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Hard Numbers: Khashoggi verdict, food insecurity in southern Africa, Aussie journalists leave China, human toll of US War on Terror

A Vigil is held at Saudi Embassy for Journalist Jamal Khashoggi

8: A Saudi court has issued "final verdicts" against eight people for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi back in 2018, with five of the defendants receiving 20-year prison terms. It's widely believed that the killing was directed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a claim that Riyadh has long denied.


45 million: Around 45 million people living in southern Africa do not have enough to eat, according to the World Food Program (WFP), a UN agency. The COVID crisis and the effects of climate change are the main reasons for the uptick in food insecurity, with Zimbabwe being the worst affected country in the region. Around 8.6 million Zimbabweans may not have access to affordable and nutritious food by the end of 2020, the WFP says.

2: The last two journalists working for Australian media in China have left the country after being held and questioned by Chinese authorities. More than a dozen Australian journalists were expelled from China in the first half of 2020 as the two countries have clashed over alleged Chinese hacking in Australia as well as Canberra's recent backing of an international probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

37 million: A new report from Brown University in the United States says that 37 million people have been displaced by America's far-reaching War on Terror since September 2001. Most civilians displaced are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria, the study says.

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