Mishra
JOHANNESBURG/BENGALURU, Feb 5 (Reuters) &#8211; Most emerging-market currencies, which recently had a rough ride because of the dollar&#8217;s strength, will heal from those losses this year as global demand for risk and high yields grows amid optimism around vaccine rollouts, a Reuters poll predicted.
A steep selloff in the dollar, which posted its largest annual loss since 2017 last year, helped an index of emerging-market currencies, heavily weighted toward China given the size of its economy, gain over 11% since March&#8217;s three-year low.
That trend is set to continue over the coming year despite recent hiccups.
A majority of FX strategists in the Feb. 1-4 Reuters poll said the dollar&#8217;s strength would be short-lived and stuck to their previous view that the greenback would weaken against emerging-market currencies.
&#8220;EMFX weakened by 1% over the past month, as money managers reduced risk across EM. In the medium term, we think the USD weakness story remains, although the interim may be choppy,&#8221; said Dirk Willer, head of emerging-market strategy at Citi.
&#8220;Looking forward, our bottoms-up forecasts point to stronger EMFX over the next three months, and continued strengthening in 12 months&#8217; time.&#8221;
The high-yielding South African rand, which has recovered close to pre-COVID-19 levels, was expected to trade around the current rate in coming months.
Barclays said the new Johnson and Johnson vaccine, if approved for usage, should support EMEA economies like South Africa even though the new virus mutation tempers efficacy.
The Russian rouble was expected to gain about 6.0% to 71.0 per dollar by this time next year despite concern over possible western sanctions.
In 12 months, the Brazilian real was forecast at 4.98 per U.S. dollar, 8% stronger than its value on Thursday but 2.6% weaker than the one-year forecast in January, reflecting persistent uncertainty about the longer term.
The Turkish lira has surged more than 4% and outperformed most of its EM peers this year after the central bank on Jan. 21 vowed to maintain tight monetary conditions until inflation is brought in line, despite President Tayyip Erdogan&#8217;s dovish stance.
The lira is set to fall over 10% to 7.89 to the dollar in the next 12 months.
&#8220;Real rates are supporting the lira, but this is likely to fade by 2Q21. We expect real rates to fall sharply in 2Q21 and reach zero by 3Q21, reducing currency support outright and relative to high-yielding peers with higher real rates,&#8221; said Saad Siddiqui, a strategist at JPMorgan.
Asia, where the economic recovery has been strong, has caught an added boost from China&#8217;s yuan, which has gained 10% on the dollar since May.
The partly managed but most actively traded emerging-market currency was predicted to edge up 1.3% to 6.38 per dollar in the next 12 months.
&#8220;We see positive drivers on all fronts for the yuan in 2021. We expect the country&#8217;s positive growth outlook and attractive yields to continue to appeal to foreign investors,&#8221; said Irene Cheung, senior FX strategist at ANZ.
&#8220;(But) the pace of yuan appreciation will hinge on the economic, inflationary and yield curve developments in the U.S. Domestically, we watch if China will make another push for yuan internationalisation and capital account convertibility. Any move to liberalise capital outflows will ease upward pressure on the yuan.&#8221;

(For other stories from the February Reuters foreign exchange poll:)
(Reporting by Vuyani Ndaba and Vivek Mishra; polling by Md Manzer Hussain and Nagamani Lingappa; editing by Jonathan Cable, Larry King)
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POLL-EM currencies on the mend as search for high yields returns

Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; The World Health Organization said on Thursday its COVAX initiative aims to start shipping nearly 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa in February.
About 320,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to four African countries &#8211; Cabo Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia, the WHO said in a statement https://bit.ly/39PlhHT.
The roll-out of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is subject to the vaccine being listed for emergency use by WHO. The organization is currently reviewing the vaccine and the outcome of the review is expected soon.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese)
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WHO’s COVAX initiative aims to start shipping 90 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa in Feb

