By Francesca Hangeior

Beijing on Tuesday said media outlets facing the axe by US President Donald Trump had a “notorious” history of reporting on China, as Cambodia’s autocratic former leader hailed the move for “combating fake news”.

Trump signed an order last week freezing Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets as part of his sweeping cuts to Federal Government spending.

RFA was created to provide reporting to China, North Korea and other countries in the region with heavily restricted press.

It has reported extensively in recent years on issues highly sensitive to Beijing authorities and other autocratic leaders in Asia.

Asked about Trump’s decision during a daily news briefing, China’s foreign ministry said it did not comment on domestic policies of the US government.

But, said spokeswoman Mao Ning: “I think it is no secret that some of the US media you mentioned have a notorious track record in reporting on China.”

In an editorial, state-backed nationalist tabloid Global Times went further — describing Voice of America as a “lie factory”.

“The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag,” it said.

“The demonising narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,” it added.

China has frequently criticised Western media reporting on the country as “biased” and it heavily restricts the operations of domestic news outlets.

Thorny topics covered by RFA and its fellow outlets included China’s alleged large-scale human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as the crackdown on democratic activists in Hong Kong.

Notably, Radio Free Asia’s reporting is published in a wide range of languages spoken in China, including Tibetan and Uyghur as well as Mandarin and Cantonese.

Related news stories are heavily censored in China’s domestic media environment — and foreign reports on the subjects are blocked online.

The outlets had also long been critical of the influential former leader of Cambodia Hun Sen.

He welcomed the move to cut their funding, praising Trump for “his courage to lead the world in combating fake news, starting with news outlets funded by the US government”.

Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for nearly four decades and shut down multiple independent media outlets, has been the subject of critical reporting by VOA and Radio Free Asia.

In 2020, Beijing ordered several US media outlets — including VOA — to declare in writing their staff, finances, operations and real estate in China.

The decree was part of a media row between Washington and Beijing that saw more than a dozen journalists working for US media expelled from China.

By Francesca Hangeior

Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has dismissed any serious competition ahead of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in the state.

Soludo declared that he had not seen any worthy challenger.

He said there is a general agreement among Anambra people that his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has delivered good governance and deserves another term.

He stated this during a media chat marking his third year in office on Monday.

Soludo noted that while Anambra voters may back different parties in national elections, they remain loyal to APGA when it comes to governorship and local government polls.

“If there is an election, I mean there will be an election, and if I am a candidate, I will be on the ballot, and then I ask: who else is running?

“Which party is fielding a candidate? So far, unless the person will come down from somewhere, I have not heard of any,” he said.

Soludo acknowledged that people have urged him to seek a second term, but the final decision rests with his party.

“The party has to agree to it and give me the platform. For me, I applied for this job intentionally because I felt that’s my way of thanking God for His bountiful blessing—to spend the rest of my life serving and leaving this place better than I met it.

“If my party nominates me and if my employers, who are the Anambra people, graciously renew the tenure, of course, it’s a great honour and a great privilege to serve,” he added.

Anambra is among eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to court rulings.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has said former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, of demolishing his cement plant twice during his tenure.

“But right now, we’re coming back because of his excellency, my brother, Prince Dapo Abiodun, we’re now back. When we go there you’ll be very surprised.”

The Itori Cement Plant, set to become Dangote Cement’s fourth greenfield project in Nigeria, is expected to boost local production, create jobs, and enhance Ogun State’s position as a leading industrial hub in the country.