https://www.scmp.com/rss/519391/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com 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 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has left the country for Senegal after being detained during a military coup, the government in Dakar said on Thursday, as a lead opponent accused him of arranging the uprising. The military in volatile Guinea-Bissau earlier appointed a general as the country’s new leader, a day after seizing power and derailing the announcement of election results. Opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa told Agence France-Presse he believed he had won Sunday’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334438/guinea-bissau-general-sworn-junta-leader-deposed-president-arrives-senegal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334438/guinea-bissau-general-sworn-junta-leader-deposed-president-arrives-senegal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 01:29:03 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Guinea-Bissau military appointed a general as the country’s new leader on Thursday for one year, a day after seizing power and arresting the president of the coup-prone west African nation. “I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,” General Horta N’Tam declared after taking the oath of office in a ceremony at the military’s headquarters. Dozens of heavily armed soldiers were deployed at the scene. On Wednesday, a group of army officers seized power, a day before the planned... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334282/army-officers-say-they-have-seized-power-guinea-bissau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334282/army-officers-say-they-have-seized-power-guinea-bissau?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:59:25 +0000 Women protesters in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday attacked a Chinese-run site in the northwest of the country mining zircon, setting fire to equipment, the interior minister and witnesses said. One protester said they had acted after the authorities failed to respond to their complaints that the activity was damaging their farms and ruining the local environment. Several women and a village leader were arrested following the protest at Nhiquin, near the resort town of Valera not far from the border... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3307281/women-protesters-attack-chinese-run-mine-guinea-bissau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3307281/women-protesters-attack-chinese-run-mine-guinea-bissau?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Apr 2025 05:25:26 +0000 Three of Hong Kong’s highest-scoring students in the recent Diploma of Secondary Education examinations attended the RTHK studio last Monday to discuss their results and aspirations. The young men, all from Diocesan Boys’ School, impressed with their demeanour. They were articulate about their next steps for study and employment. Two were going into medicine, would attend university in Hong Kong then practise here after graduation. They were keen to pay back to the community that had nurtured... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3271870/key-hong-kongs-success-stay-chinas-international-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3271870/key-hong-kongs-success-stay-chinas-international-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jul 2024 07:30:12 +0000 Guinea-Bissau might not be economically important to China, but that does not mean the small West African nation is not on Beijing’s radar. During a state visit to China this week, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo met Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders agreeing to strengthen cooperation on international and multilateral affairs as they officially formed a strategic partnership. In a joint statement released on Wednesday detailing their talks, the two leaders noted:... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270153/guinea-bissau-and-china-announce-strategic-partnership-during-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270153/guinea-bissau-and-china-announce-strategic-partnership-during-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jul 2024 08:00:15 +0000 Hong Kong is winning back wealthy Chinese by rolling out the red carpet for the rich while rival Singapore scrutinises foreign money. Hong Kong is expected to welcome about 200 high-net worth individuals this year after five years of millionaires skipping town, according to data provided by intelligence firm New World Wealth and immigration consultancy Henley & Partners, thanks to initiatives including family office tax concessions and visa and residency programmes. At the same time, fallout... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3269728/while-singapore-scrutinises-hong-kong-wins-back-wealthy-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3269728/while-singapore-scrutinises-hong-kong-wins-back-wealthy-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2024 06:30:06 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Hong Kong has attracted more than HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) under the city’s cash-for-residency scheme, in a major boost for its ambition to become a family office hub, officials said. Even Victor Li, the elder scion of the city’s wealthiest clan, said he is considering opening a family office for the first time. The revamped Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES), more commonly known as the investment migration scheme, has received 346 applications as of last Friday, according to Alpha... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3269595/hong-kongs-us13b-pile-residency-scheme-boon-citys-family-office-hub-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3269595/hong-kongs-us13b-pile-residency-scheme-boon-citys-family-office-hub-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jul 2024 08:21:15 +0000 Hong Kong’s revised cash-for-residency scheme has received 251 applications and 43 of them have been given in-principle approval, the city’s financial services and treasury chief has revealed. More than 75 per of the applicants were from Guinea-Bissau in West Africa and Vanuatu in the southwestern Pacific. There were 100 applications from Guinea-Bissau and 92 from Vanuatu. Christopher Hui Ching-yu told legislators more than HK$7.5 billion (US$960 million) would be injected into the Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3266360/hong-kongs-new-cash-residency-scheme-gets-251-applications-end-may-legco-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3266360/hong-kongs-new-cash-residency-scheme-gets-251-applications-end-may-legco-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:38:38 +0000 Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West on Thursday of risking a global conflict and said no one would be allowed to threaten the world’s biggest nuclear power as Russia marked the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. As Russian troops advance against Ukraine’s Western-backed forces, Putin accused “arrogant” Western elites of forgetting the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany, and of stoking conflicts across the world. “We know what... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3262029/vladimir-putin-warns-global-clash-russia-marks-victory-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3262029/vladimir-putin-warns-global-clash-russia-marks-victory-day?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 May 2024 08:51:16 +0000 Antony Blinken said on Monday the United States was committed to deeper relations with Africa despite global crises as he opened a trip in the shadow of coups and the rising influence of Russia and China on the continent. Blinken is touring four democracies on the Atlantic Coast – Cabo Verde, formerly known as Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola – as security deteriorates in the Sahel and doubts grow about a key US base in coup-hit Niger. US President Joe Biden welcomed African leaders... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3249402/us-all-africa-antony-blinken-says-opening-coastal-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3249402/us-all-africa-antony-blinken-says-opening-coastal-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:28:30 +0000 West African heads of state on Sunday officially recognised the junta in power in Niger, but said their sanctions to reverse the July coup in the country would remain even as they initiate steps for a “short” period of transition to civilian rule. A team of heads of state would engage with the junta “to agree on a short transition programme” as against the three years the soldiers earlier proposed, Omar Alieu Touray, president of the regional bloc of ECOWAS Commission, said at the bloc’s meeting... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3244610/west-africa-leaders-recognise-nigers-junta-sanctions-stay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3244610/west-africa-leaders-recognise-nigers-junta-sanctions-stay?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2023 04:10:29 +0000 When the military in Niger removed then-president Mohamed Bazoum in a coup d’état in July, Beijing’s statement appeared to support the deposed leader, saying he was “a friend of China”. Then, in the wake of the coup, on August 3, China’s foreign affairs ministry said it hoped that Bazoum’s “personal safety is ensured” and that relevant parties in Niger would “settle differences peacefully through dialogue”. But now, China is shifting from its earlier position as it works to build positive... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3235443/coups-threaten-african-stability-china-struggles-make-headway-belt-and-road-interests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3235443/coups-threaten-african-stability-china-struggles-make-headway-belt-and-road-interests?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Sep 2023 22:00:13 +0000 West African leaders on Thursday said they firmly supported diplomacy in the search to end the crisis in Niger, stepping back from a threat to intervene militarily in the coup-stricken country. “We prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, chairing an emergency summit of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in Abuja. “It is our duty to exhaust all avenues to ensure a swift return to constitutional... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3230650/niger-junta-names-government-west-african-leaders-discuss-next-steps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3230650/niger-junta-names-government-west-african-leaders-discuss-next-steps?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2023 10:03:21 +0000 When Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki made a state visit to Beijing in May, he fondly recalled his time doing military training there in 1967 – just a year into China’s Cultural Revolution. It was an experience that played an important role in helping Isaias lead Eritrea’s 30-year fight for independence from Ethiopia, which it won in 1993. “[Isaias] remains fond of China and governs Eritrea and its relations with the outside world based on his decades of experience as a revolutionary guerilla... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3229118/africa-sets-sights-china-top-destination-military-training?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3229118/africa-sets-sights-china-top-destination-military-training?