Niger, China, Gaza

Today's three stories you should know

Niger

Fighting between militias affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS in Africa’s Sahel region has spilled into Niger, according to a statement from one of the groups, representing an escalation in years of fighting. Conflict between the al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) erupted in 2019 and more than 2,100 people have been killed in clashes since, according to conflict monitoring group ACLED. The fighting had previously been confined to Mali and Burkina Faso until ISSP fighters last week attacked a JNIM position in the Tillaberi region of western Niger. The governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have been at war with the groups for years, with JNIM in particular proving a powerful force.

More from Reuters here.

NB: Proximities has published a deep dive on the war in the Sahel for paid subscribers.

China

Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun has arrived in Beijing for a six-day trip at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, as China continues to publicly press for the autonomous island to cede to its control. Cheng, chairwoman of the Kuomintang party, has called the visit, which is the first by a Taiwanese opposition leader for a decade and comes a month before U.S. President Donald Trump attends a summit in the Chinese capital, a “journey for peace.” China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force, regularly sending warplanes and naval ships into its territory. Xi has pressured Trump on Washington’s long-term support of Taiwan, telling him in a call in February that “Taiwan will never be allowed to separate from China.”

More from AP here.

Gaza

The funeral has been held in Gaza for Mohammed Wishah, an Al Jazeera journalist killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle he was traveling in, making him the 12th journalist from the network to be killed by Israel since the war on Gaza began. Relatives, friends and colleagues carried his body through the Palestinian enclave, at one point placing it at the spot where he had delivered his live reports. Speaking at the funeral, Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of Gaza’s media office, said: “The assassination of Wishah is a link in a chain of ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian journalistic family, within the framework of a deliberate and intentional policy of targeting with premeditation and intent.” More than 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, almost wiping out a generation of reporters.

More from Al Jazeera here.