OUAGADOUGOU, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Burkina Faso&#8217;s government said for the first time on Thursday that it was open to talks with Islamist militants to try to end a growing insurgency, echoing a position taken by authorities in neighbouring Mali.
Nearly a decade after militants linked to al Qaeda briefly seized control of northern Mali, governments across West Africa&#8217;s Sahel region again find themselves struggling to contain the jihadists, leading some to reconsider prior opposition to talks.
&#8220;If we want to end the security crisis, we will need to find paths and ways to talk with those responsible for terrorist attacks so that we are in peace,&#8221; Prime Minister Christophe Dabire said in response to a question in parliament.
Attacks in Burkina Faso by fighters linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have surged in Burkina Faso since 2018, contributing to a humanitarian crisis that has forced more than one million people to flee their homes.
Mali&#8217;s former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said a year ago that his government was prepared to negotiate with the local al Qaeda affiliate, and the current government has reaffirmed that position.
It is not clear if any progress has been made since then. The al Qaeda affiliate said it would only attend peace talks if Mali&#8217;s government expels French and United Nations forces.
Former colonial power France, which has over 5,000 troops in the Sahel to fight the militants, has said it opposes talks with the jihadists. (Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Aaron Ross and Alistair Bell)
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Burkina Faso government says it is open to talks with jihadists

PARIS, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; France has detected four cases of COVID-19 resulting from the contagious coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday.
Veran said France was in a &#8220;race against time&#8221; against the mutations first identified in Britain, South Africa and Brazil.
The variants now account for 14% of all new cases in France, the government says. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Richard Lough and Chris Reese)
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France registers four cases of Brazilian coronavirus variant, says minister

Feb 4 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the European Tour Saudi International on Thursday -9 David Horsey (England) 61 -8 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 62 -6 Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 64 -5 Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 65 Ryan Fox (New Zealand) 65 Calum Hill (Scotland) 65 Marcus Kinhult (Sweden) 65 HaoTong Li (China PR) 65 Thomas Pieters (Belgium) 65 -4 Laurie Canter (England) 66 George Coetzee (South Africa) 66 Masahiro Kawamura (Japan) 66 Mikko Korhonen (Finland) 66 Andy Sullivan (England) 66 Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) 66 Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 66 -3 Thomas Detry (Belgium) 67 Tyrrell Hatton (England) 67 Dustin Johnson (USA) 67 Takumi Kanaya (Japan) 67 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 67 Kurt Kitayama (USA) 67 Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 67 James Morrison (England) 67 Victor Perez (France) 67 Ian Poulter (England) 67 Antoine Rozner (France) 67 Lee Westwood (England) 67 Danny Willett (England) 67 Jeff Winther (Denmark) 67 -2 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa) 68 Steven Brown (England) 68 Sean Crocker (USA) 68 Tony Finau (USA) 68 Tommy Fleetwood (England) 68 Justin Harding (South Africa) 68 Viktor Hovland (Norway) 68 Ross McGowan (England) 68 Phil Mickelson (USA) 68 Guido Migliozzi (Italy) 68 Adrian Otaegui (Spain) 68 Chris Paisley (England) 68 Matthieu Pavon (France) 68 Justin Rose (England) 68 Matthias Schwab (Austria) 68 Justin Walters (South Africa) 68 Oliver Wilson (England) 68 Ashun Wu (China PR) 68 -1 Shergo Al Kurdi (Jordan) 69 Adri Arnaus (Spain) 69 Dean Burmester (South Africa) 69 Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain) 69 Jorge Campillo (Spain) 69 Paul Casey (England) 69 John Catlin (USA) 69 Ross Fisher (England) 69 Grant Forrest (Scotland) 69 Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand) 69 Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 69 Romain Langasque (France) 69 Pablo Larrazábal (Spain) 69 Min Woo Lee (Australia) 69 Mike Lorenzo-Vera (France) 69 Kevin Na (USA) 69 Aaron Rai (England) 69 Patrick Reed (USA) 69 Kalle Samooja (Finland) 69 Shubhankar Sharma (India) 69 Joël Stalter (France) 69 Richard Sterne (South Africa) 69 Julian Suri (USA) 69 0 Kristoffer Broberg (Sweden) 70 Ashley Chesters (England) 70 David Drysdale (Scotland) 70 Sergio Garcia (Spain) 70 Julien Guerrier (France) 70 Harry Hall (England) 70 Joachim B. Hansen (Denmark) 70 Lucas Herbert (Australia) 70 Garrick Higgo (South Africa) 70 Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark) 70 Andrew Johnston (England) 70 Jason Kokrak (USA) 70 Francesco Laporta (Italy) 70 David Law (Scotland) 70 David Lipsky (USA) 70 Shane Lowry (Republic of Ireland) 70 Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 70 Haydn Porteous (South Africa) 70 Cormac Sharvin (Northern Ireland) 70 Matthew Southgate (England) 70 Brandon Stone (South Africa) 70 1 Othman Al Mulla (Kazakhstan) 71 Abraham Ancer (Mexico) 71 Victor Dubuisson (France) 71 Nacho Elvira (Spain) 71 Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 71 Gavin Green (Malaysia) 71 Benjamin Hebert (France) 71 Scott Hend (Australia) 71 David Howell (England) 71 Maximilian Kieffer (Germany) 71 Alexander Levy (France) 71 Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) 71 Wilco Nienaber (South Africa) 71 Wade Ormsby (Australia) 71 Alvaro Quiros (Spain) 71 Jordan L Smith (England) 71 Paul Waring (England) 71 2 Alexander Björk (Sweden) 72 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 72 Oliver Fisher (England) 72 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 72 Zander Lombard (South Africa) 72 Renato Paratore (Italy) 72 Eduard Rousaud Sabate (Spain) 72 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 72 3 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 73 Paul Dunne (Republic of Ireland) 73 Richard McEvoy (England) 73 Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 73 Tapio Pulkkanen (Finland) 73 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 73 Sebastian Soderberg (Sweden) 73 Sami Valimaki (Finland) 73 Matt Wallace (England) 73 Chris Wood (England) 73 4 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 74 Ernie Els (South Africa) 74 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 74 Andrea Pavan (Italy) 74 Jayden Schaper (South Africa) 74 Marc Warren (Scotland) 74 5 Nino Bertasio (Italy) 75 Jason Scrivener (Australia) 75 6 Raphaël Jacquelin (France) 76 7 Faisal Salhab (Saudi Arabia) 77 10 Saud-Al Sharif (Saudi Arabia) 80 
(c) Copyright Opta Sports Data 2021. All Rights Reserved
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European Tour Saudi International Scores

