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Africa

Africa
Africa
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Africa. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A charred wreckage of a truck following an attack by Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces rebels, in the town of Ntoyo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in September. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

The brutal life of child recruits under a shadowy African rebel group

Kidnapped, drugged and forced to loot, survivors detail life inside the ADF’s hidden forest camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Israel

Israel’s rising air defence sales become its ‘most potent’ foreign policy weapon

Donald Trump

US launches strike on Islamic State targets in Nigeria, Trump says

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China-Africa relations

Tracing China’s long links with Kenya, from Admiral Zheng He to belt and road

National museum in Nairobi celebrates 620th anniversary of Ming dynasty navigator’s voyages and 62 years of modern bilateral ties.

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Visitors at the National Museums of Kenya on the opening day of the display which explores the legacy of Chinese Admiral Zheng He. Photo: Xinhua
Crime

Algeria brands French colonisation a crime, demands reparations, apology

France’s rule over Algeria from 1830 until 1962 remains a sore spot in relations between the two countries.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs arrests 5 in suspected HK$8.9 billion ‘phantom trading’ racket

Suspects laundered crime proceeds over four-year period in first ‘phantom trading’ fraud involving fake shipping websites uncovered by authorities.

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Donald Trump

Nigeria says ‘spat’ with Trump over killing of Christians ‘largely resolved’

However, Nigeria remains on Washington’s list of countries of ‘particular concern’ regarding alleged religious freedom violations.

US President Donald Trump makes an announcement about lowering the cost of drug prices at the White House last week. Photo: Reuters
Nigeria

Nigeria secures release of 130 children abducted from Catholic school

Presidential spokesman confirms ‘none left in captivity’ after an operation frees students taken by gunmen in November.

War and conflict

Sudan war drags on as drone attack kills 10 in Darfur market

The conflict has split Sudan in two as the army controls the north, east and centre while the UAE-backed RSF dominates Darfur and parts of the south.

China-Africa relations

Chinese workers return to Africa as lucrative job opportunities beckon

Large-scale, China-backed projects entice contract workers to take up posts in some African nations, while political instability keeps others away.

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Rail projects have been a long-standing area of cooperation between China and a number of countries in Africa. Photo: Xinhua
South Africa

Multiple gunmen open fire at South Africa pub, killing 9 and wounding 10

Manhunt under way after the second South African mass shooting in three weeks.

Family members at the scene of the attack in Bekkersdal, Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday. Photo: AFP
China’s soft power

From Labubu to blockbuster films, was 2025 the year of China’s soft power?

Chinese lifestyle brands and other cultural exports proved to be a hit around the world this year, here are some of our most notable stories.

France

African teen who raised Macron’s ire with fake French coup video has no regrets

The Burkinabe teen said he had posted the fake video as a way to make money but despite millions of views, only earned US$8.

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War and conflict

UN says Sudan’s RSF killed 1,000 civilians in horrific 3-day attack on camp

New report details three days of terror at the Zamzam displacement camp in April, citing mass executions and gang rapes.

Fire and smoke at Zamzam camp near the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher in April, where Sudan’s RSF carried out an attack that killed hundreds. Photo: Maxar Technologies via AFP
War and conflict

War-torn Sudan tops global humanitarian crisis watch list for third year

International Rescue Committee highlights a stark concentration of human suffering in a small number of countries in latest rankings.

A Sudanese refugee girl who fled from El-Fashir city, Sudan, at a transit camp in eastern Chad. Photo: Reuters
Donald Trump

Trump expands US travel ban and restrictions to include another 20 countries

The clampdown affects people seeking to travel to the US as visitors as well as those hoping to emigrate there.

Hong Kong stock market

China grid-equipment maker Sieyuan eyes Hong Kong listing after 665% surge

Sieyuan plans to issue new H shares equal to up to 15 per cent of its outstanding stock, as the company fast tracks global expansion.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong is stepping up its competitiveness in aviation

By funding upgrades to the airport and signing international aviation deals, the city is proactively working to expand its global reach.

A Cathay Pacific jet takes off from Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok on November 28, 2024, the day the third runway was inaugurated. Photo: Dickson Lee
United Nations

Aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’: UN

‘The sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance’ has inflicted ‘so much unnecessary pain in its wake’.

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Morocco

37 die in Morocco in torrential rain and flash floods

Rain and floods inundated about 70 homes and businesses and swept away 10 vehicles in the coastal city of Safi.

Japan

Japan’s retreat from global health funding hands China diplomatic opening

Tokyo’s over 52 per cent funding cut to a global body fighting Aids and malaria risks damaging its hard-won reputation as a ‘peace nation’.

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Mothers wait for their babies to receive a malaria vaccine in Malawi in 2019. Japan has slashed funding to a global health agency fighting infectious diseases. Photo: AFP
Egypt

Egypt reveals restored colossal statues of prominent pharaoh in Luxor

The giant statues, toppled by an earthquake in about 1200 BC, were meticulously pieced back together in a project that lasted about two decades.

A man takes selfie in front of the two colossal statues. Photo: EPA
US-Asean relations

Southeast Asia barely features in America’s new security strategy

The region appears just twice in the new 32-page US National Security Strategy, raising fears it is being relegated to a ‘bargaining chip’.

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Sudan

6 UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan drone strike blamed on RSF paramilitary group

The victims were all Bangladeshi nationals working at a United Nations logistics base in Kadugli.

China-Africa relations

Entrepreneurs vie for Africa’s Business Heroes titles in start-up bonanza

Record 32,000 applications from 54 nations vie for seventh Africa’s Business Heroes awards to recognise 100 start-ups over 10 years.

A record 32,000 entrepreneurs applied for the 7th Africa’s Business Heroes competition in Kigali, Rwanda, on December 13, 2025. Photo: Handout
China-Africa relations

‘Concrete symbols’: China-built Ecowas HQ latest infrastructure gift to Africa

Beijing’s strategy to project influence through gifting prestigious presidential palaces and parliamentary buildings labelled ‘unique’.

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Chinese ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai with Dr Omar Touray, president of the Ecowas Commission, in Abuja on December 4. Du visited the US$32 million China-built Ecowas headquarters in the Nigerian capital. Photo: X/YDunhai
SCMP Highlights

China’s fracking potential, Greer signals reset: SCMP daily highlights

From the US Fed’s third rate cut of the year to expert predictions for China in 2026, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

China economy

Opinion | How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Beyond climate leadership and capacity building, China is rewriting its own energy system – and the global energy order.

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