World Tour - Relocation in Greece, and a Space Force mission

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Refugees move to new camp after Moria fire—We start today in southern Europe. 

AUDIO: [CROWD]

Police on the Greek island of Lesbos are moving thousands of refugees to a new tent camp. The refugees fled the overcrowded Moria camp when it went up in flames two weeks ago. Authorities charged four Afghan asylum-seekers with setting the blaze. They allegedly started the fire to protest coronavirus restrictions. The fire completely destroyed the camp.

About 9,000 people have been resettled so far.

But some refugees say conditions in the new camp are just as bad as Moria, without food, water, or toilets.

Xinjiang birth rates dropped by a third in 2018—Next, we go to Asia. 

Birth rates in the Xinjiang region of China have dropped by nearly a third. That’s where most of China’s Uighur Muslims live. Many Uighur women have reported being forced to take birth control or endure sterilization procedures. Rights activists say it’s a deliberate attempt to decrease the Uighur population.

AUDIO: Government efforts to reduce birth rates in Xinjiang are both systematic and ruthless.

The Chinese government denies that, but confirms that births in the area have plummeted since 2017. The Chinese government has placed over 1 million Uighurs in fortified detention centers, reportedly subjecting them to indoctrination and torture.

World Vision aid worker killed in the DRC—Next, we come here to Africa.

Attackers in the Democratic Republic of Congo ambushed a humanitarian convoy last week. They killed one aid worker and took two others hostage.

All three worked for the international charity group World Vision.

The convoy was returning from a mission to deliver food to vulnerable people in the eastern part of the country. That region has suffered from militia violence and instability for decades.

Armed groups often clash over ethnic ties and valuable mining resources.

Space Force deployed to Arabian Desert—And finally, we end today in the Middle East.

The newly formed United States Space Force just got its first international mission: to the Arabian Peninsula. Twenty service members will be stationed at an air base in Qatar. They will monitor missile programs in the area and keep an eye on any efforts to hack or jam satellites.

One Space Force general said the troops are vital for protecting U.S. interests.

AUDIO: We are on the cusp of a tectonic shift in warfare. Access to space can no longer be assumed. I am convinced the next major conflict will be won or lost in space. 

U.S. officials worry Russia or China could develop a weapon that would knock out American satellites. The military relies heavily on satellite communications, navigation, and missile warning systems.

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

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Refugees and migrants carrying their belongings flee a fire burning at the Moria camp on Lesbos island, Greece, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. 

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