By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria plans to use unclaimed dividends held by companies and dormant bank accounts to finance its growing deficit and revive an economy hobbled by low oil prices, an official said.
The government will transfer company dividends which have been unclaimed for more than six-years, totalling more than 180 billion naira ($472 million), into a fund managed by Nigeria&#8217;s debt office and then borrow from it, Bode Oyetunde, presidential adviser on fiscal matters said on Thursday.
Dormant bank accounts will also be included in the plan by the government of Nigeria, which relies on oil for much of revenues and foreign exchange, Oyetunde said.
The government has been exploring ways to raise revenue after an oil price crash tipped Africa&#8217;s largest economy into its second recession in five years.
&#8220;It is a debt owed by Nigeria to Nigerians. It will be used by government to finance the budget deficit,&#8221; Oyetunde told a virtual conference on tax policy.
&#8220;We have to expand the range of instruments available to support the government fund its operation.&#8221;
The unclaimed dividends are those of companies listed on the Nigerian stock market, he said adding that funds will be available to claim if a beneficiary is identified.
Nigeria with one of lowest tax to GDP ratios in the world is reforming its tax policy so that foreign companies like Google, Uber and Microsoft, that generate revenues in the country with no local presence will be taxed.
The West African country shelved offshore borrowing last year due to COVID-19 disruptions and turned to domestic markets.
It now plans to rebase its gross domestic product to determine the current structure of its economy.
The government has been in talks with the World Bank for a $1.5 billion budget support loan which the bank has made conditional on the Nigeria carrying out reforms. ($1 = 381.0000 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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Nigeria targets unclaimed dividends, dormant accounts to fund deficit

