China: Beijing residents react to Xi Jinping`s nationalist NPC speech

Opposition leader and former president Mikheil Saakashvili says charges against him for his role in suppressing a 2007 protest are "trumped up." Amnesty International called his arrest "political revenge."

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.⁣

German academic Adrian Zenz tells DW how new documents show that speeches made by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders link the government to the crackdown on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is in a Chinese prison for reporting from Wuhan during the height of the city's coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Her family says she is on hunger strike and could be near death. All calls for her release have gone unheeded.

Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said on Sunday, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities. Barrow received around 53% of Saturday's vote, far outstripping his nearest rival, political veteran Ousainou Darboe, who won about 28 percent.

The Chinese ride-hailing app Didi has announced plans to shift its shares from the New York Stock Exchange to Hong Kong. It's among the first in what could be a series of delistings due to new regulations in both the US and China. Some 200 Chinese firms could be affected, with huge consequences for investors. Also on the show: Europe's tourism sector hopes the latest Covid-19 surge won't throw off their end-of-year bookings.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

The Chinese property giant Evergrande has missed a key debt deadline and is inching closer to a possible restructuring. Financial Analyst Danni Hewson explains why the meltdown isn't sparking turmoil on global stock markets. Also in the show: the Carbon Disclosure Project releases its 2021 ranking of sustainable business practices.

Shares in the Chinese property company Kaisa have been suspended from trading in Hong Kong, as fears mount that the firm may be unable to make a $400 million debt payment due on Thursday. Kaisa is a much smaller player than the troubled giant Evergrande, but also has high levels of foreign debt. Also today, we look at how the United Arab Emirates has changed its working week to Monday-Friday to align with other international business hubs.

Since China imposed a security law on Hong Kong, more than 100,000 people have left. The UK has offered a special visa to its former colony, and 70% of Hong Kong's population is eligible. But for those who've fled, it's difficult to leave home behind.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

The US Commerce Department sanctioned Chinese surveillance and biotechnology companies over rights abuses. The Biden administration expressed concern that US technology could be used in abusing Uyghur people.