Bloomberg

Twenty people remain in intensive care after turbulence hit a Singapore Air flight, while 14 needed surgery as of Wednesday, Thailand authorities say. More here: https://bloom.bg/4bv3bbp 📷: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg

Takeover target: Anglo American agrees to enter talks with BHP after rejecting a third buyout proposal worth $49 billion, opening the door to what would be the biggest mining deal in over a decade. https://bloom.bg/4auqkJR Road contract: Nigeria’s cabinet last week approved construction work on the second section of a $13 billion highway awarded to an ally of President Bola Tinubu, a project that’s ignited a political firestorm in the country. https://bloom.bg/4bqAdcY More chocolate: African chocolatiers are seeing gains despite severe weather impacting cocoa supply, leading to record-breaking price increases as demand for ethically made confectionery rises. https://bloom.bg/3wS95UY 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.

🎙 Chinese President Xi Jinping can't count on soaring prosperity to underpin support for Communist Party rule anymore. Today on The Big Take Asia podcast, how he’s managing to navigate these changes https://link.chtbl.com/XJpkYRMU

NEW: China’s economic miracle is ending, leaving President Xi Jinping with a challenge none of his predecessors faced: how to govern after the boom. Read The Big Take here: https://bloom.bg/3QXMLQS

Debt restructuring: Ghana’s plan to restructure $13 billion of foreign debt rejected by the International Monetary Fund last month is back on track, thanks to stronger-than-expected economic growth. https://bloom.bg/44OVb2q Billion dollar projects: TotalEnergies and its partners approve a $6 billion deep-water oil project about 100 kilometers off the coast of Angola, reaffirming the French energy giant’s commitment to the African nation. https://bloom.bg/3VasFp4 Healthcare expansion: South Africa’s largest private hospital network is expanding primary and home-care options as it seeks to further widen its patient base. https://bloom.bg/4at0BBB 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.

One person has died and several passengers have been injured after a flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence. Latest: https://bloom.bg/4dRtUAA 📷: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Riot risks: South Africa’s top court rules that former President Jacob Zuma can’t run as a candidate in next week’s election, raising the risk his supporters will foment unrest. https://bloom.bg/4dKyv7I Coup leader killed: The Democratic Republic of Congo's government says it killed the leader of an attempted coup and arrested several others, hours after gunfire erupted on Sunday in the capital of the mineral-rich central African country. https://bloom.bg/4bmSrMs Black empowerment: Impala Platinum announces a 9 billion rand ($500 million) deal that will result in Black investors holding a 13% interest in the South African mining company and the Bafokeng business it acquired last year. https://bloom.bg/3wFT9oW 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 death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash raises the immediate question of who will succeed him in running the government. Raisi had been expected to succeed 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his death has consequences for the future of one of the most powerful positions in the Middle East. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/3K4Nagu 📷: Office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran/Getty Images

Ebrahim Raisi, the ultraconservative cleric whose tenure as Iran’s president was marked by a mass uprising and an increasingly hawkish stance toward the West, has died after a helicopter crash. He was widely seen in Iran as a favorite to eventually succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Read more on his life, and the impact of his death: https://bloom.bg/3wJHw05

BREAKING: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of the country, along with other officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. Follow live updates here: https://bloom.bg/3UQmlBu 📷: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg