https://www.scmp.com/rss/519231/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Ghana said France was open to having ⁠discussions with a coalition ⁠of countries that are calling ⁠for reparations for transatlantic slavery, following a meeting last week with President Emmanuel Macron. Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, accompanied by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and other officials, held talks with Macron in Paris on Wednesday. Ablakwa said on X after the meeting that Macron had indicated France was open to discussions on reparations, including the return of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349925/france-open-engaging-slavery-reparations-says-ghana?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349925/france-open-engaging-slavery-reparations-says-ghana?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:50:32 +0000 Dulue Mbachu Dulue Mbachu The world’s two superpowers are waging an information war to influence the minds of Africa’s young and media-savvy demographic, with articles pitched by the United States and China designed to show each other in an unflattering light. On March 31, Africa Defence Forum magazine, a publication of the US Army’s Africa Command, ran an article called: “China’s floating fish factories plunder Guinea Bissau’s resources”. It detailed illegal operations by Chinese fishing trawlers in the West African... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349789/war-words-china-and-us-battle-it-out-loyalty-african-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349789/war-words-china-and-us-battle-it-out-loyalty-african-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:00:13 +0000 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 Reuters Reuters Three United Nations peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in ⁠southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medical staff were killed in Israeli strikes. Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said in a statement. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast. Earlier, another Indonesian soldier... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348348/indonesian-killed-lebanon-while-un-peacekeeping-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3348348/indonesian-killed-lebanon-while-un-peacekeeping-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:40:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”, despite opposition by the United States and some European countries. In a move advocates hailed as a step towards healing and possible reparations, the resolution was adopted to applause by a vote of 123 in favour, three against and 52 abstentions. The US, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained. Ghana’s President John... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3347954/un-designates-african-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3347954/un-designates-african-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:37:55 +0000 Dulue Mbachu Dulue Mbachu The ripples of the US-Israel on Iran are fuelling inflationary pressures across Africa through higher energy and fertiliser prices, threatening a fragile economic recovery. Most of Africa’s 54 countries depend on fuel imports and have experienced sharp increases in fuel prices, driven by disruptions to Middle East exports and the surge in global prices. Most are just getting over the price shocks caused by Russia’s war with Ukraine, which started in 2022 and has hurt many African countries that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347572/iran-war-delivers-new-inflation-stress-african-economies-emerging-older-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347572/iran-war-delivers-new-inflation-stress-african-economies-emerging-older-shocks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 08:13:26 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Resource-rich African nations are increasingly asserting control over critical minerals to maximise domestic returns, sending global prices soaring and exerting pressure on Chinese supply chains. One price crunch started last month when Zimbabwe, Africa’s biggest lithium producer, abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates. The country had originally planned to impose the ban in 2027 to encourage more local value-added processing of the mineral but the government brought... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346717/chinas-supply-chain-meets-wall-african-resource-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346717/chinas-supply-chain-meets-wall-african-resource-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:36:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that diplomatic channels remain open to end the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah and urged the international community to support Lebanon. “There is no military solution, only diplomacy, dialogue and full implementation of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions. The diplomatic avenues are available, including through my special coordinator for Lebanon ... and through key member states,” he said on Saturday during a visit to Beirut. Lebanon... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346625/un-chief-says-diplomatic-avenues-are-available-end-war-lebanon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346625/un-chief-says-diplomatic-avenues-are-available-end-war-lebanon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:29:09 +0000 Ada Li Ada Li The Hong Kong women’s football team made it home safely on Friday night after several anxious days stranded in Dubai following the US-Israel attacks on Iran, with members expressing relief at their return but disappointment about having to withdraw from a tournament. Twenty-seven players and staff landed in Hong Kong via Bangkok, where they had transited earlier in the week. One player flew from the Thai capital to Boston in the United States, while another is scheduled to leave Dubai for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3345778/hong-kong-womens-football-team-happy-be-home-after-anxious-wait-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3345778/hong-kong-womens-football-team-happy-be-home-after-anxious-wait-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:26:38 +0000 Emily Hung Emily Hung Hong Kong’s public airmail services to 24 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia have been affected after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran forced flight cancellations to two Gulf states and disrupted transit journeys. A Hongkong Post spokesman said on Sunday evening that the department’s airmail services to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were suspended with immediate effect until further notice. “Airmail services transiting through these locations will also be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345053/hongkong-posts-airmail-services-24-countries-affected-strikes-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3345053/hongkong-posts-airmail-services-24-countries-affected-strikes-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:45:39 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China ramped up its exports to Africa last year, widening its trade surplus with the continent by 64.5 per cent to a record US$102 billion, according to Chinese customs figures. The jump in the trade gap – up from US$62 billion the previous year – was driven by a 25.8 per cent surge in Chinese exports to the continent to US$225 billion, far outpacing the 5.4 per cent growth in African shipments to China to US$123 billion, according to the latest data from China’s General Administration of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340674/chinese-goods-pour-africa-widening-trade-gap-record-us102-billion-amid-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340674/chinese-goods-pour-africa-widening-trade-gap-record-us102-billion-amid-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:12 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen For decades, China’s influence in Africa has been concentrated in the eastern part of the continent. In recent years, a clear westward expansion has emerged, drawing attention from the United States and several western European nations. Many analyses have framed this shift as geopolitically driven – a strategic effort by Beijing to erode Western nations’ traditional interests on the continent, with particular attention paid to political and military cooperation between China and West African... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330354/science-drives-chinas-westward-expansion-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330354/science-drives-chinas-westward-expansion-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Oct 2025 08:00:14 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage When more than two dozen officers from the Somali National Armed Forces were awarded Chinese training scholarships this month, Beijing’s ambassador to Somalia Wang Yu assured them and the rest of the country that “China will not be absent” in helping the East African country achieve peace. Since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre, Somalia has been plagued by civil war and conflict with extremist groups such as al-Shabab. The training aims to help Somalia build a self-reliant defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323696/new-model-peace-china-takes-its-global-security-initiative-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3323696/new-model-peace-china-takes-its-global-security-initiative-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 10:00:12 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall What was meant as a symbolic gesture of friendship at an international summit has snowballed into a national panic in Japan, after false reports circulating in Africa and online suggested that new visa schemes would allow large numbers of migrants to settle in the country. In just a few days, a mistranslated phrase, an overzealous government statement and a flurry of social media posts turned a modest cultural exchange programme into a heated immigration controversy. The confusion stemmed from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323384/mass-migration-panic-rural-japan-after-symbolic-africa-ties-mistranslated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3323384/mass-migration-panic-rural-japan-after-symbolic-africa-ties-mistranslated?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Carol Yang Carol Yang Even after securing another 90-day tariff truce with the US, China’s trade-diversification efforts are expected to continue reshaping shipping routes for the rest of the year, as transpacific routes remain under pressure following an initial front-loading phase. “Despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries, we believe it is unlikely that tariffs will be completely eliminated, which will continue to weigh on US import volumes,” said Jarl Milford, a maritime analyst at Veson... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3321608/despite-us-china-tariff-truce-turning-tide-keeps-reshaping-shipping-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3321608/despite-us-china-tariff-truce-turning-tide-keeps-reshaping-shipping-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:00:14 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Chinese companies and miners in Africa are facing severe security threats from armed groups in search of gold, driven by soaring global prices for the precious metal. Multiple attacks and kidnappings targeting gold miners have been reported from Ghana, the Central African Republic, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in recent months. In Mali – one of Africa’s top gold producers – the Chinese embassy has repeatedly warned its citizens against operating gold mines in the country... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321419/global-uncertainties-drive-chinese-rush-african-goldfields-despite-risks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321419/global-uncertainties-drive-chinese-rush-african-goldfields-despite-risks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2025 05:22:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ghana’s defence and environment ministers were killed in a military helicopter crash Wednesday, the presidency said, after the air force chopper carrying three crew and five passengers came down in a forest in the south. Television station Joy News broadcast mobile phone footage from the crash scene showing smouldering wreckage in a heavily forested area earlier in the day, before it was revealed that ministers Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the dead. Boamah became... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321007/ghana-defence-and-environment-ministers-killed-helicopter-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321007/ghana-defence-and-environment-ministers-killed-helicopter-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 18:05:41 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Chinese nationals are being targeted by kidnappers in African countries as more investors are drawn to the continent in areas ranging from infrastructure development to minerals extraction. Cases of kidnapping for ransom are being seen across Africa. China’s embassy in South Africa issued a warning on Sunday about a rise in kidnappings of Chinese women. In Somalia and Ghana, piracy cases targeting Chinese fishing vessels have involved ransom demands. And the Democratic Republic of Congo and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317516/chinese-nationals-africa-vulnerable-kidnappings-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317516/chinese-nationals-africa-vulnerable-kidnappings-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 04:00:09 +0000 SCMP SCMP Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. History tells us US-China ties will survive current rupture: Neysun Mahboubi The leading academic finds grounds for “moderate optimism” after leading a group of American students on a 10-day tour of China. 2. China’s factory activity rebounds in June as US trade tensions ease Factory activity in China edged upwards in June but stayed in contractionary... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3316377/china-ghana-row-over-gold-how-claim-tax-refunds-tourist-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3316377/china-ghana-row-over-gold-how-claim-tax-refunds-tourist-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:15:07 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China and Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, are embroiled in a diplomatic row over the rampant problem of illegal gold mining, known as “galamsey”. As global gold prices soar, a growing number of Chinese firms are investing billions of dollars in Ghana’s lucrative gold sector. However, the alleged involvement of Chinese nationals in illicit mining operations has ignited major debate. It has prompted the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, to push back against accusations that Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316048/ghana-loggerheads-china-over-rampant-illegal-gold-mining?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316048/ghana-loggerheads-china-over-rampant-illegal-gold-mining?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 06:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The salty wind blows across the ruins of Ghana’s Fort Prinzenstein, where thick walls once held thousands of enslaved Africans before their journey across the Atlantic. Now only a shell remains – a crumbling monument teetering at the edge of the sea. For centuries, Ghana’s coastline has borne the brunt of history. Today it is being consumed by nature and neglect as climate change, rising sea levels and unchecked human activity eat away at the 550-kilometre (340-mile) shore. Villages are... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3312079/how-ghana-losing-its-coastline-and-parts-its-slave-trade-history-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3312079/how-ghana-losing-its-coastline-and-parts-its-slave-trade-history-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 May 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Ghana’s president-elect John Dramani Mahama has said he will not abandon the country’s US$3 billion rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, but wants to review the deal to tackle wasteful state spending and upgrade the energy sector. Mahama, a former president who won the December 7 election by a wide margin, said late on Friday he would also seek to tackle inflation and currency depreciation to mitigate a cost-of-living crisis in the West African nation. Mahama had said previously... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3290821/ghana-will-not-quit-imf-deal-wants-changes-says-president-elect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3290821/ghana-will-not-quit-imf-deal-wants-changes-says-president-elect?