World Tour: Protests against the government in Colombia

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Nigeria, Onize Ohikere.

AUDIO: [Protest]

Colombia protests — Today’s global roundup starts in the Colombian capital of Bogota, with protesters chanting against the left-wing government of President Gustavo Petro.

Demonstrators also turned out in Cali and at least two other cities.

Petro’s ratings are at an all-time low after less than two years in office. Protesters rallied against his proposed reforms in healthcare and pensions.

Ivan Escobar was one of the protesters.

ESCOBAR: [Speaking Spanish]

He says here that Colombia’s economy is on the rocks and armed guerillas control some territories.

Petro assumed office in 2022, but his party lost its parliamentary majority in a vote months after his inauguration.

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

Canary Islands — In Spain’s Canary Islands, marching protesters also turned out on the streets, but this time to speak against mass tourism.

Social and environmental groups organized the demonstration. They are calling on local authorities to limit the number of visitors to the island, restrict the sale of properties to nonresidents and introduce an eco-tax to protect the environment.

Antonio Samuel Diaz Garcia is a 22-year-old student who attended the protest.

GARCIA: [Speaking Spanish]

He says vacation homes have filled up their villages and pushed up the cost of rent for locals.

Spain’s islands attract tourists drawn to the volcanic landscapes and year-round sunshine. Demonstrators also held supporting protests in Madrid and Barcelona.

AUDIO: [Music]

Sri Lanka memorial — Meanwhile, mourners in Sri Lanka on Sunday marched with flowers and lit candles to remember the nearly 280 people killed on Easter Sunday five years ago.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the 2019 bombings that targeted three churches and three hotels.

Survivors and families of the victims are still calling for a proper investigation into the attacks.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that senior officials failed to prevent the violence.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo:

RANJITH: [Speaking Sinhala]

He says here that authorities have tried to hush up the attack for the past five years.

Thousands of Catholics held photos of the dead as they marched silently to St. Sebastian’s Church in the town of Negombo where more than 100 of the victims died.

Saman Sirimanna lost his two children in the attack on another church in Colombo. They had gone to church to pray for success in their upcoming exams.

SIRIMANNA: [Speaking Sinhala]

He says here he was the first person to file a legal complaint after authorities failed to respond.

The United Nations has called on Sri Lanka to conduct a thorough investigation and publicize its findings.

AUDIO: [Singing and cheering]

Nigerian chess player — We wrap up with a Nigerian chess player and education advocate breaking a record at New York City’s Times Square.

AUDIO: [Cheering]

Supporters broke out in cheers as the 29-year-old Tunde Onakoya hit the 58-hour mark of playing chess. He continued playing against U.S. chess champion Shawn Martinez for two more hours, further surpassing the reigning Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon of 56 hours and 9 minutes.

Besides breaking the record, Onakoya is hoping to raise $1 million for children’s education across Africa.

He founded Chess in Slums Africa, teaching chess and drawing attention to the plight of children on the streets.

AUDIO: [Cheering]

Supporters surrounded him during the challenge. They played music, passed out plates of Nigeria’s popular jollof rice, and egged him on.

Onakoya said the support kept him going.

ONAKOYA: Nigerians traveled from all over the world. And they were with me overnight. Nobody went home. People came from London, from Tennessee. And we were singing together and they were dancing together and I couldn't just give up on them.

AUDIO: [Singing and cheering]

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

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