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Gambia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Gambia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Banjul

Head of State

President Adama Barrow

Head of Government

President Adama Barrow

Strong, sweet green tea is served in three rounds during the ataya ritual. Photo: Shutterstock

China-Africa relations

Chinese green tea is bringing people together in West Africa, 3 cups at a time

From government offices to roadside stalls, tea from China is at the heart of a slow ritual that provides time to talk and socialise.

20 Aug 2026 - 12:00PM

Hong Kong transport

Hongkong Post’s airmail services to 24 countries affected by strikes in Middle East

1 Mar 2026 - 11:50PM

US-China trade war

China minds, on guard against US, stress need for talks and regional cooperation

23 May 2025 - 4:00PM

Old Hong Kong

Then & Now | How the mosquito net became ubiquitous in Hong Kong and across the tropics

Mosquitoes have long been a feature of life in Hong Kong and various methods have been devised to thwart the bloodthirsty pests, from kerosene in the drinking water to now-nostalgic nets.

22 Jun 2024 - 7:52AM

When in 1976 villagers in Sha Tau Kok, in Hong Kong’s New Territories slept in the open for fear of an earthquake, they made sure to use tents with mosquito nets. Photo: SCMP

China-EU relations

European Parliament slams Hong Kong jailing of EU national on security charges

Resolution calls for freeing of Joseph John, as well as activist Andy Li and newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai, and condemns Hong Kong’s passage of domestic national security law.

26 Apr 2024 - 5:39PMvideocam

Russia

Analysis | Moscow attack: more than 1 Isis branch involved, Russia in its ‘crosshairs’

Isis-C is the “main perpetrator” and received “some help” from Isis-K with the latter present in Moscow before the attack, analysts say.

23 Mar 2024 - 9:34PMvideocam

Women and gender

Gambia parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation

If the controversial bill is passed, Gambia would become the first country to reverse a ban on female circumcision.

19 Mar 2024 - 4:21PM

Protesters against female genital mutilation, outside the National Assembly in Banjul, Gambia. Photo: AFP

Israel-Gaza war

My Take | Why the South African genocide case against Israel really matters

If you support Israel but feel uneasy about the high death toll, you may not want to object to the ICJ’s ‘provisional measures’ to halt carnage.

12 Jan 2024 - 9:00PM

Africa

Over 60 migrants believed dead off Libya coast after boat sinks

High waves swamped the vessel, which had over 80 people aboard, as it made its risky sea voyage towards Europe.

17 Dec 2023 - 3:10PM

China-Africa relations

China grants tariff-free access to 6 African countries in bid to rebalance trade

Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mali and Mauritania will not pay duties on 98 per cent of taxable products under Beijing’s latest measure to buy more agricultural goods from the continent.

8 Dec 2023 - 4:37PMvideocam

Construction crew members work at the Sonangol Luanda Refinery in Angola in October 2020. The country is Africa’s second-largest oil producer, and much of its petroleum is exported to China. Photo: AFP

Food and Drinks

Death on the high seas: the dark side of China’s rise as seafood superpower

China has a distant-water fishing fleet twice as big as its nearest rival, but crew members are dying of violence and neglect – and with little regulation, that is unlikely to change any time soon.

25 Nov 2023 - 6:15PM

A Chinese squid vessel. China has become the undisputed global seafood superpower, but exploitation and physical abuse and neglect of deckhands, sometimes leading to death, is common. Photo: The Outlaw Ocean Project/Ben Blankenship

China-Africa relations

West Africa is new focus for Chinese investors amid loans decline

Research shows Chinese loans to African countries fell 37 per cent during pandemic years, but investments in West Africa have risen while lending to traditional top 10 borrowers has remained flat.

24 Sep 2023 - 4:00PMvideocam

Profile

Hong Kong child of empire on his museum-like home full of Chinese textiles

When Chris Hall’s mother said ‘buy property’, he didn’t argue but bought Chinese robes too, and his Hong Kong home houses a world-class collection. He tells Fionnuala McHugh about a childhood spent continent-hopping.

29 Nov 2023 - 11:07AM

Africa

Niger coup: what would West African bloc’s threat to use force look like?

West African nations have threatened to use force to reinstate Niger’s president, while neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso – also ruled by military juntas – said they would come to Niger’s defence.

2 Aug 2023 - 12:36PM

ECOWAS Senegalese troops in Gambia in 2017. West Africa’s regional bloc has threatened the use of force in reinstating the president of Niger. File photo: AP

India

‘Lot of harm’: Indian pharmaceutical reputation at risk over cough syrup deaths

To salvage the US$41 billion pharmaceutical industry’s reputation, the India government’s efforts to improve standard of exports should be comprehensive instead of ‘knee jerk’.