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:13:23 +0000 Ghana’s former leader John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday and pledged a “a life of limitless opportunity” for citizens after voters vented their anger over the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Previously president of the West African nation between 2012 and 2017, the 65-year-old Mahama received 56.5 per cent of votes cast, or 6.3 million votes, the electoral commission said. His main opponent from the current governing party,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3290068/ghanas-ex-leader-john-dramani-mahama-declared-winner-presidential-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3290068/ghanas-ex-leader-john-dramani-mahama-declared-winner-presidential-election?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:46:23 +0000 As gold prices surge, Chinese investors are betting on Africa to secure gold supplies by stepping up mining activities in South Africa and Ghana, the continent’s two top exporters of the precious metal. China-African Precious Metals Company (CAPM), a subsidiary of Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed Pengxin International Mining, has opened a newly refurbished gold processing plant in Orkney, South Africa. The mine is located in South Africa’s Witwatersrand basin, home to one of the world’s largest... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3288077/chinese-firms-bet-african-gold-prices-surge-face-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3288077/chinese-firms-bet-african-gold-prices-surge-face-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2024 14:00:16 +0000 Denmark said on Monday it was shutting its embassies in Mali and Burkina Faso as part of its new Africa strategy, as military coups have “severely limited the scope for action in the Sahel region”. Denmark said it would open embassies in Senegal, Tunisia and Rwanda, and bolster diplomatic staff at its embassies in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. Following the closures in Bamako and Ouagadougou, a special representative will be appointed for the African Great Lakes and Sahel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3276014/denmark-shuts-embassies-junta-led-mali-and-burkina-faso-over-military-coups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3276014/denmark-shuts-embassies-junta-led-mali-and-burkina-faso-over-military-coups?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:58:30 +0000 Leading Asian sprinter Shanti Pereira said her Olympic Games disappointment would not “define who I am and what I am capable of”. Singaporean Pereira ran 23.45 seconds, a long way off her personal best of 22.57, to finish last in her 200 metres repechage race on Monday. The 27-year-old, who was eliminated in round one of the 100m last week, said a fibula injury sustained in April left her needing to “bounce back from the bottom” to compete in Paris. Pereira vowed she would fight on until the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/asia/article/3273302/shanti-pereira-honoured-put-singapore-map-sad-after-olympics-blow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/asia/article/3273302/shanti-pereira-honoured-put-singapore-map-sad-after-olympics-blow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:00:14 +0000 Hong Kong chocolate makers Gavin Chan and Whitney Yip are digging deep into an industry they have grown to love since founding Gamma Craft Chocolate in 2018. On a plot of land in Tai Po, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, the couple are growing cacao trees, the evergreens whose seeds, also known as cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate. “We have about 30 cacao trees on a 3,000 sq ft [280 square metre] piece of land that range in age from three to nine months,” Chan says. It is a long-term... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3269261/hong-kong-craft-chocolate-makers-feeling-bitter-cocoa-prices-surge-amid-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3269261/hong-kong-craft-chocolate-makers-feeling-bitter-cocoa-prices-surge-amid-climate-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jul 2024 03:15:08 +0000 Gusti Awan’s harrowing ordeal began with a promise of lucrative work abroad, but the 26-year-old Indonesian’s dreams quickly turned nightmarish when he found himself trafficked by a criminal syndicate to a remote compound on the Thai-Myanmar border. For months, he was forced to commit online scams under threats of violence, enduring unthinkable abuse before finally managing to escape. Yet his ordeal did not end there – a lack of action by local authorities left Awan struggling to find justice,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3267944/enslaved-escaped-empowered-indonesian-survivors-odyssey-captive-crusader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3267944/enslaved-escaped-empowered-indonesian-survivors-odyssey-captive-crusader?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2024 08:00:09 +0000 World leaders on Sunday backed Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, and the need for eventual talks with Russia on ending the war – but left the key questions of how and when unresolved. More than two years after Russia invaded, leaders and top officials from more than 90 states spent the weekend at a Swiss mountainside resort for a two-day summit dedicated to resolving the largest European conflict since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the diplomatic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3266821/ukraine-summit-paves-way-peace-talks-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3266821/ukraine-summit-paves-way-peace-talks-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2024 13:15:09 +0000 A new Chinese fishing port on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coastline that is expected