BISSAU, Nov. 22 — President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Friday expressed gratitude for China’s valuable assistance as he attended a handover ceremony for China-donated airport security inspection equipment in the capital, Bissau.

Prime Minister Braima Camara, Minister of Transport Marciano Silva Barbeiro and other senior Bissau-Guinean officials, as well as representatives from both countries, attended the event.

Embalo and Chinese Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau Yang Renhuo jointly inaugurated the equipment, after which Yang and Barbeiro signed the handover certificate.

In his remarks, Embalo said the donation will not only significantly enhance the modernization of services at Guinea-Bissau’s airport but also stands as a testament to the profound friendship between the two countries.

He added that the equipment will play an important role in strengthening the country’s aviation security. According to the Chinese Embassy in Guinea-Bissau, the multifunctional security inspection system integrates safety screening, intelligent imaging, artificial intelligence and big data analysis.

Compared with traditional equipment, it offers higher efficiency and more accurate automatic detection of hazardous and prohibited items.

Once operational, the equipment is expected to help Osvaldo Vieira International Airport improve its level of digital and intelligent management, the embassy added.  Namibia Daily News/ Xinhua

TOKYO, Nov. 22 — Hundreds of Japanese people held a protest in front of the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous remarks on Taiwan and offer an explanation and apology.

People started to arrive at the rally around 7 p.m. local time, holding signs with slogans such as “Retract remarks, oppose war,” “This is all because of Takaichi,” and “Takaichi step down,” and shouted out slogans like “Prevent the resurgence of militarism.”

At a Diet meeting on Nov. 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland’s “use of force in Taiwan” could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait.

Takaichi later insisted that her remarks were in line with the government’s longstanding view and refused to retract the remarks.

Several protesters at the scene demanded that Takaichi take responsibility for her remarks regarding Taiwan and resign as prime minister.

Protester Haruko Oki told Xinhua that she was “very shocked” when she saw Takashi making the statement in the Diet on television, which was “extremely inappropriate” and “carried a dangerous political bias.”

“We don’t want someone like this to be prime minister,” Oki said, adding that the prime minister’s inappropriate remarks on such a sensitive matter raised concerns among ordinary citizens about her political leanings.

Protester Okahara told Xinhua that recently the number of Chinese visitors at many tourist attractions in Japan has decreased significantly, starting to hit the tourism industry.

“What exactly does Takaichi want to achieve? Why did she make such remarks that would provoke a neighboring country? It’s truly incomprehensible,” she said.

Okahara said that Takaichi should be held responsible for the diplomatic and economic consequences caused by her remarks.

“She must sincerely apologize, retract her statement, and resign as prime minister. Such a person is not suitable for participating in politics.”

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan’s Social Democratic Party, also attended the rally. In an interview with Xinhua, she pointed out that Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan are pushing Japan toward war, and that “such a political stance is absolutely unacceptable!” Fukushima emphasized that such remarks would only provoke the situation and exacerbate tensions, stressing that Japan should adhere to peaceful diplomacy and resolve regional tensions through dialogue and diplomatic means, rather than preparing for war or pushing for an escalation of regional tensions.

Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks have drawn strong criticism from legal scholars, anti-war groups and opposition parties at home. Japanese public opinion pointed out that Takaichi’s statement violated the commitment made by the Japanese government in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Statement and clearly contradicted Japan’s long-standing foreign policy towards China, which was bound to cause unnecessary tension in the region. Namibia Daily News / Xinhua

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 22 — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected handing over the Group of 20 (G20) presidency to a low-ranking U.S. diplomat, the president’s office said Thursday, amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Pretoria and Washington.

“The President will not hand over to a charge d’affaires,” presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya wrote on social media X.

The dispute came after U.S. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday criticized Ramaphosa, accusing him of “running his mouth” over the U.S. boycott of the G20 summit.

Leavitt confirmed that a U.S. delegation will attend the handover ceremony at the end of the summit, but said Washington will not take part in the G20 discussions.

Marc D. Dillard, charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, is expected to lead the U.S. delegation at the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit.

In diplomatic practice, a charge d’affaires is the lowest-ranking head of mission, usually appointed only when a country does not have an ambassador in place.

Unlike an ambassador or minister, a charge d’affaires does not present credentials to the host head of state and is generally viewed as a temporary or junior-level representative. Namibia Daily News/ Xinhua