World Tour: South Africa ends rescue from illegal mine

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Oduah.

AUDIO: [Ongoing rescue]

ONIZE ODUAH: South Africa illegal mine — We start today in South Africa where authorities have ended their search for people stranded in an illegal gold mine after a standoff turned deadly.

At least 87 miners have died after police first surrounded the mine in the town of Stilfontein in August as part of an effort to clamp down on illegal mining. They cut off food and water supplies to the miners inside the 1.2-mile deep shaft, hoping to force them out.

But rescuers last week used a cylindrical metal cage to pull out the victims after a court order mandated the operation.

Community leader Johannes Qankase said many of the miners are driven by poverty.

JOHANNES QANKASE: There is no one in his right mind, who has everything, who can come and risk his own life to go underground.

Rescue workers also assisted more than 240 survivors. They include nationals from Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Authorities have charged them with illegal immigration, illegal mining, and other offenses.

Local community members and labor unions have also accused South African authorities of blocking the miners’ exit. But authorities insist that is not true, saying more than 1,500 people found their way out of the mine.

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

France march for life — In France, several thousand pro-lifers marched in the streets of Paris on Sunday to mark this year’s March for Life.

France first legalized abortion 50 years ago. Last year, it became the first nation to include a right to abortion in its constitution.

Béatrice Eclache says she joined the march to defend life.

BEATRICE ECLACHE: [FRENCH] I had an abortion that I regret, and if I'd known what I know now, I would have done things differently.

She says she had an abortion and would have done things differently if she had more information.

AUDIO: [Counter-protesters]

Counter-protesters chanting, “My body, my choice,” also gathered at the outskirts of the Sunday rally.

The Paris March for Life began in 2005 and has continued annually since then.

AUDIO: [Sound of displaced people]

Colombia fighting — And in Colombia, renewed fighting has killed at least 80 people and sent thousands of others fleeing for safety.

The latest fighting comes after authorities suspended peace talks with the rebel National Liberation Army over fighting with another rebel group in the northeastern region.

Andrea Figueroa is among the displaced who sought shelter at a stadium.

ANDREA FIGUEROA: [SPANISH] They (armed groups) said they were going to drive everyone out, to kill people, and everyone got scared.

She says many people fled in fear after the armed groups threatened to drive everyone out and kill people.

General Luiz Cardozo is the Colombian Army commander.

LUIZ CARDOZO: [SPANISH] They clashed precisely over what these armed groups fight for: illicit economies. In this region of Catatumbo, there are more than 50,000 hectares planted with coca.

He says the armed groups are fighting for illegal control of the region’s economy, which has more than 123,000 acres of coca.

Colombian authorities have asked the group to cease operations and allow aid to enter the region.

China’s population drop — We end today in China where authorities are reporting another drop in the population of nearly 1.5 billion people for the third straight year.

Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics on Friday said the country is down by almost 1.4 million people from the year before.

China has battled with falling birth rates over its one-child policy that was officially scrapped in 2015. The country is now confronting an aging population and a shrinking workforce.

Kang Yi is the commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics.

KANG YI: [MANDARIN]: The population aged 60 and above was 310 million, accounting for 22.0% of the national population.

He says that people aged 60 and older now make up 22% of the country’s population.

China and other East Asian nations like Japan and South Korea are grappling with falling birth rates as residents face rising living costs and expensive childcare, keeping many young people from starting families.

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

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