to create thousands of jobs is on track to be completed next year. The US$111 million port in Kilwa Masoko is being built by state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company under the Belt and Road Initiative, a transcontinental infrastructure project, with the aim of helping China meet its huge domestic demand for seafood. But the means by which it meets this demand have come under scrutiny with critics warning that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3266796/china-looks-africa-meet-rising-demand-seafood-can-it-balance-local-interests-its-own-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3266796/china-looks-africa-meet-rising-demand-seafood-can-it-balance-local-interests-its-own-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2024 07:13:58 +0000 In the midst of the current chill in Sino-US relations, as well as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, China’s image as a rising superpower and promoter of world peace is strengthening in the Arab World. During the recent China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for convening a peace conference to end the Gaza war and Palestinian suffering. Beijing has also proposed a plan for ending the Ukraine war. In the same vein, the St Petersburg International Economic... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3266056/wary-ugly-american-arab-world-leaning-towards-china-and-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3266056/wary-ugly-american-arab-world-leaning-towards-china-and-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 21:30:09 +0000 Chinese diplomats are delivering invitation letters to leaders across Africa for the next key diplomatic event between Beijing and the continent, which will take place in September against a backdrop of economic uncertainty. In a departure from tradition – which dictates that details of major summits are released a few weeks or days in advance – Uganda’s foreign ministry said the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will open in Beijing on September 3. According to the ministry, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265778/china-envoys-deliver-xis-invite-african-leaders-september-focac-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265778/china-envoys-deliver-xis-invite-african-leaders-september-focac-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:00:19 +0000 My father worked for China Dyeing Works in Hong Kong. I was just a few months old when he was posted to Ghana in 1969 and I moved there with my parents. When my mother got pregnant with my brother, she came back to Hong Kong to give birth and returned to Africa with him. My memories of the five years in Ghana are from the Super 8mm films my father shot – lots of jungles, waterfalls and lush landscapes. In the 1970s, we emigrated to Vancouver, Canada. In those days, it was a beachcomber town,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3264821/mean-girls-actress-jo-chim-hiding-her-chinese-side-and-being-remembered-more-her-day-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3264821/mean-girls-actress-jo-chim-hiding-her-chinese-side-and-being-remembered-more-her-day-job?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jun 2024 23:15:11 +0000 Eastern head coach Roberto Losada had two reasons to celebrate on Saturday, his side won the FA Cup and Hong Kong officials confirmed his appointment as the city team’s assistant coach for this month’s World Cup qualifiers. The Spaniard saw his team overcome a resilient Sham Shui Po side 3-2 at Mong Kok Stadium on Saturday, with all five goals coming in extra time. Hong Kong football chief Eric Fok Kai-shan decided it was the best time to break the news, just when the Eastern players and staff... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3265022/eastern-delight-losada-turns-double-celebration-team-claim-fa-cup-and-hong-kong-come-calling-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3265022/eastern-delight-losada-turns-double-celebration-team-claim-fa-cup-and-hong-kong-come-calling-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 13:06:58 +0000 Noah Baffoe is aiming for FA Cup glory to cap a perfect season with Eastern, 12 months after juggling football with repairing lights on BMW and Mercedes cars. The Ghana-born striker has been one of the leading lights of Eastern’s fabulous campaign. His 28 goals included a double in the dramatic FA Cup semi-final victory over Kitchee, while Baffoe’s sharpshooting qualities were recognised by his fellow professionals, who voted him their player of the year at last week’s end of season... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3264904/fa-cup-eastern-star-baffoe-realising-professional-dream-hong-kong-he-goes-fixing-car-lights-final?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3264904/fa-cup-eastern-star-baffoe-realising-professional-dream-hong-kong-he-goes-fixing-car-lights-final?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 04:00:25 +0000 Britain’s ambassador to Mexico was removed from his post after allegedly pointing an assault rifle inside a vehicle carrying embassy staff, reports said on Friday. The UK government said it had taken “appropriate action” after the incident, without confirming that Jon Benjamin had been sacked. Benjamin was on a work trip to a northwestern region plagued by drug cartel violence when the incident happened, the Financial Times reported. “Benjamin, a career diplomat, was sacked as ambassador soon... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3264986/uk-ambassador-mexico-removed-after-pointing-gun-staff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3264986/uk-ambassador-mexico-removed-after-pointing-gun-staff?