PAPIRI, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of parents whose children were abducted last week at a Catholic school in north-central Niger gathered Friday at the school site to plead with the government for their children’s rescue.
More than 250 children remain captive after gunmen stormed the school early morning on Nov. 21 and carted away more than 300 students and staff. According to school authorities, 50 children managed to escape.
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A sign of St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School is shown, in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
A worried parent of abducted school children looks on at St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents of abducted school children gather at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents give their children's information to authorities outside the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents of abducted school children gather at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents say they are waiting in pain for news of the release.
“The children they took, some of them are still of tender age," Abuchi Nwolisa, a parent at the school, told The Associated Press. “They took some of them from their sleeping bed.”
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency earlier this week, bolstering the country’s police force to combat escalating attacks.
Nigeria has been rocked by two separate mass abductions of schoolchildren in the past two weeks. Gunmen also attacked a school in Kebbi, abducting 30 students before the government secured their release.
Mass abductions of schoolchildren have become common in the West African nation, which is facing critical threats from several armed groups, including groups that specialize in kidnappings for ransom.
Since 2014, there have been at least a dozen mass abductions of school students, and at least 1,799 students have been kidnapped since then, according to a tally by AP. Some of them are never rescued.
“We have parents who have two, three, five children with the abductors, and that is why we are here to tell the world that this is real," Stephen Okafor, spokesperson for the Minna Catholic Mission, told the AP.
Tensions in Nigeria flared recently following threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene militarily, citing widespread persecution of Christians in the country. The Nigerian government rejected the claims, saying the security situation is a complex threat that affects the entire country and not just a single religion.
AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
A sign of St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School is shown, in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
A worried parent of abducted school children looks on at St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents of abducted school children gather at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents give their children's information to authorities outside the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
Parents of abducted school children gather at the St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri community, Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo )
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Świątek picked up a theme that Coco Gauff left the Australian Open with after the 21-year-old American's racket-smashing, frustration-releasing moments away from the court went viral.
Gauff said a “conversations needs to had” about the seemingly limitless access-all-areas cameras that track players from the locker room to the court and just about everywhere in between.
After her 7-5, 6-1 quarterfinal loss to fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, Świątek was asked how she feels about the lack of off-camera areas for the players and what she thinks should the balance between entertainment, constant content and player privacy.
“Yeah, the question is, are we tennis players, or are we, like, animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop, you know?” she said, apologizing slightly for the latter reference. “OK, that was exaggerating obviously, but it would be nice to have some privacy.
"It would be nice also to, I don’t know, have your own process and not always be, like, observed.”
Świątek and Gauff are two of the top three players in women’s tennis, so it stands to reason they’ll be more in focus at the tournament.
Vision of Świątek being stopped by security after forgetting her credential became a meme. She's won four French Open titles as well as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. But security is, well, security.
The off-court camera surveillance occurs at other tournaments and isn't confined to the Australian Open, where organizers have created a three-week festival around the season-opening major by incorporating all kinds of fan engagement activities.
The vision from the non-public areas stadium isn't always broadcast, but players don't need reminding that some moments that get captured will turn up on the internet for being cute, informative or just outright dramatic.
No. 2-ranked Świątek said there were parts of her game she'd like to practice immediately before walking out for a match and “it would be nice to have some space where you can do that without the whole world watching.”
The 24-year-old is one of Poland's star athletes, and is fully aware that being in the public gaze is part-and-parcel of being a tennis champion.
“We’re tennis players. We’re meant to be watched on the court, you know, and in the press. That’s our job,” she said. "It’s not our job, like, be a meme when you forget your accreditation.
“Oh, it’s funny, yeah, for sure. People have something to talk about. But for us I don’t think it’s necessary.”
No. 3-ranked Gauff, a two-time major winner, smashed her racket into the concrete floor of a ramp near the player area seven times after her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina on Day 10.
She struggled with her serve in the 59-minute match, and stayed composed as she left the center court before trying to find somewhere in the shadows to vent.
Turned out, there’s pretty much no place with the confines of Rod Laver Arena except for the locker rooms that is beyond the scope of the cameras.
“Certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna (Sabalenka) after I played her in the final of the U.S. Open — I feel like they don’t need to broadcast,” Gauff said in her post-match news conference. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera because I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets."
She said she didn't want to smash her racket on the court within sight of fans because she didn't think it was a good look, which is why she saved it for a quieter area.
“So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had," she said, "because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”
Coco Gauff of the U.S. walks from the court following her quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. reacts during her quarterfinal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Iga Swiatek of Poland takes a drink during her quarterfinal match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Iga Swiatek of Poland walks from the court following her quarterfinal loss to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