Feb 4 (OPTA) &#8211; Scoreboard at stumps on the first day of 2nd test between Pakistan and South Africa on Thursday at Rawalpindi, Pakistan Pakistan are 145 for 3 Pakistan 1st innings Imran Butt c Quinton de Kock b Keshav Maharaj 15 Abid Ali c Aiden Markram b Anrich Nortje 6 Azhar Ali lbw Keshav Maharaj 0 Babar Azam Not Out 77 Fawad Alam Not Out 42 Extras 2b 0lb 3nb 0pen 0w 5 Total (58.0 overs) 145-3 Fall of Wickets : 1-21 Butt, 2-21 Ali, 3-22 Ali To Bat : Rizwan, Ashraf, Ali, Ali, Shah, Afridi Bowling Ov Md Rn Wk Econ Ex Kagiso Rabada 13 1 36 0 2.77 Anrich Nortje 11 3 30 1 2.73 2nb Keshav Maharaj 25 7 51 2 2.04 George Linde 2.5 1 2 0 0.71 Dean Elgar 1.1 0 6 0 5.14 Wiaan Mulder 5 1 18 0 3.60 1nb &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.. Umpire Ahsan Raza Umpire Aleem Dar Video Asif Yaqoob Match Referee Muhammad Malik 
(c) Copyright Opta Sports Data 2021. All Rights Reserved
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South Africa in Pakistan 2021 Scoreboard

NAIROBI, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Some 16 African countries have shown interest in securing COVID-19 vaccines under an African Union (AU) initiative and the aim is to deliver allocations in the next three weeks, the head of a continental disease control body said on Thursday.
As wealthier nations push ahead with mass immunisation, Africa is seeking to immunise 60% of its 1.3 billion people in the next three years. Only a handful of African nations have begun giving doses.
The AU bloc initially secured 270 million doses from manufacturers for member states, then late last month said it would receive another 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
John Nkengasong, director of the AU&#8217;s Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the 16 countries had so far placed requests for the vaccines under the bloc&#8217;s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), which started operation in mid-January.
&#8220;With respect to AVATT, 16 countries have now expressed their interest for a total 114 million doses of vaccines,&#8221; Nkengasong told a virtual news conference.
&#8220;Our hope is that in the next two to three weeks, they should be having their vaccines. But I cannot give you a specific date.&#8221;
Separately from the AU&#8217;s efforts, Africa is to receive about 600 million vaccine doses this year via the COVAX facility co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Though COVID-19 has not hit Africa as badly as some experts feared, wealth disparities, logistical difficulties and &#8220;vaccine nationalism&#8221; by richer nations may put the world&#8217;s poorest continent at a disadvantage.
Africa has reported 3.5 million infections and 88,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
That is fewer fatalities than individual nations the United States, Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain. (Reporting by George Obulutsa, Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Cawthorne)
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Sixteen African nations interested in AU vaccine plan

* Czech crown flat ahead of c.bank meeting
* EMEA stocks rise, while MSCI EM stocks index falls
* Chinese stocks sink on liquidity concerns
By Ambar Warrick
Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand fell on Thursday, while most other emerging market currencies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were little changed as recent signs of strength in the U.S. economy drove buying into the dollar.
Increasing optimism over the U.S. economy and a bumper COVID-19 stimulus package attracted investors to the U.S. dollar, pressuring most currencies in emerging markets.
Employment data due this week is also expected to set the tone for dollar flows in the coming weeks.
South Africa&#8217;s rand fell 0.4% to the dollar, while Turkey&#8217;s lira and the Russian rouble gained slightly.
&#8220;This (dollar) recovery rally has caught many traders by surprise and some are questioning whether the rules have changed. Whether the dollar&#8217;s strength is to be short-lived or a longer-lasting theme remains to be seen. But fundamentals now appear to be on its side,&#8221; Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at FXTM, wrote in a note.
Emerging markets had started the week on a strong note as optimism over a global economic recovery grew. But relative weakness in the dollar, coupled with increasing signs of a U.S. economic bounceback, drove investors to the greenback, despite its status as a safe-haven.
The Czech crown was largely unchanged to the euro ahead of a central bank interest rate decision later in the day. While the bank is expected to hold policy, it could signal future tightening after stronger-than-expected growth in the Czech economy.
The crown has outpaced its central European peers the Hungarian forint and the Polish zloty this year.
Most EMEA currencies rose against the euro, which continued to drop on concerns over sluggish economic growth, as well as recent comments from the European Central Bank that suggested future action to stifle strength in the currency.
Emerging market stocks retreated, with the MSCI&#8217;s equity index shedding 0.5% after three consecutive days of gains.
Chinese stocks were among the top drags on the index on continued concerns China could switch to a tighter monetary policy stance and bring down liquidity, as short-term funding costs began to rise.
Most EMEA stocks rose on Thursday. 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 Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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EMERGING MARKETS-EMEA currencies muted on dollar strength, while stocks dip

