World Tour: Unrest in Syria

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

World Tour: with our reporter in Africa, Onize Oduah.

Syria

SOUND: [Pro-Kurdish protest]

We begin today in Syria, where renewed fighting is threatening a days-old ceasefire.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, commander of the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, reached a 14-point truce Sunday. The ceasefire sought to end nearly two weeks of deadly fighting.

On Monday, Syrian forces advanced into northeast regions controlled by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The region is also home to more than a dozen prisons holding some 9,000 Islamic State insurgents.

U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack called the agreement a pivotal effort in uniting Syria.

But fighting between both sides ticked up Monday as government troops entered the town of Shaddadi, where several prisoners escaped. Both sides blamed the other for the escape.

The SDF reported fighting near another prison holding insurgents in Raqqa.

Shivan Ibrahim is a Kurdish researcher.

IBRAHIM: [ARABIC] We should view the agreement as a very good initial framework that can develop, but it requires compromise from every party. We need to think about how to protect Syrian identity, and the Syrian authorities also need to think about how to protect Kurdish identity.

He says the agreement should be considered an initial framework, but more effort needs to go into protecting both Syrian and Kurdish identities.

The Sunday truce also sought to integrate SDF fighters into state institutions.

Japan nuclear plant

SOUND: [Protesters chanting]

Over in Japan, protesters chanted outside the electric company headquarters in Tokyo to oppose the reopening of the world’s biggest nuclear plant.

Local lawmakers approved the reopening of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in a Monday vote.

Japan shut down Kashiwazaki-Kariwa and 53 other nuclear reactors in 2011. That’s when an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Since then, Japan has gradually restarted several nuclear reactors that were shut down after the disaster.

Masashi Goto, one of the protesters, worked as a nuclear plant engineer.

GOTO: After the Fukushima accident, there's a lot that could be said, but I've come to think that nuclear power plants themselves are fundamentally unworkable, technically speaking. No matter what you do, you can't ensure safety.

He says he has come to realize that nuclear plants are unworkable because they’re inherently unsafe.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa can generate enough energy to power a few million homes.

Spain crash

Next to southern Spain, where authorities say they have found a section of broken track that may be related to Sunday’s deadly high speed train crash.

PUENTE: [Speaking Spanish]

Spanish transportation minister Oscar Puente told a Spanish television channel Tuesday that investigators still must determine whether the broken track was a cause or a consequence of the accident.

The crash killed at least 41 people and injured more than 120 others. It happened Sunday evening when one train derailed onto neighboring tracks and slammed into an oncoming train.

Emergency workers are still removing the twisted metal train cars from the scene, and expect to recover more victims.

Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited the crash site on Tuesday, as the country observes three days of mourning. Flags flew at half-staff across the country, and both the Spanish and European flags were lowered at the EU Parliament in Brussels.

PUENTE: [Speaking Spanish]

Puente earlier called the crash “extremely strange,” as the stretch of track where the crash occurred was flat. Railway authorities also confirmed both trains were traveling under the maximum speed limit. The section had been renovated last May, and the train that derailed was less than 4 years old.

Spain has Europe’s largest high-speed rail network with about 2000 miles of track built for trains, moving at speeds up to 150 miles per hour. Train services between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia remain cancelled, causing major travel disruptions.

Uganda election

SOUND: [Supporters cheering]

We close today in the East African nation of Uganda, where some supporters celebrated as President Yoweri Museveni clinched his seventh term in office.

The 81-year-old’s victory wraps up a troubled electoral process.

Authorities blocked internet access two days before the vote, saying the move would prevent misinformation.

Police officers were also stationed across the capital city of Kampala over fears of demonstrations seen in neighboring nations like Tanzania and Kenya.

The opposition leader, known as Bobi Wine, rejected the election result, adding that he remains in hiding after security forces raided his home.

WINE: We want to call upon the people of Uganda to non-violently protest and reject any effort to subvert their voice, and demand that the rightful results are announced.

Many Ugandans still praise Museveni for bringing peace and economic progress to the country after independence.

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

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