World Tour - Navalny goes back on trial

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Protests against coup in Sudan—We start today in northeast Africa.

AUDIO: [Sound of protester chanting, marching]

Thousands of people protesting the military takeover of Sudan took to the streets of Khartoum on Monday. They are demanding the release of several political figures and pro-democracy activists recently arrested by the government.

Security forces fired tear gas at crowds who rallied near the presidential palace.

Mass protests have become a regular part of life in Sudan since army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took over the government. The coup derailed a power-sharing agreement between the army and civilians negotiated after the military deposed longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

On Monday, the Sudanese Professionals Association said more than 100 people have been detained without charges.

Navalny trial begins in Russia—Next we go to Russia.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny goes on trial this week. He’s facing fraud charges that could keep him behind bars for another 10 years.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Russian, camera shutters]

Russian officials are holding the trial at the maximum security prison where Navalny has been jailed for the last year. Reporters are not allowed to attend but can watch a live feed of the proceedings.

Navalny is serving a two and a half year sentence for breaking the conditions of his parole when he traveled to Germany for medical treatment after a near-fatal poisoning.

Investigators now accuse Navalny of stealing more than $4.7 million dollars in donations to his political organizations. Navalny’s supporters and international human rights groups call the trial a sham orchestrated to keep him behind bars.

Israeli PM makes first visit to Bahrain—Next to the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to Bahrain on Monday. It was the first-ever official visit by an Israeli head of government to the Gulf state.

BENNETT: I think especially in these tumultuous times, it’s important that from this region we send a message of goodwill, of cooperation, of standing together against common challenges and of building bridges to the future.

Bahrain and its close ally the United Arab Emirates became only the third and fourth majority Arab states to establish ties with Israel. They signed what became known as the Abraham Accords during the final months of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the country earlier this month to sign an agreement covering intelligence sharing, procurement, and joint training.

Bennett and Bahrain’s ruling family likely also discussed Iran, a common adversary.

Child mummies found in Peru—And finally, we end today in South America.

Archeologists excavating an ancient city in Peru have discovered the bodies of six children killed and mummified more than a thousand years ago.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Spanish]

The discovery provides the earliest evidence of mass child sacrifice associated with the burial of a nobleman.

Researchers believe the children were killed to accompany the dead adult into the afterlife. They could have been close family members.

The city, known as Cajamarquilla, was built out of mud about 200 B.C., in the pre-Inca period. It remained occupied until about 1500 A.D. and could have been home to as many as 20,000 people.

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

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