World Tour - Power in Hungary, and North Korean missiles

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Violence at Kenyan ferry dock—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: [People screaming, police yelling]

Hundreds of people thronged a dock in Kenya last week, trying to board a ferry ahead of the evening curfew. The ferry was running at low capacity and closing early in an effort to encourage social distancing. 

When a huge crowd gathered at the dock, police used tear gas to disperse the passengers. They beat people with batons and shoved them to the ground, injuring dozens.

The ferry runs between mainland Kenya and the small island city Mombasa. Many Kenyans live on the mainland and travel to work on the island. The ferry is the only means of transportation.

North Korea missile launch—Next, we go to Asia.

AUDIO: [North Korean military parade]

North Korea fired two more test missiles early Sunday morning. The projectiles landed in the sea off the coast of Japan. In recent weeks, North Korea has fired a slew of test missiles in an apparent effort to reinforce national unity.

Some experts say the tests are designed to show that the regime is still in control in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. North Korea insists it has no cases of COVID-19.

Hungary rule by decree—Next, we go to Europe.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Hungarian]

The Hungarian parliament passed a law Monday that grants sweeping emergency powers to Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The new law gives Orban the power to rule by decree indefinitely. It also ramps up punishment for people who spread false information about the pandemic. The government can now imprison people for up to five years.

The prime minister says the move was necessary to fight the coronavirus, but critics say he’s using the pandemic to grab power by declaring an indefinite state of emergency.

Van Gogh painting stolen—Next, we go to the Netherlands.

Thieves broke into a museum near Amsterdam early Monday morning. They smashed a glass door and made off with a painting by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh. That triggered an alarm, but the thieves were gone by the time police arrived.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Dutch]

The director of the museum announced the theft and asked any witnesses to step forward. The museum has been closed for two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Van Gogh finished the painting in 1884. It depicts a spring garden and is valued at over $6 million. The theft took place on what would have been van Gogh’s 167th birthday.

Kidnapped Christian girl returned—Finally, we end today in Pakistan.

A 13-year-old Christian girl returned to her parents last week after 25 days in captivity. She was kidnapped by two Muslim men in early March. Her family went to the police, but at first they refused to help. Then the family’s story went viral on social media.

Her mother testified that the girl was forced to convert to Islam and marry one of her captors. On Thursday, a judge ordered the men to return the girl to her family—a rare victory for Pakistani Christians.

That’s this week’s World Tour.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 29, 2020. 

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