South Korea bans the sale of dog meat by 2027

Today's news: One of Hezbollah's leaders eliminated in southern Lebanon; Chinese President Xi Jinping said more efforts are needed in the fight against corruption; Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif is free to participate in the upcoming elections; Polling stations open for the Bhutan runoff.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul has passed a new law to ban the slaughter and sale of dog meat by 2027, although the consumption of dog meat itself will not be illegal. The government has promised to support breeders and restaurants that serve dishes with dog meat, consumed especially by some segments of the older population, even if the compensation that will be offered has not yet been defined.

LEBANON

Hezbollah yesterday confirmed the killing, probably by Israel, of Wissam Tawil, one of the most important leaders of the organization. The Israeli military did not comment on the news, but said it struck targets linked to the pro-Iranian group in response to cross-border attacks in southern Lebanon. Tawil was the deputy head of the Radwan units, a sort of Hezbollah special forces group.

CHINA

In a speech to the Chinese Communist Party's anti-corruption agency, President Xi Jinping said "greater efforts" were needed to fight corruption in the finance, energy and infrastructure sectors. "A landslide victory has been achieved, with the achievements fully consolidated" over the past decade, Xi said, state news agency Xinhua reported. But "the situation remains serious and complex", he added. According to critics, these are mainly measures taken to eliminate political opponents.

PAKISTAN

Yesterday the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a ruling with which it eliminated the lifetime ban from public offices for those who have been convicted in the past, allowing the candidacy in the elections - scheduled for 8 February - of the former prime minister minister Nawaz Sharif, who in 2019 moved to London in a sort of self-exile to undergo medical treatment and escape corruption convictions. Sharif returned to Pakistan last October after having been prime minister from 1990 to 1993, from 1997 to 1999, and from 2013 to 2017, when he was deposed in conjunction with the Panama Papers scandal.

BHUTAN

Polling stations opened this morning for the run-off elections in the Kingdom of Bhutan, in which the Bhutan Tendrel Party and the People's Democratic Party will compete. The leaders of the two groups have promised to face the economic challenges, questioning the policy of "gross national happiness" to measure the country's development. The polls will remain open until 5pm (local time) and the results will probably be announced tomorrow.

ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN

Armenia's justice minister, Grigor Minasyan, declared that "a great deal of work is underway to defend the rights of Armenians held captive by Azerbaijan", of which 30 were returned in recent days in exchange for two prisoners Azeris. Those still held are visited by the International Red Cross, ensuring links with relatives.

ORTODOX CHURCH

According to data released by the Russian Ministry of the Interior, attendance at Orthodox liturgical celebrations has suffered a significant decline since 2020, without recovering after the pandemic. 1 million 400 thousand people went to the Christmas celebrations in recent days, 1% of the population, while the Sunday celebrations did not reach 0.3%.

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