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:47:48 +0000 US President Joe Biden is expected to designate Kenya as a major non-Nato ally during a three-day state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto this week, a source familiar with the plans said. Kenya would be the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the designation, reflecting Washington’s drive to deepen relations with the East African nation, which has long also had close relations with Russia and China. As he welcomed Ruto to the White House for a meeting with business executives,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3263765/us-expected-designate-kenya-major-non-nato-ally-biden-hosts-ruto-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3263765/us-expected-designate-kenya-major-non-nato-ally-biden-hosts-ruto-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2024 06:56:38 +0000 The rapid build-up of public debt was on the minds of finance ministers gathered in Washington recently for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. With the US Federal Reserve likely to keep interest rates higher for longer, inflation stubbornly unyielding worldwide, and the dollar’s rally, pressures are mounting for urgent relief for heavily indebted low-income countries. The solutions that surfaced in Washington focused on retooling current approaches while... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3260088/imf-world-bank-must-do-more-defuse-bomb-poor-nations-debt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3260088/imf-world-bank-must-do-more-defuse-bomb-poor-nations-debt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:30:13 +0000 When it comes to the most popular gay events in Hong Kong, parties in Lan Kwai Fong blasting the Billboard Top 50 in rooms full of muscular, sweaty men may be one of the first things that come to mind. But it does not have to be. Seeing a need for more LGBTQ spaces in Hong Kong, a group of creatives joined forces to form Möth Agency, which launched on March 30 with a sold-out “Möth Landing” rave in a secret Kowloon location. While members emphasise the collective is a community project focusing... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3259889/music-weirdos-meet-djs-moth-agency-lgbtq-collective-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3259889/music-weirdos-meet-djs-moth-agency-lgbtq-collective-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:15:14 +0000 The Chinese navy has stepped up its port calls around Africa as part of Beijing’s growing military diplomacy with the continent. After the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) paused many of its African port visits during the pandemic, it is getting back to full strength again in a bid to cement diplomatic ties as well as show off military hardware, according to observers. Earlier this week, China’s 45th naval fleet, including guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, missile frigate Linyi and comprehensive... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3258645/chinese-navy-steers-course-african-ports-beijings-renewed-diplomatic-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3258645/chinese-navy-steers-course-african-ports-beijings-renewed-diplomatic-push?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 10:00:23 +0000 A Polish priest was sentenced to 18 months in jail for sex and drug crimes, state news agency PAP reported on Tuesday, after an incident in which a man reportedly collapsed during an orgy at his home. According to Polish media reports, a man collapsed at the party after taking too many erectile dysfunction pills. One of the partygoers called an ambulance, but when paramedics arrived they were refused entry and were only able to attend to the man after police were called, according to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3258428/polish-sex-orgy-priest-gets-18-months-jail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3258428/polish-sex-orgy-priest-gets-18-months-jail?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:00:15 +0000 A bill currently coursing through the US House of Representatives is about as disgraceful as it gets when it comes to human decency. While it accuses South Africa of posing a potential threat to America’s national security, its real aim is to punish the country for bringing genocide charges against Israel at the International Court of Justice. It accuses the South African government of being antisemitic and anti-Israel. In an eloquent piece in the Financial Times from last week, South Africa’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3258247/whos-afraid-china-not-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3258247/whos-afraid-china-not-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Apr 2024 13:00:23 +0000 A traditional Ghana priest has sparked a national outcry after marrying a 13-year-old girl, prompting calls for his arrest. The 63-year-old priest Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, also known as Gborbu Wulomo, married the girl in a traditional ceremony on Saturday near the capital Accra. Her age is in dispute between 12 and 16, but she and her mother were placed under police protection soon after the marriage and Ghana’s attorney general opened an investigation. “The allegations, if proven,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3257737/ghana-63-year-old-priest-marries-13-year-old-bride-sparking-outrage-investigation-calls-his-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3257737/ghana-63-year-old-priest-marries-13-year-old-bride-sparking-outrage-investigation-calls-his-arrest?