Global investment management company BlackRock says that it is buying eFront, the leading provider of management software for alternative investments, for $1.3 billion in cash. (MarketWatch)
Disasters and accidents
Two buses collide head-on in a village near Kintampo, Ghana, killing at least 50 people. Almost all casualties are a result of a fire on one of the buses. (BBC News)(GhanaWeb)
Thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes as two potentially devastating cyclones are expected to hit the country this weekend. Cyclone Trevor will make landfall in the north near Numbulwar and Borroloola, while Cyclone Veronica, a Category 4 storm, will strike Pilbara on Australia's west coast. (BBC News)
Officials report the death toll is now 62 from Thursday's chemical plant explosion in Chenjiagang Industrial Park in northeastern Jiangsu Province, with 94 others seriously injured and 28 people still missing. (BBC News)(The Straits Times)
U.S. President Donald Trump removes sanctions targeting North Korea that were imposed Thursday by the Treasury Department on two Chinese companies. (Fox News)
The Inter-American Development Bank, Latin America’s largest development lender, cancels its scheduled annual 48-country meeting next week following China's refusal to allow a representative of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó to attend what would have been the first IADB meeting held in China. (Reuters)
A man is shot dead in the city of Zaoyang, China, after ramming his vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians, killing at least six and injuring seven others. (MSN)
Hundreds of thousands of Algerians again rally, this week in heavy rain and cold weather, against PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika demanding his immediate resignation. Bouteflika is fighting for his political survival in the face of unrelenting protests and the desertion of long-time allies. (Reuters)
Sports
The English Football League is to deduct Birmingham City F.C. nine points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. Birmingham City are the first club to be deducted points since the EFL introduced its new profitability and sustainability regulations in 2016. (BBC Sport)