west and central african states ivory coast is the region's biggest economy and its president alassane ouattara has been a strong defender of the euro pagans currency but he has come under pressure from regional politicians to challenge the arrangements he said to meet mr buck all in. shoppers at this market in abidjan the biggest city in the ivory coast pace in c f a for all. the currency was introduced in 1905 and is used in 14 different african nations today. it was initially pegged to the french for all but today it is paid to the euro which gives its stability but some economists say this robs the c.f.a. front of the flexibility it needs on the global economy. for too long this is if we can only deal commercially with a single country france so this parity causes problems all 'd serious economists have carried out research and that shows that what we need is a flexible exchange rate set to the shop to fix it. there are frequent protests against the c.f.a. throng in west african nations many believe that the connection with the euro is a relic of africa's colonial past there is concern that

the president of france, emmanuel macron, and ivory coast president, alassane ouattara, have announcedo replace the colonial—era cfa franc. the eco, which will remain pegged to the euro, is due to launch next year. the death toll from a storm that battered spain, portugal and france has risen to eight people, with the affected areas bracing for the arrival of more violent weather. a strengthening storm, given the name fabien, is expected to bring downpours and strong winds to parts of western europe. one of itv‘s most popular shows, dancing on ice, is to feature

the president of france, emmanuel macron, and ivory coast president, alassane ouattara, have announced the establishment of a common west african currency to replace the colonial—era cfa franc. the eco, which will remain pegged to the euro, is due to launch next year. the death toll from a storm that battered spain, portugal and france has risen to eight people, with the affected areas bracing for the arrival of more violent weather. a strengthening storm, given the name fabien, is expected to bring downpours and strong winds to parts of western europe. one of itv‘s most popular shows, dancing on ice, is to feature a same—sex couple as contestants when it starts its latest series this evening. the steps singer ian h watkins is teaming up with professional dancer matt evers. our correspondent lizo mzimba reports. dancing on ice is one of tv‘s most popular shows, often producing memorable moments of all different kinds. ian "h" watkins and matt evers have been rehearsing for weeks and when the programme returns tomorrow night, they'll be the first same—sex couple seen competing on a prim

in the ivory coast yesterday, president alassane ouattara ande french presideanuel macron announced aname change for the currency used in eight african nations. ,the french-backed curren called the c.f.a. franc, was established in 1945. starting next year, the currency will be called the "eco." it will be tied to the euro and participating countries will no longer be obligated to keep half their foreign reserves ance. in a speech yesterday, macron said colonialism was "a grave mistake" by the french republic. in the n mexico desert this morning, boeing maneuvered its starliner space capsule to a sunday touchdown. >> and starliner touches down in the desert in new mexico. >> alcindor: the starliner mission to the international space station was aborted when a malfunction sent it to t wrong orbit on friday. the trouble began when the capsule'internal clock failed to sync up with the atlas v rocket, throwing off the timing. the starliner is the first american-made capsule designed for a ground landing. boeing hopes to use it to launch astronauts on nasa missions starting as early as next