-
TOPIC COLLECTION

Africa

Included topics:
The Niamey airport in Niger, where damage is visible on the roofs of hangars on Thursday. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/AFP
Africa

Islamic State claims bold attack on Niger’s strategic airport hub

Islamic State militants claim a coordinated raid on Niamey’s airport, targeting a strategic hub hosting uranium and regional military bases.

Africa

Niger’s junta accuses foreign leaders of sponsoring airport attack

US-China relations

Chinese national Guan Heng, who filmed Xinjiang facilities, granted US asylum

videocam
5

‘Big statement’: Sarah Mullally confirmed as first female Archbishop of Canterbury

The worldwide Anglican Communion, including the US Episcopal Church, has no formal head, but the archbishop is its spiritual leader.

Dame Sarah Mullally is legally confirmed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

FSDC urges Hong Kong to focus on Africa-Asia financial corridor

City can unlock opportunities providing capital for companies and Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects, advisory council says.

Hundreds feared missing or dead in Mediterranean shipwrecks, UN says

IOM investigates reports of vessels being impacted by bad weather after departing from Tunisia and Libya for Europe.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Spain busts cocaine trafficking ring that used ‘floating bases’ at sea

Spain seizes 10 tonnes of drugs and arrests 105 suspects, while Portugal intercepts a record haul from a ‘narco-sub’.

A semi-submersible craft carrying cocaine that was intercepted off the Azores archipelago by Portuguese authorities. Photo: Forca Aerea Portuguesa via AFP

Opinion | Why UK Prime Minister Starmer’s visit to China could be historic

The British prime minister must decide whether Britain has the strength to look east and west, and not simply look inward.

videocam
4

He planned to only stay in Macau for a year. Now he runs the literary festival

The Mozambique-born journalist once chose Stanley Ho for his magazine’s cover instead of Gong Li, and later bought the Portuguese Bookshop.

Chinese loans to Africa down by nearly 50 per cent as priorities shift

Report says the decline highlights a ‘more selective phase of engagement’ by Beijing.

videocam
China financed only six projects across Africa in 2024, Boston University Global Development Policy Centre report says. Photo: Xinhua

‘Anything can happen’: Saudi-UAE rift risks tearing Middle East apart

The Gulf neighbours have turned from friends to foes, fighting proxy wars across the region and forcing global powers to pick a side.

4
Yemeni separatists wave South Yemen and UAE flags during a protest against Saudi Arabia in Aden on December 30. Photo: EPA

Uganda opposition leader’s wife in hospital after soldiers invade home

Incumbent ruler Yoweri Museveni, 81, president since 1986, was declared winner of the January 15 election, but Wine alleged extensive fraud.

Huge lines, laughs and gasps as Trump addresses Davos

Trump stuns Davos with jabs at Greenland, Nato, Canada’s Carney, and France’s Macron, as attendees liken the chaotic scene to a rock concert.

videocam

Opinion | Why China’s response to Trump’s chaos will be to wait and watch

Although the US president’s destabilising actions might seem like an opportunity for Beijing, it is likely to opt for strategic patience.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens

China widens trade gap with Africa to record US$102 billion amid US pressure

Data points to growing African trade deficit as Trump imposes tariffs, and African demand for manufactured goods and commodity price spikes.

videocam
8
Workers load trucks for export to Africa at Yantai port in Shandong province this month. The jump in Africa’s trade deficit with China was driven by a 25.8 per cent surge in Chinese exports, outpacing 5.4 per cent growth in African shipments to China. Photo: AFP

Opinion | Why so many states reject bloc rivalry to choose partnership with China

It’s a calculated choice to keep growth, infrastructure momentum and policy space alive in a world that punishes the economically exposed.

videocam

Allies tepid on joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ as countries study invites

Some leaders sign on to the Trump-chaired body, but initial reaction from two key allies, France and Canada, was lukewarm.

7
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

US trade war? China had bigger plans in 2025 as ‘belt and road’ deals surged

China’s global infrastructure strategy logged a record US$213 billion of new deals in 2025, as metals projects in Central Asia soared, report finds.

videocam
34
Security guards patrol a lithium project in Zimbabwe. China’s engagement in metals and mining projects surged last year, according to a report by the Griffith Asia Institute. Photo: EPA-EFE

13 children killed in South Africa as minibus collides with truck

As police probe a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre as the cause, President Ramaphosa demands action on ‘national shame’ of country’s road safety.

Opinion | Clean energy works at scale. Now it must be coordinated

The next decade will be defined not only by new clean energy capacity, but by how well grids, storage and demand systems are connected and optimised.

videocam

How China is ramping up Africa charm offensive to boost cultural ties, influence

Beijing dedicates 2026 to ‘cultural and social diplomacy’ across the continent, with 600 activities aimed at fostering strong friendships.

videocam
6
A volunteer grinds coffee beans with children at a China-Africa economic and trade cooperation promotion park, in China’s Hunan province last August. Photo: Xinhua

Did China, Russia, Iran joint naval drills in South Africa signal a Brics shift?

Observers describe high-profile exercise involving economic grouping as largely symbolic rather than step towards military alliance.

videocam
11
South African and Chinese flags fly aboard the Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, moored at port in Cape Town for joint naval drills involving Brics members, on January 10. Photo: AFP

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni wins in election marred by fraud claims

Museveni’s main rival, Bobi Wine, claimed there was ‘massive ballot stuffing’ and that his party’s polling agents were abducted.

Testing the waters: is Brics evolving into a security alliance?

The first naval exercises under the ‘Brics plus’ banner saw Brazil, Egypt, China, Russia and South Africa take part. India did not.

4

Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

Thousands have been forced to evacuate in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with helicopters plucking people to safety.

Residents sit on a Mozambique military truck transporting them across floodwater that blocked a road in the Boane district on Friday. Photo: AFP

Museveni leads Uganda vote as Bobi Wine under house arrest amid violence claims

Uganda election marred by violence and internet blackout as one MP accuses security forces of killing 10 supporters at his home during crackdown.

Police officers detain a voter on the ground near a polling station in Kampala on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Why ‘monumental’ China duty-free trade deal has Kenya wanting more

Preliminary ‘early harvest’ framework grants zero-duty entry to over 98 per cent of Kenyan exports, as Nairobi pushes for 100 per cent access.

videocam
4

Pakistan’s arms deals cleared for take-off as orders soar for JF-17 jets

The jets, co-produced with China, proved their worth during the India-Pakistan tensions, when they destroyed an S-400 air defence system.

videocam
5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Africa
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Africa. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.