| * South Africa mourns Nelson Mandela * WTO clears way for landmark global trade deal * Asia equities on hold ahead of US jobs data * JLR to spend £240m on Brazilian plant * Gazprom denies cheap gas offer to Ukraine * Chinese entrepreneur in Ukraine port plan * China signals shift on plurilateral trade * South Africa rand dips to near 5-year low * Renault-Dongfeng: objects in mirror * Russian diplomats face US fraud charges * Markets: mixed South Africa mourns Nelson Mandela
S Africa on Friday began a period of mourning for Nelson Mandela, the country's first black president, as the world joined the grieving for the beloved anti-apartheid hero.
http://on.ft.com/1hBQA8h WTO clears way for landmark global trade deal
India and the US resolved their differences over how to push forward with negotiations on food security in the WTO on Friday, clearing the way for the first global trade deal in almost two decades.
http://on.ft.com/IviFPQ Asia equities on hold ahead of US jobs data
Asian equities and currencies were mostly on hold as markets looked to Friday's looming release of US jobs data, which should offer clues to the Federal Reserve's plans for its monetary stimulus programme.
http://on.ft.com/1blEcoU JLR to spend £240m on Brazilian plant
South America seen as crucial market in strategy to continue high-volume growth by targeting the emerging rich in developing countries
http://on.ft.com/194GtUU Gazprom denies cheap gas offer to Ukraine
An official of the Russian energy group has contradicted comments attributed to his country's deputy prime minister regarding prices
http://on.ft.com/194GtUW Chinese entrepreneur in Ukraine port plan
Wang Jing, a Chinese telecoms entrepreneur, wades into Ukraine's political crisis with a project proposal worth $10bn to build a deepwater port in Crimea
http://on.ft.com/194GtUZ China signals shift on plurilateral trade
After years of defending the multilateral WTO against the plurilateral threat of deals negotiated by some members, China is considering shifting sides
http://on.ft.com/194Grwn Renault-Dongfeng: objects in mirror
With Renault's $1.3bn, 50-50 tie-up with Dongfeng now formally approved the spotlight should fall on Peugeot's plans for China
http://on.ft.com/194GtUQ South Africa rand dips to near 5-year low
Volatile currency falls to its lowest intraday level since March 2009 as Africa's largest economy battles with a widening current account deficit
http://on.ft.com/194Gube Russian diplomats face US fraud charges
The Russian diplomats indulged in luxuries like affluent New Yorkers do, shopping at Swarovski and Tiffany and Jimmy Choo. But when it came time to having babies in their newly adopted home country, dozens of the diplomats and their spouses engaged in a scam in which they lied about their incomes and received welfare benefits meant for the poorest Americans, according to fraud charges filed by the US attorney's office in New York.
http://on.ft.com/1d0ezZ0 Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.04% at 998.08 Europe
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Bovespa up +1.14% at 50,788 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.81% at 15,300
Topix up +0.50% at 1,236
Hang Seng up +0.13% at 23,743
Shanghai Composite down -0.44% at 2,237
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.14% at 467.18
CNX Nifty up +0.30% at 6,260 Currencies
€/$ 1.37 (1.37)
$/¥ 102.11 (101.78) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.43 at 111.41
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.13 at 97.25
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -2.40 at 1,231 | 
