Pakistan, Uganda, South Korea.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 08, 2022

Pakistan

Well-known Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif - who was shot dead near Kenya’s capital Nairobi last month - was the victim of “a targeted attack,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said. It had initially been reported that Kenyan police shot Sharif dead by accident and that it may have been a case of mistaken identity. An anchor with the news channel ARY, Sharif became critical of Pakistan’s military after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office in April. He was charged with sedition in August for an interview with a close Khan aide and left Pakistan shortly afterwards. Sanaullah said the investigation into the killing was ongoing.

Uganda

Uganda is to close schools two weeks before the end of term after eight children died from Ebola out of a confirmed 23 cases among pupils. The country has been dealing with an Ebola outbreak since September in which more than 150 people have been infected and 64 have died, according to UN figures. Though Uganda is one of the most experienced countries in the world at containing Ebola, the current outbreak is of the Sudan strain for which there is no known effective vaccine. The World Health Organization, though, says clinical trials for a new vaccine could begin within weeks.

South Korea

Here’s a weird one. A row has broken out in South Korea over a pair of dogs gifted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the South’s former president Moon Jae-in in 2018. Moon took a shine to the white “Pungsan” dogs, believed to be indigenous to North Korea, and took them home with him when he left office along with one of their pups. The dogs are officially considered state property but Moon took advantage of a law that allows presidential gifts to be managed outside of the Presidential Archives if they are animals or plants. Moon’s office, though, gave them back to the state today after the current government of President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to cover their food and vets fees. Both sides are now blaming each other and social media users are annoyed that the dogs are being treated like political pawns instead of pets.