Naira slump: MTN, Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by revenue, posted its first loss since 2016 after the devaluation of the Nigerian naira crimped income from one of its key markets. https://bloom.bg/46SA6Fu

New port: DP World and the British government’s development-finance arm will break ground on a deep-sea port in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Emirate logistics company broadens its expansion in Africa. https://bloom.bg/46ZnjRO

Vaccine bottlenecks: A mutated form of mpox has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo for months. Now the response to what has become a global health emergency faces a key obstacle, the country still doesn’t have a single vaccine. https://bloom.bg/4cBc3vU

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

🎙 The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos was supposed to be a hub for tourism and development.

How did it become a hive of criminal activity? And why don’t authorities seem interested in stopping it?

Listen to the Big Take Asia podcast https://link.podtrac.com/jxfy2rhy

Apple will make the most expensive iPhone Pro and Pro Max models in India for the first time this year as it diversifies beyond China. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/4dvbqFp

📷: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Spreading wings: Qatar Airways bought a 25% stake in South Africa’s SA Airlink as the Doha-based airline looks to expand its presence on the continent. https://bloom.bg/3AtCsyD

Hidden threat: Health authorities rushing to contain a fast-spreading mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo are increasingly concerned that the disease may be spreading through people who aren’t yet showing symptoms. https://bloom.bg/3YX5SiR

Flying high: Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu traveled to France on Monday for a “work stay” on a newly acquired jet, sparking criticism as the West African nation endures a cost-of-living crisis. https://bloom.bg/3WTTqxv

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

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer are among those feared dead aboard the sunken wreckage of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily, following a statement from the Italian Coast Guard.⁣
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Lynch and his family were celebrating his recent acquittal from fraud charges with a small group of advisers when the violent storm hit. Read more here: https://trib.al/ro66DOp
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📷: Loren Elliott/Bloomberg

Walmart is seeking to raise as much as $3.74 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com, ending an eight-year partnership in a key retail arena now plagued by an economic downturn and intense competition. Read more: https://bloom.bg/3AxLeLW

📷: Bloomberg

One of the largest vaults in the world has opened in Singapore as wealthy investors, families demand more high-security spaces to store physical gold bars and other physical bullions. https://bloom.bg/46UF2to

📷: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

ZiG transactions: Zimbabweans are using the nation’s gold-backed currency for 40% of payments compared with 20% when it first started in April, Finance Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga said. https://bloom.bg/3yV3cY8

More testing: A mutated strain of the virus that causes mpox, which is fueling an outbreak in several African countries, is likely to lead to sporadic imported cases in Europe, according to the chief of the region’s main health-advisory body for mpox. https://bloom.bg/4cyuqSj

Consumer rebound: South Africa’s economy probably avoided tipping into a recession in the second quarter and slower inflation buoyed hopes for an interest-rate cut next month. https://bloom.bg/4dTUVCz

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

JUST IN: Canada’s two biggest railways shut down early Thursday after talks with a union failed, leaving 9,000 employees locked out and blocking North American supply chain arteries that carry about $740 million in trade a day. Read more: https://bloom.bg/3AysVpX

This electric flying car has 16 rotors, two seats, and no pilot. It's set to become the world’s first commercial air taxi this year, as both aviation giants and new startups create the next generation of small electric aircraft.


The market could be worth $1 trillion by 2040 - but will passengers get on board? See more flying cars of the future here: https://bloom.bg/46YKbk4

📸: Ehang Holdings Ltd

Thailand has detected the new mutated strain of mpox virus from a European male who arrived in Bangkok last week from Africa, according to the Department of Disease Control of Thailand’s health ministry. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/4dTgDGO

📷: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Mutant strains: As disease detectives rush to central Africa to quell a mushrooming mpox contagion, they’re finding a complex mosaic of infection patterns involving different viral strains and vastly different routes of infection. https://bloom.bg/3T1zNSZ

More violent: Mercenaries from the Wagner Group are becoming more violent and killing more people one year after the death of the paramilitary group’s leader, a new report shows. https://bloom.bg/3MiE4h2

Big diamond: A massive 2,492-carat diamond, the second-largest such stone ever unearthed, has been recovered from a mine in Botswana. https://bloom.bg/3TnlPv9

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

Race to immunize: Mpox vaccines are urgently needed for adults and children in the most affected African countries to limit a fresh outbreak internationally, the chair of the World Health Organization’s African advisory group on immunization said. https://bloom.bg/3T0dA83

Peace talks flop: US-brokered talks in Switzerland aimed at ending Sudan’s civil war collapsed after efforts to persuade the army to attend failed, while aid to millions of people facing famine was stymied by the closure of a major border crossing. https://bloom.bg/3T205Vk

New mayor, old issues: Johannesburg’s new mayor has only been in the job for a few days, but he has already had plenty of practice in explaining why South Africa’s commercial capital is broken. https://bloom.bg/3SWNRNO

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

The Singapore-Johor Causeway is one of the world's busiest border crossings, where traffic can be stuck for hours. A new economic zone could make it busier - but might solve the gridlock.

Read more in this week's free Singapore Edition newsletter: https://bloom.bg/46ZUrZy
📸: Edwin Koo/Bloomberg

Telegram questioned the grounds for France’s detention of Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov, the messaging app’s billionaire co-founder, who was taken into custody at a Paris airport over the weekend. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/4cFtyLB

📷: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Whether it’s spreading conspiracy theories or organizing riots, messaging app Telegram has become a focus of extremist activity online.

So, what is Telegram and why are governments so concerned about it? Here's everything you need to know: https://bloom.bg/3X3TkU2

📷: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Just four years after the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, mpox has become a global health emergency that scientists say could have been avoided. Read The Big Take here: https://bloom.bg/4cALNC0

📷: Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Toncoin, a digital asset from a blockchain project linked to Telegram, has lost about $2.7 billion in market value, reflecting the uncertainty sparked by the detention of the messaging app’s CEO. Read more: https://bloom.bg/4dY9hCg

📷: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Qantas Airways accidentally sold return first-class seats between the US and Australia for less than A$5,000 ($3,390) — a discount of as much as 85% on the usual premium cabin fare. More here: https://bloom.bg/3YYhAcI

📷: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Missed warnings: Missteps and inaction from governments, health agencies and the funders of scientific research created the perfect environment for mpox to spread more easily between humans. https://bloom.bg/3yJPbg7

Suing state: A Petronas unit is suing South Sudan for allegedly blocking a sale of its assets for $1.25 billion and instead taking over that business. https://bloom.bg/3yQ4Ydf

GDP growth: Nigeria’s economy grew at a faster pace in the second quarter, helped by higher crude production that offset the impact of the naira’s devaluation on non-oil industry growth. https://bloom.bg/4g3et9Q

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