Nigeria, Libya, North Korea

Today's three stories you should know

Jun 05, 2026

Nigeria

Nigerians have taken to the streets of the capital Abuja to demand that the government do more to rescue pupils and teachers who were kidnapped from three schools in the southwestern Oyo state. At least 37 children are reported to have been snatched in the attacks. Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, have terrorized northern Nigeria for years, regularly kidnapping large groups of people for ransom, but this is the first large-scale school abduction in the southwest. More than 1,500 students and staff have been abducted over the last decade, prompting fury from local communities and promises from the government to get the situation under control. Nigeria, particularly in the north, is dealing with several intersecting security issues in addition to the criminal gangs, including persistent insurgencies from al-Qaeda and ISIS-linked groups.

Libya

Demonstrators in Libya’s capital Tripoli have blocked off the headquarters of the U.N. refugee agency to protest the presence of people who have traveled to the country looking for work or seeking passage to Europe. Crowds gathered in front of UNHCR's offices, chanting slogans such as "No, No to settlement, Libya only for Libyans" and "Get out of Libya.” They set up tents and brought a truck full of sand to close the main gate of the building. Since the 2011 war that toppled longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has become the main transit point for Africans fleeing war and poverty and trying to reach Europe.

North Korea

Beijing has announced that Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week in his first visit to Pyongyang since 2019. China has recently embarked on an effort to shore up ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sought to move closer to both China and Russia as relations with South Korea and the U.S. soured after a brief thaw during the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim has also sent troops and conventional weapons to Moscow to support its war in Ukraine. The trip comes just weeks after Xi hosted Trump for a summit in Beijing, during which the U.S. leader is reported to have pushed for Pyongyang’s denuclearization.

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