World Tour - Rebels, riots, and border clashes

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Rebels advance on CAR capital—We start today here in Africa.

The newly elected government of the Central African Republic declared a state of emergency on Friday. Anti-government fighters control two-thirds of the country and surrounded the capital, Bangui, last week. UN peacekeepers repelled the attack.

AUDIO: [Man speaking French]

The UN special representative for the country urged the UN Security Council to increase its involvement or risk having the rebels overthrow the government.

The latest unrest follows last week’s announcement that incumbent President Faustin Archange Touadera won the majority of votes in December’s election. But fear of violence kept turnout incredibly low—just one-third of eligible voters. A coalition of rebel forces disputes the results.

Fighting among ethnic groups began in 2013 after the predominantly Muslim Selekas seized power in a coup. A militia loyal to the government forced the Selekas out in 2014, and a backlash against all Muslims followed.

Seven UN peacekeepers have died in attacks since the December 27th election.

Riots against COVID curfew in The Netherlands—Next we go to Europe.

AUDIO: [Sound of crowd followed by pops]

Anger over a new curfew in The Netherlands has sparked nightly, violent protests across the country. Protesters set fires, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, and looted shops.

The protests began after the country’s prime minister announced a nighttime curfew to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. It is the first time the Dutch have faced a curfew since World War Two. The country was already under strict lockdown measures, with schools and non-essential shops shut since December.

Officials say the curfew is necessary to stop the spread of a more contagious strain of the virus. 

Troops clash along China-India border—Next we go to Asia.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Mandarin]

A spokesman for the Chinese government urged India to avoid “unilateral actions” that could complicate a tense situation along the two countries’ shared border.

Chinese and Indian troops clashed last week, just four days before officials were scheduled to discuss the conflict over the disputed border area. Indian army officials downplayed the incident, saying local army commanders quickly resolved it.

But the two countries are no closer to solving their years-long dispute over the Himalayan region. Both sides have mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers, artillery, and fighter aircraft in the area, raising fears of armed conflict between two countries that have nuclear weapons.

Chinese miners rescued—And finally, we end today in eastern China.

AUDIO: [Clapping, voices]

Rescue crews pulled 11 survivors from a collapsed gold mine on Sunday. The men spent two weeks underground after an explosion and cave-in blocked their only exit.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Mandarin]

On Monday, officials announced they had discovered the bodies of nine other men who died in the initial explosion. Another man who survived died of a head wound just days before the rescue. One man remains missing.

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

(Mizzle Media via AP) In this grab taken from video on Monday, Jan, 25, 2021, rioters throw stones at police, in Haarlem, Netherlands.

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