https://www.scmp.com/rss/519439/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press US and Nigerian forces killed a leader of Islamic State in Nigeria in a mission carried out on Friday, US President Donald Trump said. Trump announced the joint operation in Africa’s most populous country in a late-night social media post that offered few details. He said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki was second in command of Isis globally and “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.” Al-Mainuki was viewed as a key figure in IS... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3353796/trump-says-isis-second-command-abu-bilal-eliminated-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3353796/trump-says-isis-second-command-abu-bilal-eliminated-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 04:45:20 +0000 Dulue Mbachu,Jevans Nyabiage Dulue Mbachu,Jevans Nyabiage As China’s role in Africa’s economy continues to grow, so do the opportunities for locals that can speak Chinese. The change is partially being driven by the expanding footprint of smaller Chinese companies, which would rather hire locally than bring their own staff from China, and by the increasing role played by African firms in trade. Few of the thousands of Chinese executives, managers and workers who pour into Africa every year are proficient in the languages of their host countries,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352458/ni-hao-new-hire-africas-growing-mandarin-job-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352458/ni-hao-new-hire-africas-growing-mandarin-job-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 08:00:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A state-backed Nigerian militia, operating alongside the military, killed scores of ethnic Fulani herders in a raid, local sources have told journalists. The herders were killed in an operation that also involved vigilantes from Benin, just across the border from Niger State, after the herders were accused of being informants for the jihadist group Ansaru. The Nigerian vigilantes from Bussa district raided herding Fulani settlements around Kabe, in neighbouring Borgu, in a massacre that also saw... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3352287/vigilantes-nigeria-kill-herders-amid-jihadist-tensions-kidnapping-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3352287/vigilantes-nigeria-kill-herders-amid-jihadist-tensions-kidnapping-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 13:06:51 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Chinese solar exports surged in March, doubling to a record high as demand accelerated across dozens of markets, according to a new report. The spike comes as global energy systems react to renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the dual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and the US. The Persian Gulf shipping corridor, a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas flows, has become a focal pressure point amid escalating tensions that began on February 28 with US-Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351938/crisis-surge-or-lasting-shift-chinas-solar-exports-double-month?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351938/crisis-surge-or-lasting-shift-chinas-solar-exports-double-month?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 04:08:29 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Jet fuel shortages and surging prices are forcing flight cancellations across the Asia-Pacific, a squeeze that could intensify after the United States began controlling oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait – a chokepoint for about 20 per cent of global oil supply – is hitting regional airlines, particularly in countries without strategic energy reserves, analysts said. Jet fuel reached nearly US$198 in the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3349928/asia-air-travel-faces-turbulence-iran-war-exposes-jet-fuel-vulnerability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3349928/asia-air-travel-faces-turbulence-iran-war-exposes-jet-fuel-vulnerability?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 02:00:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters At least 200 people were feared dead after Nigerian military jets struck a village market while pursuing Islamist militants in the northeast of the country ‌on Saturday night, a councillor for the area and residents said on Sunday. The Nigerian Air Force, responding to reports of civilian casualties, said in a statement it had activated its Civilian Harm Accident and Investigation Cell “to immediately proceed to the location on a fact-finding mission on the allegation”. Earlier, the Air Force... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3349822/200-feared-dead-after-nigerian-air-strike-hits-market-northeast-yobe-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3349822/200-feared-dead-after-nigerian-air-strike-hits-market-northeast-yobe-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:18:31 +0000 Göktuğ Çalışkan Göktuğ Çalışkan The first tankers that turned away from the Strait of Hormuz did not just redraw shipping maps. They redrew grocery lists, too. After Iran’s partial closure of the strait disrupted a chokepoint that carries roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil, traders priced in something they know too well: war is not only about missiles; it’s about the bill that lands on kitchen tables months later. Brent crude climbing back above US$100 a barrel, and touching roughly US$120 on the worst days, is already... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3349221/war-premiums-hit-groceries-china-deals-give-africa-room-breathe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3349221/war-premiums-hit-groceries-china-deals-give-africa-room-breathe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Across major African cities such as Nairobi, Lusaka, and Abuja, governments are using surveillance technologies and credit lines from China to monitor public spaces and curb crime, a new survey shows. The UK-based Institute of Development Studies (IDS) said Chinese banks were increasingly funding African governments to build and maintain digital infrastructure – including surveillance cameras and command and control centres – under the “safe city” project, also known as “smart city”, which is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348916/chinese-surveillance-tech-rolled-out-africa-zte-hikvision-and-huawei-helm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348916/chinese-surveillance-tech-rolled-out-africa-zte-hikvision-and-huawei-helm?