Naira gains in parallel market

The Turkish lira hit new lows against the US dollar and euro. Analysts place the blame on the low interest rates and the cheap money policies preferred by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In Montenegro, the construction of a motorway to open up the Balkan nation – a project launched in 2014 – is now more than two years behind schedule. With its high environmental and financial costs (more than $1 billion), this pharaonic project has dangerously increased the debt of the country of 600,000 inhabitants. FRANCE 24 investigates. The work is being financed by a Chinese bank and largely carried out by a Chinese state-owned company and a local firm close to the previous government, which signed the deal. But if Montenegro defaults on its loan, the contract stipulates that the country must relinquish sovereignty over certain parts of its territory. This burden on the country’s new government has aggravated the strong suspicions of corruption around the building site.

The Russian government made a $117 million interest payment to foreign bondholders on Wednesday, averting what would have been its first foreign debt default since the Bolshevik Party shocked Western investors in 1918 by refusing to repay the borrowings of Czar Nicholas II.

Romania's capital is buried in smoke from burned trash that comes from all over Europe. The dubious business is being investigated. Prosecutors and activists are sounding the alarm about organized crime structures.

The Japanese and Indian currencies plunged to their lowest records in decades against the US dollar as Washington looked set to hike interest rates in a bid to tackle inflation.

The euro has slumped to its lowest since 2002 against the dollar amid fears that a recession in the eurozone could be looming. The currency fell as low as $1.0281, threatening a push towards dollar parity.

The dollar has been on a tear in recent weeks as investors take refuge in the safe haven amid recession worries. The pound and the euro have been pummeled, but the greenback's ascent could have wider ramifications.

Currencies are depreciating around the world and wreaking havoc on economies. But as the strong US dollar hits foreign demand, some American businesses are also experiencing painful losses.

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Nigeria opened a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport in Lagos on Monday (January 23) which is expected to ease congestion at the country's ports and help it become an African hub for transshipment, handling cargoes in transit for other destinations.

Well-worn U.S. dollar notes are finding a new home on the streets of Harare, where they are bought at nearly half their value for resale at a profit after mending, as Zimbabweans find creative ways to survive an unrelenting financial onslaught.

In Kenya, dollar shortage has hit oil importers hard as they need the greenback to bring in supplies.