By Angela Ukomadu and Abraham Achirga
LAGOS/ABUJA, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Ten years ago, Desmond Ovbiagele abandoned his career in investment banking to pursue his dream of making films. Now the Nigerian director&#8217;s movie about the jihadist insurgency in his country has been put forward as an Oscars contender.
&#8220;The Milkmaid&#8221; tells the story of two sisters who are abducted from their village during a deadly attack by militants in northeast Nigeria. It has been submitted by Nigeria as its entry for international feature consideration at the Academy Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce its nominations for the Academy Awards on March 15.
&#8220;Even having made it this far is a huge encouragement to filmmakers who don&#8217;t necessarily want to tell the most commercial type of stories,&#8221; Ovbiagele &#8211; who wrote and directed the film &#8211; told Reuters in an interview in Nigeria&#8217;s commercial capital, Lagos.
The insurgency by militant group Boko Haram has killed more than 30,000 people and forced about 2 million to flee their homes since 2009. The group attained global notoriety in 2014 with the abduction of more than 270 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok.
&#8220;I felt it was important that we put some backstories and some personalities behind all these casualty statistics,&#8221; said Ovbiagele.
The film has already won five Africa Movie Academy Awards, including Best Film. Although Nigeria is an English-speaking country, it is eligible for the Oscars best international film category because the characters address each other in the Hausa, Arabic and Fulfulde languages spoken locally.
Anthonieta Kalunta, lead actress in the movie, said she hoped those judging &#8220;The Milkmaid&#8221; would see the film as being told from &#8220;a very beautiful perspective&#8221;, despite the subject matter.
For Ovbiagele, the film&#8217;s success will draw attention to the plight of hidden victims.
&#8220;The victims of insurgency were not getting the attention that I felt they truly deserved,&#8221; he said. (Reporting by Angela Ukomadu in Lagos and Abraham Achirga in Abuja; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien)
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Nigerian film about Islamist insurgency aims at Oscar glory

By Davide Barbuscia
DUBAI, Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; The Middle East will see an uneven economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, an International Monetary Fund official said, as countries move at different speeds to secure vaccines and fiscal policy responses differ across the region.
Oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council countries have secured bilateral agreements with several vaccine providers, but fragile and conflict-afflicted states with limited healthcare capacities rely on the limited coverage of the World Health Organization&#8217;s (WHO) COVAX initiative, which could delay broad vaccine availability to the second half of 2022.
&#8220;What we are seeing today is still a race between the vaccine and the virus, and this will shape the recovery in 2021,&#8221; said Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund.
&#8220;We will have recovery across the board, but it will be divergent, uneven and uncertain,&#8221; he said, adding that accelerating vaccinations could improve growth outlooks by 0.3%-0.4%.
The IMF has revised up growth estimates for 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa because of stronger-than expected performance of oil exporters and the absence of a second wave in some countries, which has boosted non-oil economic activity.
Countries that were agile and fast in providing stimulus packages last year will experience a better recovery, the IMF said.
The United Arab Emirates, where vital economic sectors such as tourism and transportation suffered because of the pandemic, will grow by 3.1% this year, according to the IMF&#8217;s latest estimates.
That is up from an October forecast of a 1.3% growth, due to the management of the second wave, which has allowed the economy to recover.
&#8220;There is definitely also the improvement we saw in the oil sector, oil prices have now regained the ground lost in 2020 &#8230; this also has improved their economic conditions,&#8221; said Azour.
A boost coming from Dubai hosting the Expo world&#8217;s fair later this year is also seen as a contributing factor, he said.
The IMF expects Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, to grow by 2.6% this year &#8211; down from a previous 3.1% forecast.
&#8220;It&#8217;s important in the case of Saudi to separate oil and non-oil sectors. The non-oil sector will recover faster and we expect the recovery to reach a growth of 3.5% this year,&#8221; said Azour.
&#8220;For the oil sector, the decision to reduce output by a million barrel a day, led to a downward adjustment of the oil economy,&#8221; he said, referring to Saudi Arabia&#8217;s decision last month to implement voluntary crude output cuts. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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Race between vaccines and virus to shape uneven Middle East recovery – IMF

