World Tour: Kamala Harris tours 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: VP Harris in Ghana — Today’s World Tour takes off in Ghana, where U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris began her first official Africa tour on Sunday.

SOUND: [Welcome]

Harris met with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, where she pledged $100 million dollars in U.S. aid to Ghana and other West African countries.

HARRIS: African nations such as Ghana play a critical role in a number of global issues, whether it be the issue of food security, the climate crisis, or resilient supply chains.

Harris also clarified the U.S. stance on homosexual policies. Lawmakers in Ghana are debating a bill that could criminalize homosexuality and advocacy for gay rights. Ugandan lawmakers approved a similar bill last week.

HARRIS: I will also say that this is an issue that we consider, and I consider, to be a human rights issue, and that will not change.

The weeklong trip includes stops in Tanzania today, where she will meet with the country’s first female president before moving on to Zambia on Friday.

Her trip is the highest profile visit yet by the Biden administration as China and Russia continue to grow their reach across the continent.

Harris will return to the U.S. on Sunday.

Venezuela crackdown — We head over to Venezuela where authorities are cracking down on a corruption scheme.

SOUND: [Supporters]

Venezuela’s attorney general on Saturday said authorities rounded up 21 people, including senior government officials and business leaders.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab says they are linked to a scheme involving the sale of Venezuelan oil … through a government agency that supervises cryptocurrency operations. Saab said the agency assigned oil cargoes for sale without administrative oversight. That allowed buyers to purchase the oil without a registered payment.

The accusations include appropriation of public assets, money laundering, and criminal association.

SOUND: [Speaking Spanish]

Saab says here that all public officials connected to the plot will also face treason charges.

Authorities issued arrest warrants for 11 more people. Last week the country’s petroleum minister resigned over the investigation.

Spain prays for rain — Next, to Spain.

SOUND: [Congregation singing]

Nearly 300 people gathered inside a small church in a village in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia on Sunday. They joined a special Mass and prayer procession for rain to fall.

The country is facing a severe drought due to high temperatures and low rainfall over the past three years.

In the Catalan village of L'Espunyola, all three nearby reservoirs are now below a third of their capacity.

SOUND: [Speaking Spanish]

This Catalan farmer says the situation will likely worsen if they don’t receive any rainfall in the next two weeks.

Residents say the agricultural region’s last drought in 2008 ended weeks after a similar Mass.

The dry weather has brought more wildfires even this spring. About 700 firefighters worked to contain Spain's first major forest fire of the year—earlier than the usual summer fires. The blaze burned through nearly 10,000 acres of land. Over 1,500 people had to flee the area.

Yemen war — Next, to Yemen.

SOUND: [Chanting protesters]

Thousands of Yemenis crowded the streets of the rebel-held capital of Sanaa on Sunday chanting and waving flags.

The protest marked eight years since a Saudi-led military intervention began in the country.

On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia led an international military coalition that launched air strikes and blockades in parts of Yemen. The coalition sought to reinstate President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi who fled Sanaa after Houthi rebels seized control of the capital city in 2014. Saudi Arabia considers the rebels as a proxy of Iran.

The protracted conflict has mostly turned into a stalemate between the warring sides, and sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

SOUND: [Speaking Arabic]

This protester says Yemenis will continue to persist until they achieve victory.

More than 23 million people in Yemen rely on humanitarian assistance for survival.

Lebanon time confusion — We close today in Lebanon where authorities have resolved a dispute over daylight savings time.

Lebanon’s government has agreed to move clocks one hour ahead today.

The caretaker government last week proposed delaying daylight savings until April 20 instead of the country’s tradition to roll their clocks forward in the last week of March.

The last-minute change sought to cater to Muslims who are fasting during their holy month of Ramadan.

But it sparked anger and confusion. Lebanon’s influential Maronite Church, some schools, and media outlets had already defied the move.

SOUND: [Speaking Arabic]

This Beirut resident says she now has to follow different times for her children’s school, her work, and an online course.

Two prominent Christian political parties had called on the government to reverse its decision. Lebanon is also in the middle of a political impasse and an economic crisis.

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

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