A US missionary was kidnapped at gunpoint while leading a prayer service at a church in the coastal city of Gqeberha, South Africa, on Thursday evening.

Pastor Josh Sullivan, 45, was taken by four armed and masked men who stormed the Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell during his sermon, authorities reported on Friday.

The attackers, who reportedly robbed two cell phones before abducting Sullivan, left the church in a vehicle with the pastor.

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“They knew him by name,” said Reverend Jeremy Hall, a fellow pastor in the area. “They took him at gunpoint and forced him into his car.”

The abduction took place as Sullivan was hosting a prayer meeting attended by around 30 people, including his wife and six children.

The vehicle was later found abandoned approximately 1.5 kilometers from the church.

Police are investigating the possibility that the kidnapping was motivated by financial gain, with suspicions of ransom demands.

Kidnapping for ransom has been on the rise in South Africa, with criminal gangs increasingly targeting individuals who can bring in large sums of money.

Hall, who is also based in Gqeberha, suggested the incident was likely “financially related,” further adding to concerns about the growing threat of organized crime in the region.

This follows another kidnapping in the same area earlier this week, involving a Chinese national.

Statistics from South African authorities show a disturbing trend, with over 17,000 kidnappings reported during the 2023/2024 financial year — an 11 percent increase from the previous year.

Sullivan, along with his wife and children, moved to South Africa from Tennessee in November 2018 to engage in missionary work.

Investigations are ongoing, and no arrests have been made at this time.

In a sharp escalation of the ongoing trade war, China announced it will impose tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. imports starting Saturday, in response to President Donald Trump’s recent decision to raise duties on Chinese goods to 145%.

The tit-for-tat tariff hikes have heightened fears of a prolonged standoff between the world’s two largest economies, with analysts warning of potential disruptions to global supply chains.

The White House had recently intensified pressure on China by excluding it from a 90-day tariff pause granted to dozens of other countries.

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The move was widely seen as a direct challenge to Beijing, which remains the second-largest supplier of goods to the U.S.

In a strongly worded statement, China’s Finance Ministry condemned the U.S. move, calling it a “serious violation of international and economic trade rules” and labeling it as “unilateral bullying and coercion.”

China’s Commerce Ministry also signaled a firm stance, warning that it would “resolutely take countermeasures” and “fight to the end” if Washington continues what it called substantive infringements on Chinese interests.

“If the U.S. continues to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S., China will ignore it,” the ministry added, dismissing the tariff war as “a numbers game” with “no practical economic significance.”

China urged the U.S. to back away from the confrontation and “completely correct its wrongful practices” by removing the so-called reciprocal tariffs, which have become a flashpoint in U.S.-China economic relations.

In a bold move aimed at redefining her national identity by further severing ties with her colonial past, Niger Republic’s ruling junta has adopted Hausa as the country’s national language, replacing French.

A new national charter, published in a special edition of the government’s official journal on March 31, stated: “The national language is Hausa” and “the working languages are English and French.”

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The decision is part of sweeping reforms introduced by the military government that took power in July 2023 after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, the junta has taken deliberate steps to distance itself from France, including the expulsion of French troops and the renaming of streets and landmarks that bore French names.

Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Niger, particularly in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua. By contrast, French is spoken by only about 13 percent of the population—just over three million people in a country of 26 million.

The charter also designates nine other local languages—Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, Arabic and others—as the “spoken languages of Niger.”

The reforms stemmed from a national conference held in February, during which the junta was granted broader powers, including a five-year extension for General Abdourahamane Tiani to remain as head of state.

Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso—also under military rule—recently withdrew from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a cultural and political body representing French-speaking countries.