15 Jun 2023 - 10:42AMvideocam

India

India orders mandatory export testing of cough syrups after kids’ deaths abroad

Any cough syrup must have a certificate of analysis issued by a government laboratory before it is exported, effective June 1, the government said.

23 May 2023 - 4:16PM

Pacific nations

WHO: contaminated cough syrup found in Western Pacific

A batch of cough syrup – manufactured by QP Pharmachem, based in Punjab and exported to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia – was contaminated with unacceptable amounts of ingredients toxic to humans.

26 Apr 2023 - 5:36PMvideocam

India

India cracks down on fake medicines, cancels licences

The decision comes as part of action taken against 76 companies and the death of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan linked to drugs made by India-based firms.

30 Mar 2023 - 9:11PM

India

India bans use of cough syrup ingredients linked to deaths

19 children died after taking Marion Biotech’s syrups contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, and India suspended production at the Delhi-based pharmaceutical firm that supplied the ingredients.

9 Mar 2023 - 7:30PM

Indonesia

‘Give me back my son’: Indonesian parents sue over tainted medicine

Some two dozen Indonesian families are suing two drug makers, the health and finance ministries, and the food and drug supervisory agency over their children’s deaths from tainted drugs.

26 Feb 2023 - 2:00PMvideocam

India

Quality of India-made drugs in spotlight amid US ‘superbug’ outbreak

The alarm comes as India’s drug industry has also been in the news over deaths of 90 children that the WHO has linked to Indian-made cough syrups.

25 Feb 2023 - 2:00PMvideocam

India

Indian cough syrup linked to deaths of 20 children was circulating for months

Some batches were identified as having been manufactured as early as May 2021 and others appear to have been made as recently as August 2022.

13 Jan 2023 - 5:43PMvideocam

India

Indian maker of cough syrup linked to deaths halts production

Uzbekistan’s health ministry said that at least 18 children in the country died after consuming the syrup manufactured by Marion Biotech, which said it regretted the deaths and has halted production.

29 Dec 2022 - 5:47PM

XXIV 2022

Profile | Why having prominent parents is ‘a double-edged sword’ for Emily Lam-Ho

She’s the founder of green and social empowerment initiatives 8Shades, Empact28 and EcoDrive in her own right, but the Hong Kong heiress says she still gets compared to her tycoon father Peter Lam

23 Dec 2022 - 8:00AM

Indonesia

Indonesia families sue government over cough syrup deaths

The country has seen a spike in cases of acute kidney injury since August, with the deaths of at least 199 people, mostly children. Some syrups contain excessive amounts of compounds used in industrial products such as antifreeze.

1 Dec 2022 - 5:33PMvideocam

Indonesian families are seeking compensation for relatives who died or became ill after taking certain brands of cough syrup. Photo: Shutterstock

Human rights

Half of world’s democracies in state of decline: report

Stockholm-based group said the number of ‘backsliding’ countries – those with the most severe democratic erosion – has never been so high and included Poland, Hungary and also the United States.

30 Nov 2022 - 11:22AM

The Statue of Liberty in New York. The United States has problems of political polarisation, institutional dysfunction and threats to civil liberties. Photo: Reuters

China-Africa relations

‘A great friend’: China strengthens ties with Africa through military aid

Study says China has provided nearly all African countries with millions of dollars’ worth of security force assistance as Beijing seeks to strengthen relations with the continent and protect its economic interests.

15 Nov 2022 - 4:29PMvideocam

Disease

Malaria mosquito from Asia spreading in Africa, researchers warn

New evidence has emerged that an invasive species of malaria-carrying mosquito from Asia is spreading in Africa, where it could pose a ‘unique’ threat to tens of millions of city dwellers.

2 Nov 2022 - 12:07PM

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Gambia

Chinese green tea is bringing people together in West Africa, 3 cups at a time

From government offices to roadside stalls, tea from China is at the heart of a slow ritual that provides time to talk and socialise.

Hongkong Post’s airmail services to 24 countries affected by strikes in Middle East

China minds, on guard against US, stress need for talks and regional cooperation

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Then & Now | How the mosquito net became ubiquitous in Hong Kong and across the tropics

Mosquitoes have long been a feature of life in Hong Kong and various methods have been devised to thwart the bloodthirsty pests, from kerosene in the drinking water to now-nostalgic nets.

European Parliament slams Hong Kong jailing of EU national on security charges

Resolution calls for freeing of Joseph John, as well as activist Andy Li and newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai, and condemns Hong Kong’s passage of domestic national security law.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}Analysis | Moscow attack: more than 1 Isis branch involved, Russia in its ‘crosshairs’

Isis-C is the “main perpetrator” and received “some help” from Isis-K with the latter present in Moscow before the attack, analysts say.

