BRICS bloc grows: Major emerging market nations invited top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates to join their bloc in a push to expand its global influence. https://bloom.bg/3QVKfez

Putin appears virtually at BRICS: Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a BRICS summit in South Africa by video on Thursday, the day after a plane crash that presumably killed the head of the mercenary Wagner Group. https://bloom.bg/3OGC0jG

Congo's bid to regain control of metals: The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to buy back some of the country’s prized copper and cobalt deposits, as the government tries to gain more control of crucial green metals. https://bloom.bg/47NBHMI

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Tricky market: Quantitative strategists are supposed to be good at figuring out winning formulas. But one puzzle they haven’t solved is how to succeed in India, one of the world’s top-performing major markets of the pandemic era. https://trib.al/EX6tuCv

BRICS truce: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, asking officials to work at resolving a border dispute. https://trib.al/8sGLVmq

Damage control: Adani Group says cash and profit generated from its sprawling infrastructure business can cover all the debt maturing each year in the coming decade, as billionaire Gautam Adani tries to restore investor confidence. https://trib.al/QVh6SA0

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

Niger Junta gives go-ahead for neighbors intervention: Niger’s military leadership gave forces from Mali and Burkina Faso the go-ahead to intervene if the country comes under attack. https://bloom.bg/45M9GUf

Zimbabwe election "peaceful": Regional observers said Zimbabwe’s election was “generally calm and peaceful” despite voting delays in mostly urban areas. https://bloom.bg/45qrapa

Wagner's African empire: Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently spent his last days in Africa. His death will reverberate across the continent where he built a business empire over the past five years, becoming an iconoclastic celebrity in places like Mali and the Central African Republic, whose presidents have lost an important ally. https://bloom.bg/3PbdXtN

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Exclusive: The failed SpaceX launch left acres of damage that had US wildlife officials and biologists in disbelief, documents seen by Bloomberg show. https://trib.al/UHXv17c

Rice restrictions: India, the world’s biggest exporter of rice, imposed more curbs on shipments of the grain in a move that’s likely to further squeeze global supplies of the food staple. https://tinyurl.com/4rjcpa7d

Counter measures: Indian steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal wants the government to counter American tariffs and Europe’s carbon tax with a similar levy, to level the playing field for companies like his. https://tinyurl.com/259nzmya

Shifting away: The US campaign to curb China’s technological rise has accelerated major industry players’ shift towards other parts of Asia. Vietnam and India are the biggest winners, with smaller production hot spots appearing elsewhere in Asia, as producers from the US and Japan reduce their footprint in China. https://tinyurl.com/2s8uc27x

Reliance has appointed the three children of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani on its board as the family continues its succession planning.

Ambani’s wife, Nita, will step down from the board, “to devote more of her time to the Reliance Foundation” charity.

The moves are part of Ambani’s attempts to give a clear future leadership plan after a messy family power struggle more than a decade ago. Read the latest from Reliance's annual general meeting. ➡️ https://trib.al/UJc1tMS

French Tensions with Niger Rise: President Emmanuel Macron rejected a demand from Niger’s military junta to recall the French ambassador, a month after a coup destroyed relations between the two former allies. https://bloom.bg/45O6JTc

Zimbabwe Leader Wins New Term: President Emmerson Mnangagwa won another five-year term in the August 23-24 elections which international observers said were deeply flawed. https://bloom.bg/3QYov1I

Egypt Stocks Hit Record High: Egypt’s EGX 30 benchmark stock index reaches all-time peak, driven by investors guarding against rising inflation. https://bloom.bg/45ykrda

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Genius spotting: Ken Griffin’s financial empire is going all out in the battle for “truly exceptional” new hires. Some highly sought-after interns have been hand picked from 69,000 applicants by billionaire Griffin’s lieutenants at Citadel, as it looks to groom the next generation of math and computer whizzes. Read The Big Take: https://tinyurl.com/bde9xbb8

G-20 absence: President Vladimir Putin touted Russia’s close ties with India in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as world leaders prepare to gather in New Delhi. Putin told Modi he won’t attend G-20 summit in person. https://tinyurl.com/2jhk8wp4

Tax trouble: India’s tax department is probing an alleged tax evasion of more than $50 million by founder of three Indian unicorns — FirstCry.com, Globalbees Brands and Xpressbees, sources say. https://tinyurl.com/nhk3k4nt

Nigeria’s train to nowhere shows how not to build public transit
Nigeria's Abuja Light Rail project, once hailed as a milestone, has crumbled into abandonment. The $823 million project, touted as a government promise fulfilled in 2018, now lies abandoned after less than two years of operation. Stations stand empty and train cars are locked away. Read more about how Nigeria seeks to address the aftermath here: https://bloom.bg/3EeDMDY

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Overwhelming popularity: About eight in 10 Indians have a favorable view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and most of them see the South Asian country’s global influence strengthening in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center. https://tinyurl.com/2yh242xh

Border dispute: New Delhi lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the publication of an official map that shows China claiming Indian territory in the Himalayas, a sign that tensions over a border dispute are simmering before a major summit next month. https://tinyurl.com/59ztzfp2

Banking shakedown: Some of the biggest local and international banks in Singapore are becoming embroiled in one of the city-state’s largest money laundering cases. https://tinyurl.com/4mfxtudv

Latest African coup: Soldiers have seized power in Gabon, an OPEC member. Army officers announced on state television that they had canceled the August 26th vote and dissolved institutions. The military takeover marks the ninth incident in sub-Saharan Africa since 2020. https://bloom.bg/3Ej3bfH

