 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a show by People's Dispatch. In this show, we bring you stories of dogged resistance, of people who faced with the might of the state and international powers, refused to give up in their fight for a better world. First, a blast from the past. In 1835, a then obscure scholar, Charles Darwin, visited the Galapagos Islands as part of his research. The rest was history, as the rich ecological diversity of the island helped him develop his theory of natural selection, which changed the world. Today, this diversity may be under threat, as Ecuador, which administers the island, has given permission to the US anti-narcotics planes to use the San Cristobal Airport in the Archipelago as an airfield. On June 17th, dozens of environmentally-scent citizens demonstrated at Quito against his decision. The protesters raised slogans against President Lenin Moreno, accusing him of selling their homeland and threatening one of the world's most important ecosystems. Following the protest and the nationwide criticism, on June 18th, Moreno retreated from his stance and said that there would be no foreign military base in Ecuador. Last week, during a press conference, the Ecuadorian Defense Minister, Oswald Jarion, announced the expansion of the San Cristobal runway to allow refuelling of US military planes as part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries for the fight against drug traffickers. He said, Galapagos is Ecuador's natural aircraft carrier because it ensures permanence, replenishment, interception facilities, and is 1,000 km from our coast. The decision provoked a wave of outrage. Many saw the step as an attack on national sovereignty and called it unconstitutional. The establishment of foreign military bases is prohibited in Ecuador, according to Article 5, modified in 2008 by former President Rafael Correa. Galapagos is not an aircraft carrier for gringo use. It's an Ecuadorian province, world heritage site, and homeland to which Korea criticizes the measure. The environmentalists described the measure as a threat to the fragile environment. They argued that the expansion of the airport would have a negative impact on the unique species that inhabit the island. Brenda Floor, the congresswoman for Galapagos, recalled the case of the Baltra island where a US military base was set up during the Second World War. The impact of that base on the environment can be noticed even today. For no reason can Galapagos be regarded as a natural aircraft carrier since that is not its essential characteristic. Galapagos was born from nature as a living and unique laboratory that we must protect. Floor told BBC. This is the latest in Lenin Morino's pro-US policies since taking over from Rafael Correa, whose legacy he has sought to reverse. Morino ran for president on the promise of promoting Latin American integration, national autonomy, and no interventionism in addition to welfare policies. But his government has imposed harsh neoliberal policies, revoked the asylum granted to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and persecuted privacy activist Ola Binny among other measures. Many of these steps have prompted strong protests in Ecuador and many residents of the country see him as a traitor to Correa's progressive legacy. The Palestinian boycott divestment and sanctions movement, along with pro-Palestine and BDS activists, organized dozens of international actions worldwide, seeking a boycott of the German sports goods giant Puma. This is due to the company's association with the Israeli Football Association. Protests were held outside Puma stores in Germany, France, Portugal, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Egypt, Nigeria, Spain, and other countries. Protesters raised slogans such as boycott Puma, boycott apartheid. Activists also put up information stands in many of these cities to raise awareness on the issue. In the United Kingdom, besides more than 30 protest actions all over the country, there were also grassroots counter-advertisements for the campaign, which appeared in bus stations all over the city. Puma is currently sponsoring the IFA, which includes six teams from the illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Last year, Puma signed a four-year sponsorship deal with the IFA, which included providing equipment, including kits, to all of Israel's national football teams. The BDS movement said in a statement in April, when companies like Puma sponsor and profit from illegal Israeli settlements, they give a nod to Israel's far-right regime, that its criminal land grabs and attacks on Palestinian sports can continue unabated. It also mentioned Palestinian football players such as Mohammed Khalil and Mohamed Sarsak. Both of whom were forced to retire prematurely after losing the limbs as a result of injuries inflicted by Israeli gunfire. The BDS movement also highlighted the bombing of Palestinian playgrounds and stadiums by the Israeli military in Gaza, the restrictions on practicing sports, particularly near the apartheid wall, as well as the construction of Israeli sports clubs and stadiums on stolen and occupied Palestinian land. Before Puma, Adidas was the sponsor of the IFA and its affiliate team for 10 years. Adidas ended its sponsorship following a similar BDS campaign in 2018. The boycott campaign against Puma is supported by over 2,200 Palestinian sports clubs and associations. Many Palestinian athletes have also lent their support to the campaign, including the capital of the men's national football team, Abdul Latif Boudari and Aya Khatab of the women's national football team. Several international teams have also decided to participate in the campaign, including the 14 Italian rugby teams whose support was secured by BDS Roma. The Palestinian campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel has appealed to Puma to not to contribute in normalizing the occupation and apartheid by entering into a sponsorship deal with the IFA. Incidentally, through its sponsorship, Puma is aiding Israel in using the global sport of football to improve and whitewash its international image when it uses Puma's kits and equipment to participate in European and international football tournaments. Puma also ends up raking in profits from Israel at the expense of the operation of Palestinians. Interestingly, Puma's own code of conduct and its very vocal, publicly visible, supposed commitment to justice makes a very partnership with the IFA incompatible. In 2018, Puma launched its own social justice reform campaign and committed to making sure that it is not complicit in human rights abuses. The campaign was inspired by athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos, who raised their fists in the air at the 1968 Olympic Games, protesting racism in the United States. Considering this, it would be the worst kind of doublespeak if Puma continues to sponsor and support the IFA and Israel football teams as well as profit from it. At People's Dispatch, we have been consistently covering the brutal attacks by the South African state on the Shaq Dwellers movement, Abhalali Basai Majandolo. On June 18th, 26 Shaqs at the Azaniel land occupation were demolished by police forces. The possessions of the Shaq Dwellers were then set on fire. This is the third attack on the settlement this month. Located at Keto Mara near Durban, this piece of land was occupied in February by Abhalali Basai Majandolo. Using scrap material, Abhalali members had built 110 Shaqs, walled and roofed with tin sheets to house the urban poor who were denied access to decent housing. Sixty of these were demolished on June 6th when the residents were not even present at the site. Even as the members were struggling over the following days to rebuild their homes, another attack followed on June 13th, in which 70 Shaqs were razed down. The entire community, which was thus rendered homeless, was accommodated for the night in a large makeshift structure that was quickly built. Speaking to people dispatched the following day, an elected member of ABM's International Council, Mahfaeli George Bonono, had said, Right now everyone is busy rebuilding. Some of them have gone to look out for materials. These are poor people. They have no money to go to a hardware shop and buy materials. So they search around for factories to collect mostly scrap material to rebuild their homes. Within four days of the June 13th attack, the members had managed to rebuild 26 Shaqs. These were the ones that were destroyed on June 18th. Around 150 people have to sleep in the open tonight, a statement released by Abhalali said, soon after the incident. However, the comrades will rebuild once again. The land will be held. That's all we have for around the world in eight minutes. To read more about these stories, visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.