Nigeria, Afghanistan, China-Saudi Arabia.

Today's three stories you should know.

Dec 08, 2022

Nigeria

The Nigerian military has denied a story from the Reuters news agency that it ran a secret mass abortion programme, saying it would not investigate the allegations. In a stomach-churning special investigation, Reuters reported that the army had run a “secret, systematic and illegal” abortion programme in the country's northeast since at least 2013. It said at least 10,000 pregnancies of women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by members of rebel groups, had been terminated. Women who resisted were beaten, threatened at gunpoint or drugged, the news agency said. The country’s defence chief, General Lucky Irabor, told journalists today that the report was untrue and that the military would therefore not be looking into it any further. "I don't think I should waste my energy in such things," he said.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has carried out its first public execution since coming to power last year. The execution in western Farah province was attended by a crowd of hundreds, including several senior Taliban officials. A man who had stabbed another man to death and stolen his motorcycle was executed by the victim’s father, who shot him three times. The Taliban had promised that harsh punishments for crime, including executions and amputations, would be returning to the country. Public floggings, a hallmark of its previous period in power, have also been reintroduced.

China-Saudi Arabia

China’s President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman have signed several major deals at the beginning of a landmark three-day visit from Xi to the kingdom. Saudi state media reported that 34 bilateral deals had been agreed, including one involving Chinese tech giant Huawei. China is believed to be keen to grow its influence in the Middle East and with relations between Saudi and its traditional major ally the US at a low ebb, Washington will be watching Xi’s visit closely.