Recession risk: Like Middle East wars of the past, the conflict between Israel and Hamas that broke out this past week has the potential to disrupt the world economy — and even tip it into recession if more countries are drawn in. https://trib.al/yhRVpkv

Top deal: Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was approved by the UK competition watchdog, removing the final major global regulatory hurdle that stood in the way of the biggest ever gaming deal completing. https://trib.al/WZ60n50

India-Pakistan face off: Millions of sports fans from Delhi to Melbourne are anticipated to pack restaurants, bars, street markets and malls as the two South Asian arch-rivals play each other at the Cricket World Cup on Saturday. https://trib.al/5bHW4Ex

New loan: Nigeria’s government is seeking a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank to help fund its budget, Finance Minister Wale Edun said, as the IMF welcomed recent government reforms and said it’s open to funding the nation. bloom.bg/3twJMGe

Transnet latest: South Africa’s embattled state-owned freight-rail and ports company identified areas that require immediate state support in a turnaround plan that is being submitted to the government. bloom.bg/46uW5Bv

IT services at risk: Members of South Africa’s Public Servants Association plan to strike at state-owned IT firm SITA, a move that could affect government services including welfare payouts. bloom.bg/48Sj8aV

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India’s Supreme Court refused to rule on legalizing same-sex marriage, saying it’s an issue for Parliament, a move that allows the country’s current limits on marriage to stand for the foreseeable future.

India decriminalized homosexuality in 2018 but has yet to extend marriage rights to the LGBTQ community. Less than 40 countries recognize same sex marriage, including just two places in Asia — Taiwan and Nepal. https://trib.al/05HuID7

Biden's Israel visit: President Joe Biden will make a dangerous and politically risky trip to Israel intended to show solidarity with the US’s closest ally in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from engulfing the wider region. https://bloom.bg/48XfT1R

Bonds slump: Ghana’s dollar bonds slumped, posting some of the worst losses among emerging-market peers, after the government asked bondholders to accept a nominal haircut of as much as 40%. https://bloom.bg/45Hzq3K

South Africa energy transition: The country may be able to raise as much as 1.13 trillion rand ($60 billion) over the next five years to fund a switch to green energy from fossil fuels, its environment minister said. https://bloom.bg/45tTAhq

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Rising inflation: South Africa’s inflation rate rose to a three-month high in September on the back of higher food and energy prices, maintaining the case for the central bank to keep borrowing costs higher for longer. http://bloom.bg/46AA8AP

Long wait: Pick n Pay Stores shares plunged after the rehired chief executive officer of South Africa’s third-largest grocer by revenue said it may take two years to turn the struggling company around. http://bloom.bg/48ZX91S

Economic chief ousted: Tunisian President Kais Saied fired his economy and planning minister, removing one of the cash-strapped nation’s most vocal advocates of a stalled $1.9 billion IMF rescue program. http://bloom.bg/3S3G5C4

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Google in India: Google will make Pixel 8 smartphones in India, boosting the nation's position in the global phone supply chain. https://tinyurl.com/2p8d4ysm

Super app: Tata Group is weighing putting in $1 billion of fresh capital into its super app venture as the salt-to-software conglomerate seeks to improve the digital business. https://tinyurl.com/bdr5f56n

Looking beyond: UBS is the last global bank standing in Switzerland. Can CEO Sergio Ermotti capitalize on the deal of a lifetime? Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/5n778nvx

Egypt's stock surge: Egyptian stocks rallied to fresh highs this week even as tensions escalated in the Middle East. Local investors poured in to hedge against expectations of another currency devaluation and record inflation. https://bloom.bg/3s19guP

Move away from coal: South Africa’s cabinet said the Netherlands and Denmark have joined the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a landmark climate finance deal meant to help the country transition away from coal. https://bloom.bg/46C7uiL

BP’s Senegal exit: BP is in talks to exit Senegal’s Yakaar-Teranga gas field, which would leave operatorship of the resource to Kosmos Energy and increase the stake held by the state, sources say. https://bloom.bg/48XJB6Y

Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.

Failed escape: Niger’s ousted leader is being held in an undisclosed location after the nation’s junta said it had foiled an attempt by Mohamed Bazoum to escape his Niamey residence. https://bloom.bg/3tI7xv2

Record stock surge: Tiger Brands jumped the most in 25 years after South Africa’s biggest food producer by market value replaced its veteran chief executive officer. https://bloom.bg/3FlRRAd

Lithium entrant: Ghana has granted a mining license to Atlantic Lithium as the West African nation positions itself to tap into the multibillion-dollar global industry. https://bloom.bg/3tNctyv

Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.

Hostage diplomacy: Israel is supporting diplomatic efforts to get Hamas to release US hostages from Gaza quickly and in large numbers, a move that could delay and possibly alter its ground war. https://trib.al/28xXZFh

Shaking confidence: China once again rattles foreign firms with arrests and a probe into Apple partner Foxconn, one of the nation's largest employers. https://trib.al/hiLJSoN

Latest Headwinds: Adani Total Gas becomes the first of the group’s seven listed companies to achieve Hindenburg's predicted valuation with 85% plunge in stock. https://trib.al/K8uxCcb

Talks to stop Israel-Hamas war widening: US President Joe Biden and the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Canada spoke on Sunday about preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading to the wider Middle East. https://bloom.bg/472RJBc

South Korea to tap Africa for graphite: The Asian nation is looking to African countries to secure graphite as China tightens its exports controls over the key material used in electric-vehicle batteries. https://bloom.bg/3Q6EwRc