Feb 4 (Reuters) &#8211; Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat in the second and final test against South Africa in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
The home side are unchanged from the seven-wicket first test win in Karachi, with talk in the build-up from coach Misbah-ul-Haq of potentially playing an extra seamer coming to nothing.
They have also resisted the idea of moving batsman Azhar Ali back to the opening position and he will slot in at number three.
&#8220;We got lots of confidence from the first test but we&#8217;re not going to let up and will push for 2-0,&#8221; captain Babar said
South Africa have made one change to their side, with all-rounder Wiaan Mulder bolstering the batting in the place of seamer Lungi Ngidi.
George Linde keeps his place in the side as the second specialist spinning option after Keshav Maharaj, with leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi not sufficiently recovered from a back problem to be included.
Teams:
Pakistan: Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Nauman Ali, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje. (Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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Cricket-Pakistan win toss, bat first in 2nd test versus South Africa

Feb 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Turkey has confirmed 196 cases of the UK coronavirus strain, Turkey&#8217;s official news agency Anadolu tweeted https://bit.ly/3cBIWxl on Wednesday, citing the Turkish health minister.
&#8220;Besides UK coronavirus variant, 2 people in Turkey have South Africa variant, 1 has Brazil variant&#8221;, the news agency said.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese)
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Turkey reports 196 cases of UK coronavirus strain

Feb 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Mamadou Coulibaly converted the decisive spot-kick to send Mali through to the African Nations Championship final with a penalty shootout win over neighbours Guinea in Douala, Cameroon on Wednesday.
Mali won 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw in the first semi-final of the 16-team tournament, competed for by quasi-national sides made up of domestic-based players only.
It is the second time Mali have reached the final of the tournament, which is hosted every two years. They were runners-up to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2016.
In the final, Mali will meet either hosts Cameroon or holders Morocco, who meet in Limbe later on Wednesday.
The tournament is also a test for Cameroon before they host next January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, which have been postponed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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Soccer-Mali reach African Nations Championship final with shootout win

Feb 3 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa are sweating over the fitness of their two frontline spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi ahead of the second test against Pakistan that starts in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Maharaj had a scan on a rib injury this week, while Tabraiz Shamsi missed the first test with back pain and is still touch-and-go, coach Mark Boucher said.
&#8220;Kesh is a concern because he flared up at practice yesterday (Tuesday),&#8221; Boucher told reporters on Wednesday.
&#8220;During a session, he turned around and felt some sort of pain in his rib area. He then went for scans, which showed there was something there.
&#8220;But he bowled quite a few overs today, about 15 overs just to really test himself, and he felt fine.&#8221;
Shamsi pulled out of the first test just moments before the toss having initially been included in the side.
&#8220;It was a very big blow,&#8221; Boucher admitted. &#8220;You name a team and 20 minutes before the toss, you’re busy scrambling. It was a bubble burst for us right before the game.
&#8220;I certainly would have loved to see how Shamsi would have bowled on that wicket.&#8221;
Boucher said both players will be assessed on Thursday morning and he will trust they will be honest about how they are feeling.
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to have to trust Kesh on this. If he wakes up in the morning and he’s fine to play, then he’ll get the nod.
&#8220;Shamsi might be effective on this particular wicket. My concern is, if he does bowl quite a few overs and wakes up the next morning and his back is sore again, and he’s not able to push through, then you’re stuck with one bowler light. It’s a massive red flag for me.&#8221;
Pakistan won the first test in Karachi by seven wickets. (Reporting by Nick Said)
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Cricket-South Africa in a spin over fitness of key duo