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Aug 2023 22:00:15 +0000 The 62-year-old general who led a coup in Niger took to state television on Friday to ask for support for the takeover, two days after members of the military detained democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and set off political chaos that could set back the nation’s fight against jihadists and increase Russia’s influence in West Africa. As General Abdourahmane Tchiani spoke, Niger state television identified him as the leader of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3229206/how-coup-niger-threatens-stability-west-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3229206/how-coup-niger-threatens-stability-west-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jul 2023 03:22:50 +0000 Senior officials from over a dozen countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran were in talks on closer links with the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies on Friday as it met to deepen ties and position itself as a counterweight to the West. BRICS, which now consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is considering expanding its membership, and a growing number of countries, mostly from the global South, have expressed interest in joining. Once viewed as a loose association of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3222813/brics-meet-friends-seeking-closer-ties-amid-push-expand-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3222813/brics-meet-friends-seeking-closer-ties-amid-push-expand-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jun 2023 14:11:58 +0000 France generally gets more annual visitors than any other country (80 million-plus, at the last count), followed by Spain and the United States. But what about nations where visitor arrivals barely scrape past four figures? With one exception, the top – or bottom – 10 least-visited nations (excluding those closed to visitors because of conflict or other political ructions) are all on remote islands. And each has something exceptional to offer beyond the obvious bragging rights. 1. Tuvalu Annual... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3221911/10-least-visited-countries-monserrat-micronesia-are-remote-welcoming-and-well-worth-journey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3221911/10-least-visited-countries-monserrat-micronesia-are-remote-welcoming-and-well-worth-journey?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2023 20:15:10 +0000 China is importing more food products such as avocados, cashews, sesame seeds and chilli peppers from Africa, as agriculture emerges as the new focus of Beijing’s engagement with the continent. In the first two months of this year, Shanghai ports handled more than 40,000 tonnes of African agricultural products worth more than US$100 million, according to Shanghai Customs. By March 3, a total of 1,845 tonnes of African sesame had been imported through Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Port – 4.3 times more... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3214001/chinas-africa-ties-why-food-new-focus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3214001/chinas-africa-ties-why-food-new-focus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Mar 2023 10:00:18 +0000 French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a “noticeable reduction” of French troop presence in Africa, where anti-French sentiment is running high in some former colonies. He was speaking in Paris ahead of a four-nation tour of central African countries from Wednesday, as France seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Macron is to visit Gabon for an environmental summit, followed by Angola, then the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, and finally the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3211749/emmanuel-macron-plans-noticeable-reduction-french-troops-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3211749/emmanuel-macron-plans-noticeable-reduction-french-troops-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Feb 2023 19:52:59 +0000 Hong Kong international Shinichi Chan has completed his loan move to Spanish side Real Union after receiving a work permit and finalising his registration. The Japan-born left back travelled to Spain last July to have a trial at third-tier club Real Union, and has now joined on loan until June next year. Chan missed out on joining during the summer transfer window because of issues surrounding his work permit, but had been training with the first team, and appeared in friendly matches. Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3207665/hong-kong-international-shinichi-chan-makes-spain-switch-set-make-real-union-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3207665/hong-kong-international-shinichi-chan-makes-spain-switch-set-make-real-union-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jan 2023 08:13:07 +0000 Nearly a year ago, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda requested that the East African country be allowed to export more products tariff-free to the lucrative Chinese market. China’s trade restrictions made it impossible to export some items, he explained. “[Chinese] companies are very active. They [see opportunity] … and they come and invest. So I think that is going very well,” Museveni told Bloomberg in November, ahead of the 8th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation ministerial conference. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3199961/china-course-africa-trade-boost-it-offers-duty-free-access-nine-more-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3199961/china-course-africa-trade-boost-it-offers-duty-free-access-nine-more-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Nov 2022 22:00:13 +0000 I think I may have made President Emmanuel Macron blush a little. This happened at the Paris Peace Forum on November 11. Macron had invited me to join a panel discussion with him, the presidents of Argentina and Guinea-Bissau, the prime minister of Albania, and other “intellectuals” (in the words of Macron). The subject was “universalism in the face of war”. By universalism, the organisers were referring to the universal principles embedded in our global multilateral system. I may have made... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3200058/french-president-emmanuel-macrons-embrace-diverse-views-offers-hope-true-multilateralism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3200058/french-president-emmanuel-macrons-embrace-diverse-views-offers-hope-true-multilateralism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Nov 2022 03:10:20 +0000 Burkina Faso’s junta leader agreed to step down, religious and community leaders said, two days after army officers announced his ouster in a coup that sparked internal unrest and international condemnation. Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba “himself offered his resignation in order to avoid confrontations with serious human and material consequences”, the religious and community leaders said in a statement on Sunday. It followed mediation between Damiba and the new self-proclaimed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3194608/ousted-burkina-faso-leader-offers-resignation-new-junta-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3194608/ousted-burkina-faso-leader-offers-resignation-new-junta-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Oct 2022 19:20:48 +0000 China’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, is back in the region three months after hosting a peace conference in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. He has visited Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan since the middle of this month to promote China’s approach to ending conflicts, which relies on supporting regional development. In a September 16 meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, Xue emphasised China’s readiness to contribute towards regional conflict resolution efforts and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3193667/chinese-envoy-opposes-foreign-intervention-horn-africa-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3193667/chinese-envoy-opposes-foreign-intervention-horn-africa-return?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Sep 2022 12:00:15 +0000 Angolans and world leaders gathered on Sunday for the state funeral of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, whose nearly four-decade rule of the oil-rich nation was marred by allegations of plunder and nepotism. The memorial service was held at the historic palm tree lined Praca da Republica in the seaside capital Luanda on what would have been dos Santos’s 80th birthday. It comes days after his party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) – which has ruled the country... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3190479/angola-bids-solemn-farewell-former-president-dos-santos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3190479/angola-bids-solemn-farewell-former-president-dos-santos?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Aug 2022 13:46:01 +0000 The United States has added Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Macau to a human trafficking blacklist that already includes Malaysia, alleging weak efforts to stop forced sex work or assist migrant labourers. In an annual report, the US also added authoritarian-ruled Belarus to the blacklist and, in a rare criticism of a Western ally, put Bulgaria on a watch list over concerns it is not taking trafficking seriously. “If you look at the report, you’re going to see a mixed picture of progress,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3185875/vietnam-cambodia-and-brunei-join-malaysia-us-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3185875/vietnam-cambodia-and-brunei-join-malaysia-us-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:26:25 +0000 As China seeks to play a bigger role in promoting peace and security in the Horn of Africa, it faces complex challenges in bringing lasting stability to the region, where it has large investment and security interests. During the China-Horn of Africa Peace Conference, the Chinese special envoy for the region, Xue Bing, said China wanted a more important role “not only in trade and investments but also in the area of peace and development”. “This is the first time for China to play a role in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3182719/china-horn-africa-peace-conference-ends-beijings-envoy-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3182719/china-horn-africa-peace-conference-ends-beijings-envoy-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jun 2022 18:13:16 +0000 Future leaders from ruling political parties in Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola have attended their first session at a training school funded with US$40 million support from China’s Communist Party. Construction of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha, 40km (25 miles) outside Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, was financed by the six ruling parties of the southern African countries. The additional support came from the ruling party in Beijing through... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3182368/china-party-school-africa-takes-first-students-6-countries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3182368/china-party-school-africa-takes-first-students-6-countries?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:00:21 +0000 Military coups and a jihadist insurgency in Mali have fuelled the illegal logging and export of rosewood timber, according to the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). That is despite a trade ban and its regulation under CITES, or the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, since 2017. Traders have “leveraged the governance chaos to keep exporting (through bribes) in breach of laws that clearly prohibit the export of rosewood, and this... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178591/malis-rosewood-crisis-not-happening-vacuum-and-china-key-buyer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178591/malis-rosewood-crisis-not-happening-vacuum-and-china-key-buyer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 May 2022 06:00:25 +0000 China has appointed senior diplomat Xue Bing as its new special envoy for the Horn of Africa, a region that is currently troubled by conflict including in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Xue has previously worked as China’s ambassador to Papua New Guinea and has experience in Africa, America and Oceania, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. His task will be to work to promote China’s “peaceful development” plan for the region which aims to help countries in the region “achieve long-term... