https://www.scmp.com/rss/519141/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Benin was voting for a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni a shoo-in after overseeing a decade of economic growth in the West African country despite jihadist attacks in the north. Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, who is stepping down after two five-year terms and has endorsed Wadagni as his successor. Turnout will be a crucial factor after a lacklustre campaign hit by voter apathy. “We must vote to ensure... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3349796/benin-election-favours-continuity-amid-al-qaeda-attacks-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3349796/benin-election-favours-continuity-amid-al-qaeda-attacks-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:35:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A French court on Monday issued an arrest warrant and a one-year prison sentence against the Chinese captain of a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker over failing to comply with orders to stop his ship. Chen Zhangjie, 39, was sentenced in absentia after the French navy boarded the Boracay tanker in September before releasing the vessel and its crew days later, in what Russian leader Vladimir Putin condemned as “piracy”. The court in the western city of Brest also ordered Chen to pay a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348452/french-court-convicts-chinese-captain-oil-tanker-linked-russian-shadow-fleet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348452/french-court-convicts-chinese-captain-oil-tanker-linked-russian-shadow-fleet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:21:28 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China has placed its nationals on high alert following a series of rebel attacks targeting the US$4.5 billion Niger-Benin oil pipeline and an Islamic State raid on the Nigerien capital’s international airport on January 29. On Monday, the Chinese embassy in Niamey urged citizens to avoid high-risk areas and instructed firms to implement emergency response plans as insurgent groups increasingly target Chinese-managed infrastructure. The warning follows recent attacks on the pipeline and a predawn... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344831/why-beijings-us45-billion-niger-benin-oil-pipeline-being-attacked-rebels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344831/why-beijings-us45-billion-niger-benin-oil-pipeline-being-attacked-rebels?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:30:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Islamic State extremist group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack in Niger on an air force base in the capital that wounded four soldiers and damaged an aircraft. The claim of responsibility was contained in a statement on Amaq News Agency, the group’s propaganda wing, that said it was “a surprise and coordinated attack” that inflicted heavy losses. State television reported that Niger’s forces responded quickly to the assault early on Thursday, killing 20 of the attackers and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341894/islamic-state-claims-bold-attack-nigers-strategic-airport-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341894/islamic-state-claims-bold-attack-nigers-strategic-airport-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:00:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Niger’s military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani on Thursday blamed the French, Benin and Ivory Coast presidents for sponsoring an attack on Niamey international airport, an accusation he made without offering any evidence. Gunfire and ‍loud explosions echoed around Niger’s international airport in Niamey shortly before midnight in what two security sources described as a “terrorist attack”, before calm returned to the capital on Thursday morning. Tiani accused French President Emmanuel Macron,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341777/nigers-junta-accuses-foreign-leaders-sponsoring-attack-airport-thanks-russians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341777/nigers-junta-accuses-foreign-leaders-sponsoring-attack-airport-thanks-russians?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 04:32:52 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Just days after Chinese ambassador Yang Renhuo met Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to donate airport security inspection equipment, the West African nation was hit by a military coup that ousted Embalo. The November 26 coup marked yet another military takeover along Africa’s “coup belt”, adding Guinea-Bissau to nations like Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger and Gabon that had recently seen leaders toppled. The political turmoil has raised the stakes for China’s vast economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336160/how-will-china-respond-latest-west-africa-coup-economic-footprint-expands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336160/how-will-china-respond-latest-west-africa-coup-economic-footprint-expands?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:35:08 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China is cementing its image as a lasting partner across Africa by gifting high-profile infrastructure, such as presidential palaces and parliament buildings. A key example is the new US$32 million Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) headquarters in Abuja. Funded by China and set for handover by the end of January, this centralised complex for the 15-member bloc aims to boost staff productivity and cut operational costs. On December 4, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335984/china-built-headquarters-15-member-economic-bloc-strengthens-ties-west-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335984/china-built-headquarters-15-member-economic-bloc-strengthens-ties-west-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 08:00:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A short-lived coup in Benin left “casualties on both sides” of the government forces and the mutinous soldiers, authorities said on Monday, as security forces intensified the search for the coup leader who was on the run. The military takeover attempting to overthrow President Patrice Talon, which lasted a few hours before authorities announced it had been foiled, was the latest in a series of recent coups across Africa - most following a similar pattern of disputed elections, constitutional... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335715/benin-hunts-leader-behind-short-lived-coup-left-casualties-both-sides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335715/benin-hunts-leader-behind-short-lived-coup-left-casualties-both-sides?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 06:31:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Benin’s president said the “situation is completely under control” in his country after the government thwarted an attempted coup thanks to loyalist soldiers with support from Nigerian forces. A group of soldiers announced earlier in the day on state television that they had ousted President Patrice Talon. That sparked a swift response from loyal army forces, joined by air strikes and troop deployments from neighbouring Nigeria. Beninese military and security sources said that around a dozen... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335523/benin-thwarts-coup-amid-economic-growth-rising-jihadist-violence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335523/benin-thwarts-coup-amid-economic-growth-rising-jihadist-violence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:18:47 +0000 With the taps turned off on a Chinese-funded oil pipeline from Niger to Benin, China has found itself in the middle of negotiations to solve the internal crises that are plaguing relations between the two West African nations. China pumped billions of dollars into the building of the 2,000km (1,243-mile) Niger-Benin oil pipeline, running from the Agadem oilfield to Benin’s Atlantic coast. China was betting on the export of the oil to recoup that money – as well as a US$400 million loan that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270060/crises-hit-plagued-niger-benin-oil-pipeline-it-may-be-china-end-deadlock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270060/crises-hit-plagued-niger-benin-oil-pipeline-it-may-be-china-end-deadlock?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jul 2024 05:00:08 +0000