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Apr 2024 10:03:32 +0000 Sisal ropes, salt crystals, volcanic rocks and aged brass: award-winning Kenyan designer Ami Doshi Shah has always chosen unlikely materials to make sophisticated jewellery that redefines value in a carat-obsessed industry. “As a child, I was always finding beauty in unusual things like stones and fossils,” says Shah, 44, who crafts her pieces by hand. Her 2019 collection Salt of the Earth featured ropes, salt crystals and patinated blue-green brass, and was shown in exhibitions in Britain at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3255783/jewellery-political-it-personal-kenyan-designer-ami-doshi-shah-makes-earrings-necklaces-out-rope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3255783/jewellery-political-it-personal-kenyan-designer-ami-doshi-shah-makes-earrings-necklaces-out-rope?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2024 11:15:16 +0000 Just as Britain’s most iconic chocolate-maker, Cadbury, celebrates the 200th anniversary of its establishment on Bull Street in Birmingham in 1824, today’s chocolate industry is in turmoil over a sharp and widening divide between the people who make it, and the people who love to consume it. Millions of smallholders contribute to the 6.5 million tonnes of cocoa beans that underpin the US$120 billion chocolate industry, which faces a long list of existential challenges including the pestilent... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3255429/what-price-chocolate-climate-change-hits-cocoa-crops-poor-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3255429/what-price-chocolate-climate-change-hits-cocoa-crops-poor-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:30:15 +0000 For years known as the world’s garment factory, Asian manufacturers are now embracing a tectonic shift in consumption towards sustainable fashion to ease out fast-changing fashion trends that are choking landfills and accelerating climate change. European regulators are working towards introducing rules by 2030 that would aim for all textile products sold in the bloc to be made of recyclable, long lasting and materials free of hazardous substances. The US also appears set to follow suit over the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3255583/asian-garment-makers-push-new-boundaries-amid-wake-call-towards-sustainable-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3255583/asian-garment-makers-push-new-boundaries-amid-wake-call-towards-sustainable-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:30:10 +0000 It’s one thing to be scrutinised as a member of the royal family – that comes with the territory – but an equerry is supposed to stay behind the scenes, helping their assigned royal carry out their day-to-day duties. No wonder it all got a bit much for King Charles’ equerry Jonathan Thompson then, who recently stepped back from his public-facing role as the monarch’s personal assistant after receiving a bit too much attention for his good looks. View this post on... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3255382/6-handsome-equerries-who-stole-attention-away-royals-major-eye-candy-johnny-thompson-and-tom-white?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3255382/6-handsome-equerries-who-stole-attention-away-royals-major-eye-candy-johnny-thompson-and-tom-white?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 21:00:18 +0000 France’s parliament on Thursday backed a string of measures making low-cost fast fashion, especially from Chinese mass producers, less attractive to buyers. The vote makes France the first country in the world “legislating to limit the excesses of ultra fast fashion”, said Christophe Bechu, minister for the ecological transition. Key measures include a ban on advertising for the cheapest textiles, and an environmental charge slapped on low-cost items. The French clothes market has been flooded... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3255442/frances-parliament-votes-slow-down-fast-fashion-eye-chinas-shein?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3255442/frances-parliament-votes-slow-down-fast-fashion-eye-chinas-shein?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 18:36:28 +0000 Islamic extremism is on the rise again in Afghanistan, with terrorists flourishing under Taliban rule. With the international community recently meeting in Doha to consider steps to legitimise the Taliban, it could not have come at a worst moment for the de facto rulers of Afghanistan. In particular, the UN’s report on Afghanistan released last month revealed a disturbing rise in activity by al-Qaeda. The report said the terrorist group had re-established itself in Afghanistan and “continues to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3252753/if-taliban-wants-legitimacy-afghanistan-it-must-renounce-al-qaeda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3252753/if-taliban-wants-legitimacy-afghanistan-it-must-renounce-al-qaeda?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Feb 2024 21:30:17 +0000 I was 18 years old when I first travelled independently: a short camping trip to Parashar Lake, in Himachal Pradesh, India. At first, finding myself alone more frequently than I had foreseen, I was disappointed – many solo female travellers on Instagram raved about their experiences, after all. So, like any other oversharing teenager on the internet, I took to social media to rant. And that is when a stranger popped into my DMs to tell me about Couchsurfing, which offers introductions to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252631/how-women-travellers-facebook-group-host-sister-offers-members-safe-place-stay-and-introduces-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252631/how-women-travellers-facebook-group-host-sister-offers-members-safe-place-stay-and-introduces-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Feb 2024 07:15:11 +0000