Mali
France today pulled its troops out of their main base in the Malian city of Timbuktu, in what is a major reduction of the French military presence eight years after Paris sent troops to fight an insurgency by Islamist armed groups. Despite early successes, the conflict has since spilled into Burkina Faso and Niger and attacks by the groups, which have links to ISIS and al-Qaeda, have grown more frequent, fuelling some opposition to France’s continued presence in its former colony.
More from France 24 here.
Afghanistan
Relatives of the 10 members of an innocent family killed by a US drone strike in Afghanistan in August have expressed their frustration at yesterday’s report that none of the American military personnel involved will face disciplinary action. Zemerai Ahmadi’s car was hit by a hellfire missile in the final days of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, blowing him, two adult relatives and seven children to pieces. Three of Ahmadi’s brothers today spoke to the Associated Press news agency.
More from AP here.
China
BBC today carries a deeply disturbing report of a young Chinese man who killed himself after being branded “too effeminate” by bullies. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, the Chinese government has engaged in ongoing criticism of what it calls effeminate men or, pejoratively, “sissy men.” Broadcasters must “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics,” the National Radio and TV Administration said in a September decree. Zhou Peng’s suicide letter, which he shared on the social platform Weibo, has sparked an outpouring of grief and anger, as well as a debate over the government’s idea of what a Chinese man should be.
More from BBC here.