Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and happy almost-THURSDAY. The news cycle is taking a bit of a breather on the local front after the three-day Egypt Economic Conference gave us a very busy start to the week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The House of Representatives gave its final approval to a handful of bills today, including two bills that will make it harder for people to obtain gun licenses, the Agriculture Act, and amendments to the Civil Status Act that requires citizens to obtain their national IDs at age 15, instead of 16.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Musk’s Twitter takeover could be completed this Friday: Elon Musk has reportedly told the investors who have agreed to finance his USD 44 bn acquisition of Twitter that he plans to close the transaction by this Friday, a source with knowledge of the matter tells Reuters. The equity investors, which include Sequoia Capital, Binance, and Qatar Investment Authority, have received the necessary papers for the financing pledge from Musk’s lawyers, the source said. The banks that have agreed to finance Musk's takeover of Twitter are in the process of signing the relevant documentation for the final debt financing arrangement, Bloomberg reports. The Wall Street Journal also has the story.

HAPPENING NOW-

Egypt and the UAE’s three-day gathering to mark 50 years of bilateral ties kicked off earlier today, with an economic forum with attendees including ministers, senior officials and business leaders from the two countries. Tomorrow, the event will include a media forum.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• SODIC is making a bid to acquire Orascom for Real Estate: The upmarket real estate developer has submitted a preliminary, non-binding offer to acquire 100% of the Orascom Development Egypt subsidiary.
• The Egypt Economic Conference wrapped yesterday with closing speeches from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, both of whom laid out what they see as next steps for the state’s role in the economy, manufacturing and other policy areas after three days’ worth of public talks.
• From the House yesterday: Green financing + gun licensing + ID cards: The House of Representatives approved two green finance agreements, as well as two draft bills that will make it harder for people to obtain gun licenses, and a draft amendment to the Civil Status Law that would require citizens to get their national ID cards at 15 years old instead of 16 years old.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Empowering the South: Green Economies and Climate Resilience takes place at the Greek Campus today. Speakers at the conference include former deputy prime minister Ziad Bahaa El Din, Egypt climate czar Mahmoud Mohieldin, and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat. You can register for the event here.

An IMF delegation will land in Cairo in the first week of November to continue loan talks, Jihad Azour, the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia, said earlier this week.

Law firms Matouk Bassiouny and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will hold a webinar on 2 November that will spotlight COP27’s potential impact on businesses globally. Register for the webinar here.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

????️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The showers and thunderstorms of yesterday should mostly give way to the sun tomorrow in Greater Cairo, where our favorite weather app tells us to expect a daytime high of 29°C and a nighttime low of 19°C.