Chinese exports drop in December, while trade surplus with US widens

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa Abuja.⁣ ⁣The South African President who is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders is on a state visit expected to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria as well as strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation in multilateral forums.⁣

As Russia and China attempt to master sophisticated technologies, the head of MI6 is set to warn that "unlike Q in the Bond movies, we cannot do it all in-house."

Since France began its military withdrawal from Mali, many misleading social media posts have appeared. Reports claim that Mali is negotiating with the Russian private military company Wagner. One photo on Facebook from November 10 allegedly shows a Wagner military instructor training Malian soldiers. Another photo from November 20 claims to show that Mali received a delivery of military equipment from Russia. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Thousands take part in massive protests in Sudan's capital. Dozens are arrested as anger mounts against the country's military. In Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says his army is making significant gains as he calls on Tigrayan rebels to surrender. And African fashion pays tribute to world-renowned designer Virgil Abloh, who died this weekend at the age of 41.

India is pulling out all the stops to avoid a repeat of the devastating wave of delta-fueled infections earlier this year, by ramping up testing while stepping up screening and surveillance of international travelers.

Japan has stopped new bookings onto incoming flights after identifying the first cases of the Omicron strain of Covid-19. The country has also tightened its quarantine requirements for all arriving passengers, and extended a ban on non-citizens coming from ten countries in southern Africa. Travel companies have seen their shares tumble in recent days as governments tighten border rules in response to the new strain. Also today, Australia's economy feels the pinch from the recent lockdowns.