World Tour: Venezuela landslides

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Haiti’s cholera outbreak— Today’s World Tour takes off in Haiti, where health workers are trying to control a cholera outbreak.

AUDIO: [Haitian streets]

Authorities said last week that at least eight people had died in the outbreak.

The deaths come as Haiti is battling armed gangs and fuel shortages, limiting people’s access to clean water and medical care. In a joint letter, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 high-ranking officials asked international partners for specialized troops to help stop the violence.

Doctors Without Borders has opened two treatment centers in the capital of Port-au-Prince.

AUDIO: [Doctor speaking French]

This doctor says the center receives multiple patients each day with symptoms, which include severe diarrhea and vomiting. Cholera spreads through contaminated food and water.

Venezuela landslide— We head next to central Venezuela, where a landslide killed at least 36 people.

AUDIO: [Rescue workers]

Heavy rainfall caused a river and several streams to overflow on Saturday, triggering a mudslide that swept through homes and uprooted trees in the town of Las Tejerias.

More than 50 people are still missing.

Volunteers joined thousands of rescuers using heavy equipment and trained dogs to search for survivors.

AUDIO: [Speaking Spanish]

This resident says he and others headed to the roof when the water started to rush in. Venezuela declared three days of national mourning.

The country has seen historic levels of rain in recent months. At least eight people died last month when flooding struck a religious retreat in the western part of the country. And in August, mud and rock slides killed at least 15 people in the Andes.

Tunisia shortages— In Tunisia, residents are battling with scarce staples and soaring food prices.

AUDIO: [Tunisians outside a store]

Residents crowded outside this supermarket in the northeastern city of Ariana trying to buy sugar.

Other staples like rice and vegetable oil are increasingly absent from grocery shelves or too costly.

AUDIO: [Speaking in Arabic]

This 63-year-old local resident complained about the high prices and saw people fighting to buy food items.

The government has blamed black market hoarders and the war in Ukraine. But economists point to Tunisia’s budget crisis. Inflation is now at 9.1 percent—the highest in three decades.

Taiwan National Day — We wrap up today in Taiwan.

AUDIO: [Dancing performance]

Performers danced and military guards marched outside the presidential office in the capital of Taipei on Monday.

AUDIO: [Military honor guards]

The celebrations marked the 111th anniversary of the island’s founding.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said China’s growing military action in surrounding waters prompted the island to acquire more weapons.

ING-WEN: [Speaking Mandarin]

She warns here that the destruction of Taiwan’s democracy would be a grave defeat for the world’s democracies.

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

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