Kazakhstan, Senegal, South Korea.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jan 06, 2022

Kazakhstan

Russia has sent troops into Kazakhstan as an unprecedented series of violent demonstrations threatened to turn into a full-on uprising. Protests began earlier this week over rocketing fuel prices but quickly escalated as demonstrators expressed anger over a whole host of issues. Police in the country’s biggest city, Almaty, said they had killed dozens of protesters, and authorities said 18 police officers were killed. With its military deployment, Russia will want to quickly quell unrest in one of its closest former Soviet allies, in which it has significant economic interests.

Senegal

A parliamentary committee in Senegal has rejected a bill that would have doubled the sentence for homosexuality from five years to 10. Members of President Macky Sall’s coalition government rejected the legislation, saying they found it unnecessary. Sal, though, was at pains to underline that homosexuality would not be legalized and said it would remain “severely punished by the Senegalese penal code.” Though prosecutions of gay people are rare, activists say they are becoming more common.

South Korea

A slightly odd story out of South Korea. Hair loss has become a hot topic in the country’s upcoming election after presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung proposed that the government should pay for hair loss treatments. Social media is abuzz with enthusiastic support for the proposal, and with criticism from those who say it’s a populist stunt. “Your Excellency, Mr. President! You’re giving new hope to bald people for the first time in Korea,” one social media user posted.