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France to unveil new economic, military strategy in Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron will unveil on Monday his country's changing economic and military strategy in Africa for the coming years, as France's influence substantially declines on the continent.

Macron is expected to call for a more balanced partnership with African nations, in a speech at the Elysee presidential palace before he begins an ambitious Africa trip on Wednesday to Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo and Congo.

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UK's Sunak on verge of EU deal, but faces tough sell at home

The U.K. and the European Union were poised Monday to end years of wrangling and seal a deal to resolve their thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland.

Striking an agreement at a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would be a victory for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — but not the end of his troubles. Selling the deal to his own Conservative Party and its Northern Ireland allies may be a tougher struggle.

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North Korea holds rare meeting on farming amid food shortage

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened a major political conference dedicated to agriculture, state media reported Monday, amid outside assessments that suggest the country is facing a serious shortfall of food.

South Korean experts estimate that North Korea is short around 1 million tons of grain, 20 percent of its annual demand, after the pandemic disrupted both farming and imports from China.

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Report: $500 million 'embezzled' by Salameh in Swiss banks

Banks in Switzerland are holding a substantial amount of the millions of dollars Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh is accused of embezzling, Swiss media reported on Sunday.

Salameh, 72, faces investigations related to suspicions of money laundering and illicit enrichment in Lebanon and abroad after he amassed a fortune in the country mired in financial crisis.

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US futures lower ahead of closely-watched inflation data

Wall Street veered toward losses early Friday ahead of the release of consumer price data in the U.S. that could play into the Federal Reserve's next interest rate policy decision.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.7%.

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BOJ chief-to-be answers to lawmakers as Japan prices soar

Consumer prices in Japan jumped in January by the most in more than 41 years, the government reported Friday, adding to pressure on the central bank to adjust its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy.

The key price indicator, which excludes volatile fresh foods, rose 4.2% last month, though some analysts expected it to be slightly higher. Excluding energy prices, inflation rose at a 3.2% annual rate.

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Japan to propose new Russia sanctions at online G-7 summit

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he plans to present to other Group of Seven countries a set of "new ideas" for sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine when he hosts an online G-7 summit later in the day to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the invasion.

Kishida, as this year's G-7 president, told a news conference he also planned to call on other countries to stop providing military support to Russia.

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Association of Banks suspends strike for a week

The Association of Banks in Lebanon on Friday announced the temporary suspension of the banking sector strike for a period of one week.

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Netanyahu gets funding boost under shadow of economic woes

An Israeli parliamentary committee has approved new funding for Benjamin Netanyahu and his family, giving the prime minister a boost in personal spending at a time when he is facing mass protests over his policies and as the economy is on shaky ground.

The committee voted to approve public funds to cover expenses incurred by the Netanyahus at their private homes in Jerusalem and the exclusive seaside town of Caesarea, as well as an increase of thousands of dollars a year in clothing expenses for both Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.

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Turkey cuts bank rate even as it grapples with earthquake

Turkey's central bank on Thursday resumed its policy of lowering a key interest rate even as the country grapples with high inflation and the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee said it cut the benchmark policy rate by 0.5 of a percentage point, down to 8.5%. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, slashed the benchmark rate by 5 percentage points - down to 9% - between August and November but had left rates unchanged since then.

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