Mumbai: South Africa's Marco Jansen with teammates celebrate the dismissal of England's Joe Root during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between South Africa and England at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Chasing a 400-run target, England's innings ended at 170 in 22 overs -- Reece Topley remained absent hurt after injuring his left index finger,Gerald Coetzee claimed 3-35 and Marco Jansen completed a fine all-round display with a 2-35 haul for South Africa. Both of them enjoyed the tailenders' luck as some of their shots missed the fielders' grasp by centimetres at the boundary rope. But it was small consolation for England as they succumbed to their worst defeat in ODIs. England batters had to take their chances and Buttler had hoped that they would capitalise on the dew-laden ball to chase the big total.

ShareCrafty Workshop, an Egyptian startup within the education technology sector, has achieved a successful $400,000 seed funding round. Founded in 2019 by Hadeer Shalaby and Amgad Moustafa, Crafty Workshop is an innovative e-learning platform specializing in the creative industries. The platform’s primary mission is to offer cost-effective, high-quality education that empowers users to nurture their creative abilities and pursue their interests. Crafty Workshop operates as a dual-purpose entity, functioning as an educational platform and a provider of vocational skills training to tackle the pressing issue of youth unemployment. The company equips learners with crucial knowledge and skills via its vocational training initiatives while also aiding them in securing job opportunities and fostering career prospects.

Advisory for non-essential travel within the Middle East North Africa (MENA) RegionThe advisory below was issued on Oct. 20, 2023, by Nathan Brostrom, Executive Vice President and CFO, and Kevin Confetti, Associate Vice President & Chief Risk Officer. In recent weeks, we have seen an escalating security risk within the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region, including anti-Israel and anti-United States protests and violence in several countries. Due to this heightened risk and our concern for the health and safety of University of California students, faculty, and staff, I am directing the UC community to avoid all non-essential travel to the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region for the foreseeable future. Ensuring that your travel is registered with the UC Travel Insurance Program. The attached Advice Sheet from UC’s travel security provider, Crisis 24, offers guidance for reducing your vulnerability during civil unrest We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will issue an updated advisory when appropriate.

Entrepreneur Valerie Labi has developed an electronic bike that she says can be charged as easily as a mobile phone. Gig economy workers are her team’s main focus, as well as women vendors in northern Ghana and Togo. Ms Labi says she had noticed a gap in the market for small vehicles that could deliver the growing number of online orders, but which don’t pollute the air with petrol fumes. Wahu Mobility’s e-bikes cost $2,000 upfront, or customers can pay $30 per week for 24 months after which point they own the vehicle. “Whilst you pay the subscriptions, we give you delivery demand to make sure you earn enough [money] to take home for you and your family, and pay off the vehicle,” Ms Labi adds.

The energy crisis extends far beyond the boarders of Eskom’s grid inefficiency, and the temporary 3-6 hour load shedding disruptions. Africa’s energy crisis is not just a local one but a continental disaster resulting in slowed economic growth. This year’s series,“Energy is the Life-blood of Development: Perspectives on the South African Energy Crisis”, award-winning financial journalist and former deputy editor of Financial Mail, Sikonathi Manshantsha, provided a unique perspective on the energy crisis having previously served as Eskom’s spokesperson. The power crisis in Nigeria, is one of the main contributing factors towards the high unemployment rate. This places some perspective on the broader picture of the African energy crisis as a whole, and the constraints that it places on the general population and its economy.

Still, China has reportedly inked over 200 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations. China has also spent about $240bn bailing out countries struggling with their BRI debts, according to separate research published earlier this year. Experts say that BRI financing has now been increasingly focused on smaller projects, with specific aims relating to social or political goals. In Africa, China’s influence has been steadily growing since BRI’s launch, says Samir Bhattacharya, a senior research associate at Vivekananda International Foundation. In light of this, Bhattacharya calls for a factual review of China’s recent economic interactions with Africa that would help to analyze the current trend and forecast some outcomes for Africa from the recent BRI and beyond.