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gunmen killed at least a dozen people in Jos, the capital of Nigeria’s restive Plateau state, sparking retaliation from a mob that killed 10 more, locals said on Monday. Plateau state, in central Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, experiences recurring violence in the countryside, mostly linked to land disputes between farmers and herders. Jos has seen bouts of sectarian violence in the past, but deadly, mass casualty attacks in the crowded city have been rare in recent years. At least 12 people were... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3348391/mob-retaliates-after-gunmen-kill-12-nigeria-bar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3348391/mob-retaliates-after-gunmen-kill-12-nigeria-bar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:43:35 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang As one of the biggest targets of wartime looting in centuries past, China is now positioning itself as a global pioneer in repatriating lost cultural artefacts. In this article, the second in a two-part series, Xinlu Liang looks at how China is wielding law, diplomacy and a Global South coalition to rewrite the rules of restitution, filling a void left by a retreating US. In January, as the United States was withdrawing from a raft of heritage and science bodies around the world, China was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348243/how-china-stepping-cultural-repatriation-void-left-retreating-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348243/how-china-stepping-cultural-repatriation-void-left-retreating-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:00:13 +0000 Dulue Mbachu Dulue Mbachu The Iran war has cut off a fifth of global oil and LNG supply, handing African producers “a structural advantage” in supplying global markets, although their capacity is hampered by factors beyond the Middle East conflict, according to analysts. “West and North African exports are largely insulated from the conflict, meaning barrels from Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Algeria and Libya are viewed as lower-risk alternatives,” said Grace Goodrich and Anne-Laure Klein of Energy, Capital & Power, a Cape... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347841/african-producers-may-have-energy-edge-during-iran-war-if-they-can-overcome-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347841/african-producers-may-have-energy-edge-during-iran-war-if-they-can-overcome-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Kandy Wong Kandy Wong Welcome to Open Dialogue, a series from the South China Morning Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this edition, we invited a prominent industry player and economist to reflect on the role of stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies or other assets. They discuss the differing approaches of China and the United States, as well as Hong Kong’s role in China’s strategy, as the city is expected to issue... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3347710/gary-liu-and-liu-xiaochun-what-role-stablecoins-could-play-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3347710/gary-liu-and-liu-xiaochun-what-role-stablecoins-could-play-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 22:00:28 +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 Grace Brewer Grace Brewer At the World Food Forum (WFF), a United Nations-backed platform where gastronomy bridges cultures and drives agrifood systems transformation, Flora Igoe leads the Youth Culture Programme. Based in Rome at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), she guides young chefs in safeguarding intangible food heritage – family recipes, ancient farming practices and time-honoured techniques – while connecting their work to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “Food often creates connections between... https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/100-top-tables/topics/100-top-tables-cities-gastronomy/article/3347293/uns-world-food-forum-building-new-generation-changemakers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/100-top-tables/topics/100-top-tables-cities-gastronomy/article/3347293/uns-world-food-forum-building-new-generation-changemakers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:00:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Multiple explosions staged by suspected suicide bombers rocked the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 100 others, police said Tuesday, . The three blasts, which struck on Monday evening, came after an attack on a military post overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected jihadists. Combined with the attack on the military position the evening prior and a mosque bombing in December, the assaults have wrecked a peaceful... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3346862/suicide-attacks-nigeria-kill-23-wound-more-100?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3346862/suicide-attacks-nigeria-kill-23-wound-more-100?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:09:51 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage In 1994, Richard Leiter, a South African entrepreneur, took a gamble on the then unknown Chinese commercial truck maker FAW with the introduction of the first Jiefang CA141 truck into the South African market. Two decades later, he had transitioned from importer to industrialist, with a sprawling assembly plant in the Coega special economic zone in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. FAW now outsells major brands like Toyota, Daimler and Isuzu in the heavy truck sector in South Africa, driven by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340081/how-risky-punt-unknown-chinese-truck-manufacturer-paid-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3340081/how-risky-punt-unknown-chinese-truck-manufacturer-paid-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Ishani Sarkar Ishani Sarkar HBO’s Industry is a gift that keeps on giving. The banking drama starring Myha’la, Ken Leung, Charlie Heaton and Kit Harington is currently on its fourth season, and with each episode, it’s getting darker. Viewers aren’t complaining though, with Industry one of the most watched TV shows on HBO Max, per streaming data collection website FlixPatrol. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Industry on HBO (@industryhbo) Episode five, Eyes Without a Face,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3343479/meet-toheeb-jimoh-who-plays-kwabena-bannerman-hbos-industry-alongside-myhala?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3343479/meet-toheeb-jimoh-who-plays-kwabena-bannerman-hbos-industry-alongside-myhala?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage As France’s influence fades and with Russian weapons in limited supply, a “military vacuum” has been created in West and Central Africa that China is uniquely positioned to fill, according to analysts. In a January report in the official journal China Military to Civilian, arms supplier China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation said Beijing was leveraging its reputation for “cost-effective technology and flexible financing” in Africa. This follows a wave of military coups across... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342903/how-military-vacuum-west-and-central-africa-opened-new-markets-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342903/how-military-vacuum-west-and-central-africa-opened-new-markets-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Africa’s top regional body is hosting its annual summit in Ethiopia this weekend to discuss the future of the continent of some 1.4 billion people, as the organisation faces widespread discontent. Set up to “promote the unity and solidarity of the African States,” analysts say the African Union faces a legitimacy crisis among youth for failing to meet their expectations. Meanwhile, several African countries battle military coups, disputed elections and protests inspired by economic hardship... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3343583/african-union-youth-anger-mounts-over-corruption-lack-accountability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3343583/african-union-youth-anger-mounts-over-corruption-lack-accountability?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 09:54:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Federal prosecutors failed to bring charges Tuesday against six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse illegal orders, outraging US President Donald Trump, who had called for jail time, US media reported. A federal grand jury composed of local citizens in Washington denied the Justice Department’s attempts to indict the lawmakers who posted a short video urging conscientious service, sources told The New York Times and The Washington Post. In the video posted to social media in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343148/us-grand-jury-rejects-charges-against-6-democrat-lawmakers-trump-wanted-jailed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343148/us-grand-jury-rejects-charges-against-6-democrat-lawmakers-trump-wanted-jailed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:30:38 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse First, the jihadists sent a letter saying they were coming to the village to preach, said Nigerian chief Umar Bio Salihu. When no one attended, they went on a rampage, killing people and torching houses, he said. Salihu is the traditional chief of Woro, a small, Muslim-majority village in west-central Nigeria where alleged jihadist gunmen are reported to have perpetrated a massacre late Tuesday. Details were still emerging from the attack, but it was one of the country’s deadliest in recent... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342625/survivors-recount-terror-nigeria-massacre-where-people-were-burned-inside-houses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342625/survivors-recount-terror-nigeria-massacre-where-people-were-burned-inside-houses?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 06:45:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The last 89 Christians held captive since criminal gangs attacked three churches in northern Nigeria in mid-January were released on Thursday, following a spate of mass kidnappings in the country. The worshippers, dressed in yellow and including children, arrived on a bus escorted by security forces, and were received by the governor of Kaduna state, Uba Sani, who said 183 people were initially abducted. They were snatched from three churches during Sunday services on January 18, in the Kurmin... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342570/remaining-89-kidnapped-nigerian-christians-released-captivity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342570/remaining-89-kidnapped-nigerian-christians-released-captivity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:25:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nearly 200 people have been ‍killed by armed men in separate attacks in remote villages in central and northern Nigeria, a local lawmaker, residents and police said on Wednesday, as security forces searched for survivors and chased the attackers. In central Kwara state, gunmen attacked the Woro community on Tuesday leaving at least 170 ⁠people dead, the lawmaker for the area, Saidu Baba Ahmed, said by phone. It was the deadliest assault recorded this year in the district bordering Niger state,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342458/gunmen-massacre-nearly-200-nigeria-attacks-some-bound-and-executed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342458/gunmen-massacre-nearly-200-nigeria-attacks-some-bound-and-executed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:03:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Nigerian army said on Sunday it killed a top commander of Boko Haram and 10 members of the Islamic extremist group in a night raid in the northeastern part of the country. Abu Khalid, a commander of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest in Borno state, was a key figure within “the terrorist hierarchy, coordinating operations and logistics in the Sambisa axis,” army spokesman Sani Uba said in a statement. The soldiers attacked the Boko Haram militants on Saturday night in the Kodunga area of Borno... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342019/nigerian-army-kills-top-boko-haram-commander-10-militants-night-raid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342019/nigerian-army-kills-top-boko-haram-commander-10-militants-night-raid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:21:24 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Hong Kong should focus on connecting its capital markets with African financial centres so that companies and Belt and Road Initiative projects on the continent can raise funds in the city, according to a council that advises the government on development strategy. In addition to being a funding source for commercial enterprises and infrastructure projects, Hong Kong could be a place for wealthy Africans to set up family offices to manage their wealth, succession and charitable activities, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3341345/hong-kong-must-invest-africa-asia-financial-corridor-government-adviser-fsdc-urges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3341345/hong-kong-must-invest-africa-asia-financial-corridor-government-adviser-fsdc-urges?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 06:30:08 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Chinese lending to Africa dropped by nearly half to US$2.1 billion in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to a new report. The decline formed part of a decade-long trend. Lending had been on an upward trajectory since 2006 and peaked between 2012 and 2018 – a period that saw the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative – when it passed the US$10 billion mark each year. At its height in 2016, Beijing lent US$28.8 billion. But since 2020, the annual total has not crossed the US$5 billion... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341213/chinese-lending-africa-nearly-halves-year-priorities-shift-smaller-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341213/chinese-lending-africa-nearly-halves-year-priorities-shift-smaller-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 06:00:17 +0000 Sophie Wushuang Yi Sophie Wushuang Yi The successful capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this month was not merely a tactical achievement – it was a template. Within weeks, an unmistakable pattern has emerged: an aircraft carrier group redirecting towards the Middle East as protests engulfed Iran, European Nato allies scrambling to deploy troops to Greenland in response to Washington’s annexation rhetoric, and domestically, a rapidly expanded immigration enforcement apparatus patrolling American cities with... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340626/trump-rampage-does-china-have-strategic-window?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340626/trump-rampage-does-china-have-strategic-window?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Japan is facing a rampant rise in sextortion ensnaring young men, with a support group reminding potential victims of the near-irreversible nature of digital footprints and urging them to avoid sharing explicit content completely to combat the scourge. Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves coaxing victims to send intimate photographs or videos online and then threatening to make them public if the person does not pay money or engage in sexual favours. Paps, a Tokyo-based NGO, reported 2,200... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3339050/sextortion-surges-japan-ngo-warns-against-sending-explicit-content?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3339050/sextortion-surges-japan-ngo-warns-against-sending-explicit-content?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:15:39 +0000 Regina Ip Regina Ip The US’ latest National Security Strategy will go down in history as America’s most explicit abandonment of its “liberal hegemony” – its decades-long policy of spreading its liberal ideology to foreign countries through covert regime change operations or open invasions. “We seek good relations and peaceful commercial relations with the nations of the world without imposing on them democratic or other social change that differs widely from their traditions and histories,” the document says. Does... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3338474/what-us-national-security-strategy-means-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3338474/what-us-national-security-strategy-means-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 01:30:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Donald Trump returned to office vowing to be the peace president. Nearly a year later, he is embracing war on multiple fronts. Trump on Saturday ordered large-scale military strikes in Venezuela and announced that leftist leader Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. The raid to kick off the new year comes after the US military on Christmas Day hit Nigeria, in what Trump said was an operation targeting jihadists who had attacked Christians. And hours before the attack in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338630/self-proclaimed-peace-president-trump-bombs-venezuela-strikes-nigeria-warns-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338630/self-proclaimed-peace-president-trump-bombs-venezuela-strikes-nigeria-warns-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 14:05:09 +0000 Agencies Agencies The driver of a car carrying British boxer Anthony Joshua that was involved in a fatal crash in Nigeria has been charged with reckless and dangerous driving, police in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state said on Friday. Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was driving the boxer and two of his friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, on a busy highway linking Lagos and Ibadan in southwest Nigeria when the Lexus SUV in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary truck on Monday. Kayode is expected to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/boxing/article/3338579/nigeria-police-charge-driver-fatal-anthony-joshua-car-crash-dangerous-driving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/boxing/article/3338579/nigeria-police-charge-driver-fatal-anthony-joshua-car-crash-dangerous-driving?