Meanwhile in ... Kabul, Afghanistan, women are training to run ultramarathons

South Korea, Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president, is leading the charge against the dog meat trade. And he has some help: His rescue dog, Tori, who was being raised for meat before his rescue, has become the face of the campaign against the traditional Korean practice of eating dog meat, a practice that Sky News reports is in decline. President Moon had promised to adopt a rescue dog during the presidential campaign; Tori is now considered the country’s “first dog.” Before becoming part of the president’s family, Tori, a terrier mix, had been an unlikely candidate for adoption because of a bias against black dogs.

Kabul, Afghanistan, women are training to run ultramarathons. Thanks to a nonprofit called Free to Run, several Afghan women spent a month working with a US coach to train for the Gobi Desert March, a six-stage ultramarathon in Mongolia, reported Runner’s World. (Two of the Afghan women were ultimately accepted.) Free to Run works to provide safe opportunities for women living in conflict areas to run and be physically active. In Afghanistan women cannot show any skin when running and must wear headscarves, long dresses or pants, and long sleeves, regardless of the weather.

Kuala Belait, Brunei, hundreds of bird enthusiasts gathered to enter their birds in a birdsong competition. The birds were brought in cages – some very elaborate – and their songs were judged on their sounds, style, and endurance. “The competition was an opportunity to not only gather people who share the same passion and hobby, but also to showcase the beauty of these creatures,” Jess Ng, chairman for this year’s competition in the Belait District, told Inquirer.net.