One year after the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which came into force on January 1, 2021, Nigeria continues to lag behind in making the trade agreement operational owing to structural challenges, Coronavirus pandemic, and lack of consensus on trade protocols and strategy among stakeholders.

Israel has signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates – its first with an Arab country. The historic pact builds on the normalisation of ties in 2020 and eliminates tariffs on 96 percent of goods. It aims to bring growth and lower prices to both countries. We take a closer look.

The British prime minister has begun a two-day visit by talking up post-Brexit trade. But clouds are looming back home as parliament votes on whether he misled the House of Commons in denying COVID lockdown breaches.

The prime ministers of both countries witnessed the signing of the deal in a virtual ceremony. Australia wants to curb dependence on China as its largest trading partner.

The two countries join the ASEAN nations, China, South Korea, and Japan. The pact will cover 30% of the world's population and 53% of last year's exports.

Taiwan has formally filed to join the trans-Pacific trade deal initially negotiated by the US. Intended to freeze China out, Trump walked away from the deal but now China and Taiwan want in.

The British parliament voted for an EU-UK trade deal to avert the feared prospect of a cliff-edge no-deal Brexit in less than two days' time. Members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal.

British fishers are less than delighted about Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, even though he said that as a result of the agreement they will be able to catch and eat "prodigious quantities of extra fish."

The EU's parting from the UK was "such sweet sorrow," said Ursula von der Leyen, using a Shakespeare quote in an emotional speech.

British and EU negotiators have been locked in discussions for nearly nine months. But could a breakthrough be secured before the end of the year?

Oil prices steadied around $64 a barrel as the market looks to the signing of a trade deal between the United States and China tomorrow. For more on geopolitics and impact on oil prices, Kola Karim, Chairman of Shoreline Group joins CNBC Africa for more on geopolitics and impact on oil prices.

The signals heading into the talks have been mixed, but China is still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the U.S., an official with direct knowledge of the talks said, signaling that Beijing is focused on limiting the damage to the world’s second-largest economy. Bloomberg China Correspondent and Anchor Selina Wang has the story.