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:45:57 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Washington is securing bilateral health deals with countries across Africa to ensure direct access to critical pathogen data and specimens following the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). Analysts say the US’ strategic retreat from multilateral organisations has created a vacuum that China is likely to exploit to deepen its influence within global health bodies and position itself as the main partner for the developing world. Under the “America First Global... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338042/washington-lines-slew-health-deals-us-and-china-vie-influence-across-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338042/washington-lines-slew-health-deals-us-and-china-vie-influence-across-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Agencies Agencies US President ‌Donald Trump said on Friday that a US military strike targeting Islamic State militants in Nigeria was originally supposed to take place on Wednesday but he ordered it delayed by a day. “They were going to ‍do it earlier,” Trump told Politico in an ‌interview. “And I ⁠said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present’. … They didn’t think that was coming but we hit them hard. ‌Every camp got decimated.” Thursday’s strikes marked a major escalation in an offensive that the West African... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337859/trump-says-he-ordered-nigeria-strike-delayed-day-give-christmas-present?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337859/trump-says-he-ordered-nigeria-strike-delayed-day-give-christmas-present?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 23:39:35 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US launched a “powerful and deadly” strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians. In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes. But a video posted by ‍the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launching from a warship. A US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337749/us-launches-strikes-against-isis-nigeria-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337749/us-launches-strikes-against-isis-nigeria-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:37:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Nigerian government on Monday said its recent diplomatic dust-up with the United States, in which President Donald Trump threatened military intervention over the alleged killing of Christians, “has been largely resolved”. Trump unexpectedly tore into the west African nation in October and November, saying that Christians there faced an “existential threat” that amounted to “genocide” amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts. The diplomatic offensive was welcomed by some but interpreted by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337384/nigeria-says-spat-trump-over-killing-christians-largely-resolved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337384/nigeria-says-spat-trump-over-killing-christians-largely-resolved?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 14:45:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, after 100 were freed earlier this month. “Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity,” Sunday Dare said in a post on X. In late November, hundreds of students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state. The attack came as the country buckled... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337252/nigerian-government-frees-130-kidnapped-catholic-schoolchildren?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337252/nigerian-government-frees-130-kidnapped-catholic-schoolchildren?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 19:53:26 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Chinese workers are returning to Africa in their thousands, reversing a decade-long decline and signalling a renewed focus on strategic mega-projects across the continent. In 2024, there were 90,793 Chinese workers on contracted projects and labour services on the continent, an increase of about 4 per cent over the 87,078 recorded the previous year, according to data from the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The upturn marks... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337009/chinese-workers-return-africa-lucrative-job-opportunities-beckon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337009/chinese-workers-return-africa-lucrative-job-opportunities-beckon?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 12:00:09 +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 Zhang Zhipeng Zhang Zhipeng The global artificial intelligence community’s attention was recently focused on DeepSeek’s latest open-source model, Math-V2, the first open-source AI model to score a gold medal-level performance at the International Mathematical Olympiad. But while California might hone in on the test scores, Jakarta and Nairobi are looking at something else entirely. For the Global South, the critical question is more likely to be whether that reasoning capability can optimise fertiliser distribution in a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3335420/global-south-chinese-ai-principles-resonate-deeply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3335420/global-south-chinese-ai-principles-resonate-deeply?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 01:30:19 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Whereas then US president Joe Biden initially missed the group photo at the annual Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, requiring a reshoot, his successor did not even bother showing up for this year’s meeting in Johannesburg. US President Donald Trump boycotted the summit due to alleged mistreatment of white people in post-apartheid South Africa. Yet, even in the absence of the US, the G20 managed to make a leaders’ declaration at the start of the summit, which usually comes at the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335374/how-china-can-help-africa-build-human-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3335374/how-china-can-help-africa-build-human-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:35:14 +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 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China’s big money is returning to African infrastructure as its state-owned firms evolve from mere builders into long-term financiers and operators. This is so they have enough “skin in the game”, according to one analyst, as Beijing seeks lasting influence over key transport routes and critical mineral supply chains in Africa. Across the continent, these companies are increasingly financing, building and operating key infrastructure under public-private partnerships (PPP). This financing model... