World Tour: Ebola spreads, and Mozambique leaders make peace

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

Rwanda closes border—ONIZE OHIKERE REPORTER: We begin today here in Africa. 

AUDIO: [Sound of Rwanda health ministers]

The health ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo met in a Rwandan border town to discuss the ongoing Ebola epidemic. 

Last week, Rwanda decided to temporarily close its shared border with DRC amid growing fears that the outbreak could spread to the neighboring country.  

AUDIO: [Rwanda border ambi]  

The move came after a second person died from Ebola in the large border city of Goma. 

So far more than 1,800 people have died in the year-long outbreak, making it the second-worst in history. Last month the World Health Organization declared it a global health emergency. 

Mozambique leaders sign peace accord—Elsewhere in Africa, good news in Mozambique. Leaders there signed a peace accord ending years of tensions between the government and rebel fighters. 

AUDIO: [Mozambique leaders sign peace accord]

The two sides held the signing ceremony at a wildlife park that was at the center of the conflict. Mozambique’s president embraced the opposition party leader in front of a cheering crowd. 

AUDIO: [Mozambique cheers]

The peace deal comes ahead of a visit from Pope Francis and an important national election. It’s a glimmer of hope for one of the world’s poorest countries, where 70 percent of the population lives on less than $2 dollars a day. 

South Korea-Japan trade tensions rise—Next we move to Asia, where trade tensions between South Korea and Japan have escalated.

AUDIO: [Sound of Seoul protests]

Protesters in Seoul took to the streets on Saturday after Japan threatened to slow down key exports to South Korea. The threatened materials include parts and chemicals used to make advanced semiconductors and digital flat screens. 

Japan said it was making the move because of unspecified national security concerns and that South Korea had “mishandled” items that could be used for military purposes. 

South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, says Tokyo’s decision is “unjust” and would harm global supply chains. 

The long-standing tensions between the two nations stretches all the way back to Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II.  

Yazidis mark five-year anniversary of genocide —

AUDIO: [Yazidis singing]

Next we move to Germany. There Yazidis gathered to commemorate five years since the Islamic State commited genocide against them. ISIS killed tens of thousands of Yazidis and forced thousands of others to flee. 

AUDIO: [Murad speaking]

Yazidi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad spoke at the gathering. She urged fellow Yazids to return to their ancestral homes so that ISIS won’t win in removing them from their lands. 

Since 2015, more than 85,000 Yazids have fled to Germany. But the threat of ISIS isn’t necessarily over. A new UN report says ISIS is establishing sleeper cells in provinces in Syria and Iraq. The group is also increasingly spreading its influence to North and West Africa. 

Saudi Arabia loosens restrictions on women—We end today with good news out of Saudi Arabia. 

On Friday the Saudi government published new laws that loosen restrictions on women. It allows all citizens to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a long-standing guardianship policy that had controlled women’s freedom of movement.

For WORLD Radio, I’m Onize Ohikere reporting from Abuja, Nigeria.

(Associated Press/Photo by Al-hadji Kudra Maliro) A worker from the World Health Organization decontaminates a doorway in the village of Mabalako in eastern Congo.

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