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3167984/china-appoints-new-special-envoy-turbulent-horn-africa-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3167984/china-appoints-new-special-envoy-turbulent-horn-africa-region?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Feb 2022 11:39:50 +0000 A conference centre built and paid for by China is nearing completion in the Zambian capital Lusaka. Developers of the Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre plan to hand it over to the government next month, in time for Lusaka to host the African heads of state summit later this year. The China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group started work on the 4,000-capacity centre in 2020 and the project is 85 per cent complete, Zambia’s government clerk of works... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166864/china-paints-picture-african-partnership-gleaming-public-works?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166864/china-paints-picture-african-partnership-gleaming-public-works?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 03:00:25 +0000 Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo survived an attempted coup on Tuesday but said many members of the security forces had been killed repelling an attack on democracy that may have been linked to drug trafficking. Earlier, heavy gunfire rang out near a government compound where Embalo had been chairing a cabinet meeting. The situation was unclear for several hours, during which the African Union and West African bloc ECOWAS condemned what they called “an attempted coup”. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3165534/heavy-gunfire-guinea-bissau-capital-signals-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3165534/heavy-gunfire-guinea-bissau-capital-signals-coup-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Feb 2022 19:17:19 +0000 More than half of Tokyo’s hospital beds set aside for Covid-19 patients were occupied on Tuesday, a level that officials have previously flagged as a criterion for requesting a state of emergency. The capital and most of Japan are now under curbs to contain record coronavirus cases driven by the contagious Omicron variant. Tokyo has set aside almost 7,000 hospital beds for Covid patients, and admissions have risen sharply this month, reaching 50.7 per cent on Tuesday. New infections numbered... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3165472/coronavirus-thailand-restarts-quarantine-free-tourism-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3165472/coronavirus-thailand-restarts-quarantine-free-tourism-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Feb 2022 04:15:27 +0000 Morocco led the way in North Africa earlier this month when it became the first in the region to sign on to an implementation plan for China’s massive infrastructure programme, the Belt and Road Initiative. Four other North African countries – Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria – have signed belt and road memorandums of understanding but Morocco is the first to go that one step further to detail the projects it and China will deliver. Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3163576/end-line-chinas-big-belt-and-road-funding-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3163576/end-line-chinas-big-belt-and-road-funding-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2022 22:00:20 +0000 China’s pledge to appoint a Horn of Africa peace envoy has been interpreted by some regional observers as an “official” move away from its traditional position of non-intervention in other countries’ affairs and a sign of its growing confidence on the international stage. Foreign Minister Wang Yi also called for a regional peace conference during his visit to Kenya last week, in which he praised the region’s “unique strategic position and great development potential”. But the region – home to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3162675/chinas-horn-africa-peace-drive-sign-growing-confidence-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3162675/chinas-horn-africa-peace-drive-sign-growing-confidence-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jan 2022 04:00:14 +0000 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised the sanctions imposed on Eritrea as he announced further moves to deepen Beijing’s cooperation with the Horn of Africa nation. Speaking after a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Wednesday, Wang condemned the US and some European countries for imposing sanctions over involvement in the Ethiopian conflict. Wang also pledged financial support for Eritrea, a recent recruit to China’s infrastructure investment strategy the Belt and Road... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3162358/china-slams-sanctions-new-african-belt-and-road-partner-eritrea-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3162358/china-slams-sanctions-new-african-belt-and-road-partner-eritrea-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 09:00:24 +0000 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins a four-day visit to Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros on Tuesday, as Beijing seeks to strengthen its relationships in Eastern Africa. His January 4 to 7 trip will see Wang keep up what has been a Chinese tradition since 1991, where the foreign minister’s first overseas visit of the year is to Africa. It will also be Wang’s second visit to the continent in just over a month, coming shortly after he co-chaired the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3161852/chinese-foreign-minister-set-3-nation-tour-east-africa-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3161852/chinese-foreign-minister-set-3-nation-tour-east-africa-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 10:00:28 +0000