Gambia parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation

If the controversial bill is passed, Gambia would become the first country to reverse a ban on female circumcision.

My Take | Why the South African genocide case against Israel really matters

If you support Israel but feel uneasy about the high death toll, you may not want to object to the ICJ’s ‘provisional measures’ to halt carnage.

Over 60 migrants believed dead off Libya coast after boat sinks

High waves swamped the vessel, which had over 80 people aboard, as it made its risky sea voyage towards Europe.

China grants tariff-free access to 6 African countries in bid to rebalance trade

Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Mali and Mauritania will not pay duties on 98 per cent of taxable products under Beijing’s latest measure to buy more agricultural goods from the continent.

Death on the high seas: the dark side of China’s rise as seafood superpower

China has a distant-water fishing fleet twice as big as its nearest rival, but crew members are dying of violence and neglect – and with little regulation, that is unlikely to change any time soon.

West Africa is new focus for Chinese investors amid loans decline

Research shows Chinese loans to African countries fell 37 per cent during pandemic years, but investments in West Africa have risen while lending to traditional top 10 borrowers has remained flat.

Hong Kong child of empire on his museum-like home full of Chinese textiles

When Chris Hall’s mother said ‘buy property’, he didn’t argue but bought Chinese robes too, and his Hong Kong home houses a world-class collection. He tells Fionnuala McHugh about a childhood spent continent-hopping.

Niger coup: what would West African bloc’s threat to use force look like?

West African nations have threatened to use force to reinstate Niger’s president, while neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso – also ruled by military juntas – said they would come to Niger’s defence.

‘Lot of harm’: Indian pharmaceutical reputation at risk over cough syrup deaths

To salvage the US$41 billion pharmaceutical industry’s reputation, the India government’s efforts to improve standard of exports should be comprehensive instead of ‘knee jerk’.

India orders mandatory export testing of cough syrups after kids’ deaths abroad

Any cough syrup must have a certificate of analysis issued by a government laboratory before it is exported, effective June 1, the government said.

WHO: contaminated cough syrup found in Western Pacific

A batch of cough syrup – manufactured by QP Pharmachem, based in Punjab and exported to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia – was contaminated with unacceptable amounts of ingredients toxic to humans.

India cracks down on fake medicines, cancels licences

The decision comes as part of action taken against 76 companies and the death of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan linked to drugs made by India-based firms.

India bans use of cough syrup ingredients linked to deaths

19 children died after taking Marion Biotech’s syrups contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, and India suspended production at the Delhi-based pharmaceutical firm that supplied the ingredients.

‘Give me back my son’: Indonesian parents sue over tainted medicine

Some two dozen Indonesian families are suing two drug makers, the health and finance ministries, and the food and drug supervisory agency over their children’s deaths from tainted drugs.

Quality of India-made drugs in spotlight amid US ‘superbug’ outbreak

The alarm comes as India’s drug industry has also been in the news over deaths of 90 children that the WHO has linked to Indian-made cough syrups.

Indian cough syrup linked to deaths of 20 children was circulating for months

Some batches were identified as having been manufactured as early as May 2021 and others appear to have been made as recently as August 2022.

Indian maker of cough syrup linked to deaths halts production

Uzbekistan’s health ministry said that at least 18 children in the country died after consuming the syrup manufactured by Marion Biotech, which said it regretted the deaths and has halted production.

Profile | Why having prominent parents is ‘a double-edged sword’ for Emily Lam-Ho

She’s the founder of green and social empowerment initiatives 8Shades, Empact28 and EcoDrive in her own right, but the Hong Kong heiress says she still gets compared to her tycoon father Peter Lam

Indonesia families sue government over cough syrup deaths

The country has seen a spike in cases of acute kidney injury since August, with the deaths of at least 199 people, mostly children. Some syrups contain excessive amounts of compounds used in industrial products such as antifreeze.

Half of world’s democracies in state of decline: report

Stockholm-based group said the number of ‘backsliding’ countries – those with the most severe democratic erosion – has never been so high and included Poland, Hungary and also the United States.

‘A great friend’: China strengthens ties with Africa through military aid

Study says China has provided nearly all African countries with millions of dollars’ worth of security force assistance as Beijing seeks to strengthen relations with the continent and protect its economic interests.

Malaria mosquito from Asia spreading in Africa, researchers warn

New evidence has emerged that an invasive species of malaria-carrying mosquito from Asia is spreading in Africa, where it could pose a ‘unique’ threat to tens of millions of city dwellers.

Then & Now | How the mosquito net became ubiquitous in Hong Kong and across the tropics

Analysis | Moscow attack: more than 1 Isis branch involved, Russia in its ‘crosshairs’