World Tour - A naval accident in Iran, and a gas leak in India

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with Africa reporter Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Kenyans protest demolition of homes—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: [Kenyan protests]

Hundreds of protesters in Kenya blocked a major highway Friday. They set cars and tires on fire and put up barricades. Police used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

AUDIO: [Kenyan woman protestor]

The protests started after the Kenyan government demolished houses and shops in an informal settlement near Nairobi. Workers bulldozed through the rickety metal structures, leaving more than 7,000 people homeless.

The government said the structures were built on government land, and it wants the property to expand the capital’s sewage system. 

Iran says 19 killed in missile training accident—Next, we go to the Middle East.

An Iranian military training exercise went badly wrong Sunday. A warship fired a missile at a training target, but accidentally struck another ship instead.

AUDIO: [Iranian survivors]

The blast killed 19 sailors and wounded 15 others. The botched exercise took place in waters near the Strait of Hormuz. It happened just months after Iran mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people aboard.

Chemical leak in India kills 11—Next, we go to Asia.

AUDIO: [Indian gas leak]

A gas leak at a chemical factory in India left at least 12 people dead and hundreds struggling to breathe. The toxic gas seeped out of the plant early Thursday morning, blanketing a 2-mile area. Hundreds fled on foot or in trucks.

The chemical is used to make fiberglass, rubber, and latex. It can immobilize a person within minutes and is deadly in high concentrations.

The leak is suspected to have come from large tanks left unattended because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Hong Kong arrests 200 protesters—Next, we go to Hong Kong.

AUDIO: [Hong Kong protestos]

Hong Kong police arrested more than 250 people on Sunday after a day of anti-government protests across the city. Hundreds of protesters gathered to chant slogans and sing “Glory to Hong Kong,” the anti-government movement’s anthem.

AUDIO: [Glory to Hong Kong]

Officials said protesters were violating the city’s ban on public gatherings of more than eight people.

The pro-democracy protests began last year. They died down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but have resurged in recent weeks. That’s partly because of new bills introduced in the legislature. Chief Executive Carrie Lam plans to overhaul the city’s education system. Lam says the liberal studies curriculum helped fuel last year’s protests and needs greater government oversight.

Kidnapped Italian aid worker released—Finally, we end today in Europe.

AUDIO: [Italian applause]

Onlookers applauded as a kidnapped aid worker returned home to Italy. Silvia Romano was 23 and volunteering at an orphanage in Kenya when she was seized by gunmen in 2018. The attackers were Islamic extremists linked to al-Shabaab.

Romano was found in a forest in Somalia on Saturday. She returned home a day later. Italy’s prime minister waited with Romano’s family to greet her as she stepped off the plane.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

(AP Photo/Brian Inganga) A police officer holds a pistol during clashes with protesters near a burning tyre barricade in the Kariobangi slum of Nairobi, Kenya Friday, May 8, 2020. 

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