DP World to run part of Tanzanian port: DP World won a bid to operate part of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port for 30 years and will invest more than $250 million to upgrade the facilities. https://bloom.bg/3Qsm0nF

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Hello, here's what we're reading:

Israel latest: French President Emmanuel Macron becomes the latest world leader to visit Israel, where he’ll meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is expected to call for the resumption of peace. https://trib.al/0akwf2c

Ambitious restructuring: Billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining firm Vedanta hires the CFO of Byju's to help with splitting the metals firm into six listed companies, in a setback for the scandal-hit edtech startup. https://trib.al/SygTBDz

Big Take: China's apparent economic miracle has turned into a crisis, and distress at giant property developer Country Garden is upending tens of thousands of lives. https://trib.al/LRngT5o

Nigeria's raw minerals exports: Nigeria plans to tighten rules to reduce the export of raw minerals and encourage the shipment of processed products. https://bloom.bg/3tQJeLb

Hundreds of workers remain underground: About 540 workers are underground for a second day at Gold One International mine near Johannesburg, with the company unable to reach them during a standoff between two rival labor unions. https://bloom.bg/3SctqNk

Top bond investor slams South Africa's plans:  Futuregrowth says the government’s draft legislation meant to address inefficiencies at state entities is “ineffective, overdue, vague, and contradictory”. https://bloom.bg/3Qt204a

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Exclusive: Country Garden, once China's largest property developer, has defaulted on a dollar bond for the first time, during a broader real estate debt crisis shaking the world's No. 2 economy. https://trib.al/WwCbsAG

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations is demanding the UN chief resign for saying the Hamas attacks didn't happen in a vacuum. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden says humanitarian aid isn't getting into Gaza fast enough. https://trib.al/PueZIhs

China's stock rally cools as traders question whether fresh stimulus and support — including Xi Jinping's personal visit to the central bank — are enough to rescue the economy. https://trib.al/K2CJK1c

Thousands of South African mine jobs at risk: Sibanye Stillwater said it will enter talks with labor unions over the possible restructuring at some of its platinum group mines that could affect more than 4,000 workers. https://bloom.bg/3tQkLWI

Senegal borrowing $1b more in 2023: Senegal is arranging some of its 2024 financing needs early in order to avoid a potential risk premium that most African borrowers suffer during poll years. https://bloom.bg/3rVgTTK

Zimbabwe cedes highest interest rate title: The sub-Saharan nation gave up its unenviable position to Argentina, after slashing borrowing costs to help boost economic growth. https://bloom.bg/46PwO5e

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Regulator Inquiry: India's accounting regulator is scrutinizing EY, one of Adani Group's longtime auditors, and has requested files and communications related to some of Adani audits. https://tinyurl.com/2wkk64dk

Combating chip shortage: Tech giants Google and Nvidia are betting on this young AI startup led by a college professor to tackle the global shortage of powerful chips. https://tinyurl.com/mwshpyz6

Swift mania: Taylor Swift’s tie-up with the third-largest bank in Singapore propelled the lender’s credit card fees to a record in the third quarter, the latest example of the pop star’s extraordinary economic heft. https://tinyurl.com/2p8sdy7r

Free to read: From HDFC to ICICI and Kotak Mahindra, many of India’s private banks have new leaders. But are they future-ready? Bloomberg's Menaka Doshi writes on the leadership makeover in the latest India Edition newsletter. https://trib.al/Gyp0RN1

Looking for insightful commentary and in-depth analyses on India? Sign up here [ https://bloom.bg/3qEX2rh ] for our weekly newsletter to stay updated with the latest reportage on billionaires and businesses behind its rise.

South Africa's energy reform loan: The World Bank says it will support the sub-Saharan nation's transition to using cleaner forms of energy with a $1 billion loan. https://bloom.bg/3Qf9OW7

Zambia's debt restructuring: The country's government reaches an agreement in principle with a steering committee of holders of $3 billion in eurobonds to restructure the debt, three years after first defaulting on the loans. https://bloom.bg/46ZMEdD

World's biggest climate fund to support Rwanda: South Korea-based Green Climate Fund has agreed to invest $39.1 million in Rwanda to help it tackle climate change through the restoration of the nation’s only remaining montane forests. https://bloom.bg/3QuGRqw

Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo sees the country's $7 billion high-speed rail project as a way to meet his ambitious growth targets.

But with the project $1 billion over budget, was it worth it? Haslinda Amin sits down with the outgoing leader in a wide-ranging interview. Watch the full episode of Latitude here https://trib.al/1633IZp

China’s former Premier Li Keqiang has died of a heart attack at 68, state broadcaster CCTV reports.

After losing out to Xi Jinping for the role of president, Li became premier for a decade, overseeing China's economy. Read more about his legacy: https://trib.al/ewYLS29

Karpowership wins South Africa approval: The company won environmental authorization for one of three ship-mounted power plants it wants to connect to the South African grid, a key step in fulfilling a contract it won more than two years ago. https://bloom.bg/3QyhG5l

Protection rights for lamb: South Africa has registered lamb meat from the arid central Karoo region for protection under Geographical Indication status. https://bloom.bg/3MkMNjo

Stampeding buffaloes drown: More than 100 buffaloes are reported to have drowned after they stampeded into a river in northeastern Namibia’s Zambezi region, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. https://bloom.bg/3Sa4NAK

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Elon Musk is still in talks with Indonesia, President Joko Widodo tells Bloomberg Television's Haslinda Amin in a wide-ranging interview on his big ambitions for the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation.

Watch the full episode of Latitude: https://trib.al/hQbNM2f