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335506/skin-game-china-pivots-operating-african-railways-ports-funding-shift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335506/skin-game-china-pivots-operating-african-railways-ports-funding-shift?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 04:00:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a UN source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of the 165 students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained unclear. In late November, 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335541/nigerian-government-secures-release-100-kidnapped-schoolchildren-un-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335541/nigerian-government-secures-release-100-kidnapped-schoolchildren-un-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 21:40:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a “nationwide security emergency” as the country scrambled to respond to a wave of mass kidnappings that have seen hundreds of people, mostly children, captured in a week. “This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” Tinubu said in a statement. Within days, assailants across the country kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 worshippers, more than 300... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334291/nigeria-declares-national-emergency-after-mass-kidnappings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3334291/nigeria-declares-national-emergency-after-mass-kidnappings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:44:42 +0000 Reuters Reuters Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday. But around 253 of the kidnapped children, along with 12 staff members and teachers, were still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school. In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333882/dozens-kidnapped-catholic-school-students-nigeria-escape-captors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333882/dozens-kidnapped-catholic-school-students-nigeria-escape-captors?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 02:54:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria, a Christian group said on Saturday, as security fears mounted in Africa’s most populous nation. The early Friday raid on St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state in central Nigeria came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people seized, but the new number... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333804/gunmen-seize-315-latest-nigerian-mass-school-kidnapping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333804/gunmen-seize-315-latest-nigerian-mass-school-kidnapping?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 12:56:59 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Armed gangs have abducted an unknown number of pupils from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, police and a government official said on Friday, in the second such incident in less than a week. The school kidnappings and an attack on a church earlier in the week come weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as the targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians, a narrative rejected by the Nigerian government. The Niger state government said it had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333717/nigerian-catholic-school-pupils-abducted-gunmen-second-attack-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333717/nigerian-catholic-school-pupils-abducted-gunmen-second-attack-week?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:33:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press One of 25 schoolgirls abducted from a school dormitory in northwestern Nigeria’s Kebbi state has escaped captivity and returned home, the school principal said on Tuesday. The girls were abducted when gunmen attacked a high school in northwestern Nigeria before dawn on Monday, taking the 25 girls and killing a staff member at the school. The student who escaped through forests and arrived home late on Monday, hours after the kidnapping at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333290/1-girl-escapes-nigeria-mass-kidnapping-25-students-high-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333290/1-girl-escapes-nigeria-mass-kidnapping-25-students-high-school?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:50:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gunmen from a criminal gang kidnapped 25 people and killed a staff member in an early morning raid on a northwestern Nigerian girls’ secondary school on Monday, police said. The attack came more than a decade after 276 girls were abducted from Chibok in the restive northeastern Borno state and sparked international outcry that rallied people around the “#BringBackOurGirls” global social media campaign. Since then, there has been a string of other abductions involving schoolchildren across... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333146/25-schoolgirls-abducted-nigeria-amid-ongoing-kidnapping-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333146/25-schoolgirls-abducted-nigeria-amid-ongoing-kidnapping-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:33:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nigeria reeled on Monday from US President Donald Trump’s claim over the weekend that Christians were being systematically killed in the West African country, with blanket coverage across local media. “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers,” Trump said in comments while travelling on Air Force One on Saturday. “We’re not going to allow that to happen.” The false idea of a genocide against Christians in Nigeria has been floating around right-wing circles in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331458/trumps-threat-us-military-action-clashes-nigerias-reality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331458/trumps-threat-us-military-action-clashes-nigerias-reality?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 07:22:42 +0000