Traders welcome new age of volatility

Dresden's famous christmas market, the Striezelmarkt, has been around for centuries. This year, the planned opening was canceled due to the high incidence rate of coronavirus infections in the state of Saxony.

On December 19, 2016, Islamist attacker Anis Amri drove a stolen truck through a crowd in central Berlin, killing and injuring dozens. Five years later, the background to the attack remains unclear.

For this special Christmas edition of Eye on Africa, we've prepared a range of feel-good and culturally significant stories for you to enjoy. Families in Cairo of all religions drop by the city's Christmas market to enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the annual bazaar.

Apple on Monday became the first company to hit a $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,23,75,950 crore) stock market value, before ending the day a hair below that milestone, as investors bet the iPhone maker will keep launching best-selling products as it explores new markets such as automated cars and virtual reality.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.

Twenty-six people died on Wednesday (February 2) after lightning struck a high-tension power cable on the outskirts of the Congolese capital Kinshasa, causing it to snap and fall on houses and a market, the authorities said. The victims included 24 women and two men, and another two people were seriously injured, Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde told reporters during a visit to the market.

Fears that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent have sent jitters across global stock markets. In Europe, Paris's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX both fell more than 3 percent at midday. Russia's main stock market also saw a sharp decline, adding to last week's sell-off. Plus, after two years grappling with changes to their careers, a growing number of people in France are turning to the real estate sector to start a completely new job.

European Union leaders are meeting with their counterparts from the African Union in Brussels this Thursday. Several major economic issues will be discussed, including the €150 billion investment plan promised by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ahead of that gathering, French President Emmanuel Macron promised a deal on reallocating of up to $100 billion of International Monetary Fund finance to African countries. Also today, we bring you the latest on the fuel shortage crisis in Nigeria.

Switzerland's second-largest bank stands accused of handling funds for dictators, drug traffickers and torturers after a whistleblower leak led to a year-long investigation by a consortium of journalists. And the United States and Britain have raised the stakes for potential sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. Finally, Italy's famed glassblowers are cracking under red-hot energy prices.

With the city of Kharkiv devastated and Kyiv braced for attack by an approaching Russian convoy, we are asking whether the US has made the right calls on Ukraine. The message of Biden's State of the Union address was one of solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky. But seen from Kyiv, will this feel like enough?

There is currently more trade with western and eastern countries than there is within the continent. Printing banknotes in Africa would boost profits on the continent and, at least theoretically, African countries could choose those with printing capabilities since there's likely some idle capacity.