BARCELONA, Feb 3 (Reuters) &#8211; The second known case of infection in Spain with the South African coronavirus variant was found in the northeastern region of Catalonia, officials said on Wednesday, a day after the government decided to restrict air travel with Brazil and South Africa.
Catalonia&#8217;s public health secretary Josep Maria Argimon said this second detected case, along with the expansion of the British variant, were &#8220;not good news&#8221; amid efforts to tackle the pandemic. (Reporting by Joan Faus Editing by Ingrid Melander)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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Spain detects second case of South African COVID-19 variant

By Wendell Roelf and Tanisha Heiberg
CAPE TOWN, Feb 3 (Reuters) &#8211; The prospect of chasing cocktails and contacts in the shadow of Table Mountain draws executives and officials from around the world to Cape Town each year for Africa&#8217;s biggest mining conference.
But this year the Investing in African Mining Indaba is online only and has been cut to two days rather than four as a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps South Africa.
For the mining industry, it means not only foregoing Cape Town&#8217;s famed wines, vistas and sun but also a key deal-making and networking opportunity &#8211; not to mention the blow to the local economy as normally crammed hotels lie deserted.
&#8220;The main thing that&#8217;s lost is not so much on the formal side &#8230; but on the spontaneous combustion side of these gatherings,&#8221; said Erez Ichilov, managing director of mining finance company Traxys Projects in New York.
&#8220;Our business is demanding, it&#8217;s intense, and I think it&#8217;s OK if people have some fun while they&#8217;re working.&#8221;
During the famously boozy Cape Town jamboree, delegates juggle cocktail events each night with dinners organised by the biggest mining companies. Anglo American hosts its gala dinner at its Vergelegen wine farm on Cape Town&#8217;s outskirts.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not out there drinking for my health. If I&#8217;m out there drinking until midnight, it&#8217;s because I&#8217;m with somebody who I think has potential,&#8221; said Peter Major, director of mining at corporate advisory house Mergence Corporate Solutions.
Major said he typically gets 15 to 20 good leads during Indaba week alone. Normally, it would take three to six months to generate such leads.
Besides pitching their companies, industry players meet new clients, discuss deals, and schmooze government officials.
While major mining companies may be less concerned about face-to-face gatherings, mid-tier and junior miners looking for investors are likely to miss out if conference models change for good after the pandemic, said Deloitte partner Andrew Lane.
Smaller companies such as Australia&#8217;s Orion Minerals use Indaba to bring as many investors as possible to visit their South Africa projects, which is now impossible.
The inability for Chinese investors to conduct due diligence on-site in South Africa has affected some of the financing for Orion&#8217;s Prieska project, Chief Executive Errol Smart said.
The local economy is also feeling the pinch.
Business events accounted for 11.4% of the tourism industry in South Africa in 2019, according to the Western Cape provincial government.
The loss of revenue from the mining conference comes after most of the Western Cape&#8217;s top tourist attractions suffered a more than 60% drop in visitors over the December peak season.
&#8220;Last year, we were fully booked a good couple of months before the Indaba,&#8221; said David Dix, general manager at The Capetonian, a 169-room four-star hotel near the convention centre where 6,000 delegates attended last year&#8217;s event.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a clientele that normally pays more, it&#8217;s our peak season rates we get at the time, and obviously now there is absolutely nothing,&#8221; he told Reuters in the hotel&#8217;s deserted dining room. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Tanisha Heiberg and Helen Reid in Johannesburg; Writing by Helen Reid; Editing by Amran Abocar and David Clarke)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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