Mali, China, Afghanistan
Today's three stories you should know
Mali
The U.S. government has lifted sanctions on three senior Malian officials that had been imposed after the country developed close security ties with Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. Analysts say it marks a more pragmatic approach from Washington to the Sahel region, where a number of Islamist rebel groups are active. Separately, the groups have stepped up their attacks and deepened their presence in the border areas between Benin, Niger and Nigeria, a crisis monitoring group said. Over the last year, two groups – the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, and the Islamic State Sahel Province – have expanded from the Sahel toward coastal nations along the Atlantic, a report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project said.
More from Reuters here.
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China
China has sacked nine military officials ahead of its biggest annual political meeting next week as part of an ongoing campaign against corruption. The removals were announced by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, but no reason was given. The move comes just weeks after President Xi Jinping fired Zhang Youxia, his highest-ranking general and a close ally. Beijing began a “high-pressure campaign” to tackle corruption, a persistent problem in Chinese society, in 2023 and since then hundreds of officials and military officers have been investigated and sacked. Some critics say the anti-graft drive is being used to purge political rivals.
More from the FT here.
Afghanistan
Women and children in Afghanistan are sometimes denied emergency medical treatment due to restrictions imposed by the Taliban government, according to a U.N. human rights expert. Regulations dictate that sick or injured women must adhere to a dress code, be accompanied by a so-called male guardian and be treated by male medics, Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett said. Examples given in a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council this week included a woman left to give birth on her own at the hospital gate because she was unaccompanied, and a woman whose four-year-old son died because she could not travel alone with him to a hospital. Bennett told a press conference that the report had been shared with the Taliban, but officials did not respond.
More from Reuters here.