New York, Oct ober21 (IANS) The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based nonprofit, has said that at least 22 journalists have been killed since the Hamas launched its massive assault on Israel on October 7. In a report released on Friday, the CPJ said that it is investigating all reports of journalists killed, injured, detained, or missing in the raging conflict, including those hurt as hostilities spread to neighboring Lebanon. "As of October 20, at least 22 journalists were among the more than 4,000 dead on both sides since the war began on October 7, with hundreds killed in Tuesday’s hospital blast in Gaza," it said. Of the 22 slain journalists, 18 were Palestinian, three Israelis and one Lebanese. The CPJ said that it was probing "numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes".

The American Department of the Treasury announced lately sanctions against ten key members of Hamas, operatives, and other financial facilitators. The sanctioned individuals are based in Gaza but also in Algeria, Qatar, Sudan, and Türkiye. “The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. The American sanctions target in particular “members managing Hamas investment portfolios.” They target, among others, a financial agent based in Qatar “close to Iran” as well as those responsible for a cryptocurrency base located in Gaza, the treasury department said in a press release. “These investment networks are run by the highest-ranking members of the Hamas leadership and allow them to live in luxury while Palestinians in Gaza face very difficult economic and living conditions,” the department of the Treasury added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has joined other Western officials in warning that the risk of regional “spillover” from the Israel-Hamas war was “real” after US and other international forces in the region faced increasing threat of attacks. “We have seen the Arab streets fill with rage all across the region. So, the risk of a regional spillover is real,” the European Commission chief said, adding that “Iran, Hamas’ patron, only wants to fuel the fire of chaos.” Speaking at the Hudson Institute in Washington, Von Der Leyen also said dialogue between Israel and its neighbors must continue. Her warning comes after US forces in the region had faced increasing threats and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks, most recently on Thursday evening. A US navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea also intercepted three missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in YemenEarlier, Von der LeyeE sought to defend her recent trip to Israel by positing that “there is no contradiction in standing in solidarity with Israel and acting on the humanitarian needs of Palestinians.”

Thunder possible. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..TonightCloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

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Today at WPR, we’re covering the Israel-Hamas war, far-right opposition to Ukraine aid in the U.S. and the security crisis in the Sahel. In recent and ongoing wars in Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere, efforts to provide humanitarian aid have faced both political and logistical obstacles that have exacerbated the suffering of civilians caught in or driven from the conflict zones. Put simply, the Israel-Hamas war is coming at a time when there is little help and little hope for those who need it most in conflict zones. As columnist Paul Poast writes, for the extreme right wing of the GOP, Ukraine aid is a key target that must be cut. Why is Ukraine aid such a common cudgel for the MAGA wing of the GOP?

Video ModuleHamas frees two American hostages held in GazaPostedThe Islamist group Hamas has released two U.S. hostages, mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan, who were kidnapped in its attack on Israel. A Hamas spokesperson said the decision was for "humanitarian reasons," and to prove "claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false." Matthew Larotonda reports.

A key objective and strength of the Sharjah Publishers Conference has been to connect publishers from the global publishing community with the African publishing world. This year’s African presence has increased again, with participants from 18 African countries (excluding North Africa/Arab countries), many of them Francophone, including Benin, Burkino Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius and Zaire for the first time, along with many returning participants. Ernest Oppong, Executive Director of the African Publishers Network (APNET), based in Accra, Ghana, has been representing African publishers at the Publishers Conference since 2018. I have been to book fairs where the African presence comprised a publisher or two from Egypt. The conference was the starting point of her international publishing journey which led to winning a London Book Fair Excellence Award in 2021.

Philippines-based digital bank Tonik has entered the insurance business. Speaking of digital banks based in the Philippines, UNO Digital Bank is teaming up with Collabera Digital. A digital engineering services provider, Collabera Digital will help the bank develop and integrate a mini app within superapp GCash. The leading superapp in the Philippines, GCash provides a wide range of financial services including money transfer, billpay, savings, investments, insurance, lending, and more. International payments provider Nium expanded its B2B travel payments offering in the Asia-Pacific region.