World Tour: China’s tour of Africa

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: DRC church, Nigeria — We begin today’s international roundup here in Africa.

AUDIO: [Explosion site]

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a bomb that ripped through a Pentecostal church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least 14 people died and 63 others were injured in the Sunday attack.

AUDIO: [Speaking Swahili]

This survivor says the choir finished singing and the preacher just began his sermon when they heard the explosion.

Shoes littered the premises, and the hole where police said the bomb was buried… was still visible this week.

More than 120 armed groups operate in the mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The same day in Nigeria, gunmen burned a Catholic priest alive in central Niger state after failing to gain entry into the parish residence.

Egypt, China tour — We head next to Egypt, where China’s new foreign minister wrapped up his first African tour on Sunday.

AUDIO: [Qin speaking]

Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo. He pledged that Beijing will continue to develop its investment in Egyptian infrastructure.

Qin’s week-long tour also included stops in Gabon, Angola, and Benin.

AUDIO: [Camera shutters, applause]

In Ethiopia, he inaugurated the newly built headquarters for the African Center for Disease Control funded by China.

Beijing has invested heavily in infrastructure in African countries—including roads, telecommunications, and hospitals.

Qin’s Africa tour came one month after President Joe Biden hosted dozens of African leaders in Washington. Biden’s administration pledged government funding and private investment across different sectors on the continent.

Israel protests — We head over to Israel.

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

Tens of thousands of Israelis waved flags and chanted in the streets of central Tel Aviv.

They are protesting plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the country’s legal system and potentially weaken the Supreme Court.

Shikma Bressler is a protest organizer.

AUDIO: But the changes that are being proposed are going to the core of the way this country is managed and organized. And this we cannot allow.

Netanyahu is on trial for corruption charges and has made overhauling the country’s legal system a priority.

The proposed changes have also drawn criticism from top officials, including the country’s attorney general and the Supreme Court’s top justice. But Netanyahu has insisted the reforms will restore the public’s faith in the justice system.

Greek funeral — We wrap up today in Greece.

AUDIO: [Funeral service]

More than 2,000 people lined the streets of Athens on Monday, watching as the casket of Greece’s former king was carried into the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Constantine the second died last week at 82.

Greece abolished its monarchy in a 1974 referendum. Constantine later had his citizenship revoked in 1994 after battling with the Greek state over the royal family’s former property.

He returned from exile in 2013. The government did not grant him a state funeral.

AUDIO: [Speaking in Greek]

This resident said it was petty not to hold a state funeral for a man who ruled for 10 years—for better or worse.

Constantine was buried at Tatoi, the former summer residence of Greek royals where his parents and ancestors are also buried.

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

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.