Stocks sell off, and US futures plunge as the WHO calls an emergency meeting over a new covid variant discovered in southern Africa, and the EU renews vaccination calls. Travel bans return – as nations ban flights from the region. South Africa's Foreign Ministry says the UK's move to put six southern African nations back on the red list is rushed, and it's seeking a reversal. Crude prices also head deep into the red on renewed demand concerns and fears of a rising surplus in the first quarter. And French fishermen threaten to blockade the Channel Tunnel and the port of Calais today, in protest at UK fishing licenses.

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