Fraudulent elections: Zimbabwe's main opposition party has called for a rerun of an election which granted President Emmerson Mnangagwa another five-year term and was found to be deeply flawed by international observers. https://bloom.bg/45vSken

Ghana's $4 billion debt restructure: Ghana has agreed to terms to swap about $4 billion of domestic debt, thereby taking another significant step towards fulfilling its obligations under an International Monetary Fund bailout. https://bloom.bg/3Rihidd

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Expensive travel: As India’s airline market transforms into a duopoly, ticket prices that have long known to be dirt-cheap are climbing. https://tinyurl.com/4hdjduuu

Adani saga: A new report, based on a secret paper trail, documents a decade of regulatory inaction against alleged corporate governance lapses at Adani Group. (via Bloomberg Opinion) https://tinyurl.com/57tms5ms

Next in line: Ambani is just the tip of the iceberg. India’s Great Succession has begun, and investors should brace for a wild ride. Read Menaka Doshi's take in Bloomberg's newly launched newsletter India Edition. https://trib.al/2c2qJii
Subscribe here [https://bloom.bg/45jP1GP] for a ringside view of the billionaires, businesses and policy decisions behind India’s rise as an emerging economic powerhouse.

Deposed leader appeals for help: Ousted Gabon President Omar Bongo is reported to be under house arrest, according to military officers. Bongo has called upon his supporters worldwide to "make noise" about the unfolding events in a televised broadcast. https://bloom.bg/3Phic8f

Power plan delays: South Africa’s plans to bring 2,000 megawatts of emergency power online last year have encountered repeated delays, and none of the 11 private generation projects the government selected are operational. https://bloom.bg/3R3beF9

Zambia inflation at 16-month high: Zambia’s inflation accelerated to a 16-month high in August, a week after the central bank increased its benchmark interest rate for the third time in a row to contain price growth pressures that are predicted to persist through to the first half of 2025. https://bloom.bg/3Pllrf0

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Solar mission: Hot on the heels of its lunar landing success, India is readying to blast a probe even deeper into space to study the sun. https://tinyurl.com/39rf8jtz

Empty-handed: Tensions between China and India threaten to prevent Group of 20 leaders from issuing a joint communique for the first time since the forum was created in 1999, sources say. https://tinyurl.com/5dxuzudk

Green bypass: Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta lobbied the Indian government to weaken key environmental regulations related to oil and mining during the pandemic, an investigation claims. https://tinyurl.com/mtwzybwp

Oligopolies grip Nigeria’s markets: About five companies in Nigeria control market and prices in 10 sectors, according to a central bank official. Nigeria's central bank is struggling with inflation at 18-year high. https://bloom.bg/3PncEZG

Gabon bonds recoup: Gabon’s dollar bonds rebounded from a two-day slump as the country’s lowered debt-servicing burden helped to calm investors fretting over this week’s military coup. https://bloom.bg/3PlWX55

E-Payments spike in East Africa: Retailers such as grocers and department stores are driving the uptake of digital payments in East Africa, with buyers preferring to pay online instead of using physical debit or credit cards. https://bloom.bg/3P1cKVD

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.

India's new affluent: Luxury retails including Hermes and Christian Louboutin are paying skyrocketing rent for space in historic real estate and access to India's rising upper class. http://tinyurl.com/2555kzy7

Strained rice market: Rice prices in Asia jumped back near the highest level in almost 15 years after India placed restrictions on all of its exports. http://tinyurl.com/muyws39u

G-20 snub: President Xi Jinping began his third term with a diplomatic blitz that bolstered his image as a global statesman. Now, he’s set to skip the world’s premier international forum of world leaders — and it’s not exactly clear why. http://tinyurl.com/mwarba73

Zimbabwe President Sworn In: President Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in for a second and final term after being declared the winner the elections that international observers said were deeply flawed and the opposition rejected as a sham. https://bloom.bg/3qX7Vog

Civilian Rule Restoration: Gabon’s new military ruler, General Brice Oligui Nguema, called for a referendum on a new constitution and an overhaul of the OPEC member state’s electoral code, as he pledged to restore civilian rule at his inauguration. https://bloom.bg/45TjawQ

Budget Blowout: South Africa’s finance ministry warned other government departments that it is confronting significant budgetary challenges and spending needs to be reined in if it is to meet its debt-stabilization targets. https://bloom.bg/3EqC2HM

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.

G-20 explained: Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming summit in India this week. https://trib.al/3NzdVtb

Election kickoff: A deluge of advertisements to greet G-20 leaders in India's capital is also serving as the unofficial start to Prime Minister Modi's campaign for next year's election. http://tinyurl.com/akaw9unu

India shining: With China increasingly isolated and the US seeking a developing-market champion, India is having a moment. Watch the first of a four-part video series, where we look at whether India has what it takes to become an economic powerhouse. http://tinyurl.com/mr3cexv8

India Edition: 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. It's free to read.

Climate Champion: Kenyan President William Ruto has staked a claim to be Africa’s leading voice on how to combat global warming. This week he led Africa’s inaugural climate summit in Nairobi and advocated a shift in approach from seeking aid to taking proactive measures. https://bloom.bg/3P6oiXH

South Africa GDP: South Africa’s economy grew faster than expected on improved output in the finance and manufacturing industries. The rand pared earlier losses and bond yields retreated from session highs after the data. https://bloom.bg/45Uktf2

French Troop Withdrawal: Niger’s ruling junta said discussions are under way that are expected to result in the rapid withdrawal of French troops, after the West African country ended a military cooperation agreement with its former colonial ruler. https://bloom.bg/3RgowOu

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.