 Hello and welcome to the International Daily Roundup with People's Dispatch where we bring you some of the top stories from across the globe. Let's take a look at today's headlines. Protests in Lebanon as government hikes fuel prices and cuts subsidies. Swedish Digital Rights activist Ula Bini called to trial in Ecuador. Workers at Walward Trucks plant into fourth week on strike in the US and in our video section we take a look at the struggle for democracy in Swaziland. Prices broke out in Lebanon again this week as the country faces a worsening economic crisis. The government has announced cuts to fuel subsidies and raised the price of petrol by 35% and diesel by around 38%. The central bank of Lebanon has stated that it will now import fuel at the rate of 3900 pounds through the dollar instead of 1500. The Lebanese currency has lost over 90% of its value and now stands at over 18,000 pounds against the dollar in the open market. The import dependent country is witnessing widespread power outages amid shortages of fuel for generators. Shortages of medicines have been reported and hospitals have also shut down outpatient facilities. Services such as elective surgeries, testing kits and even kidney dialysis facilities are at risk. Unable to afford even basic necessities, people are protesting by blocking roads and burning tyres. Banks were also shut down on Tuesday after protesters took over the Lebanese Swiss Bank in Beirut on June 28. Three employees were reportedly injured. Banks have placed strict limits on cash withdrawals and have halted foreign transfers since last year. By the end of 2020, unemployment stood at 40% and the GDP had contracted by over 20%. The current crisis can be traced back to 2019 when Lebanon witnessed mass anti-government protests. The country has also been without the proper government following the explosion in Beirut in August 2020. President Michael Aoun has not approved the cabinet proposed by Prime Minister designates Saad Hariri. While his official appointment has been delayed, Hassan Diyab is serving as the caretaker Prime Minister. With the drastic cuts to subsidies, the government is now planning to introduce a cash cut program. The measure will provide $137 per month to 500,000 of the most vulnerable families. This will replace existing subsidies on wheat, medicines and food items which cost the government $3 billion per year. The parliament will vote on the law this week. Swedish Digital Rights Activist and Software Developer Ola Beeney has been called to trial in Ecuador. He has been accused of non-consensual or unauthorized access to a computer telematic or telecommunication system. The prosecutor's office has alleged that Beeney gained access to the system of the National Telecommunications Corporation. This was supposedly done so that he could obtain information related to the oil company Petro Ecuador and the former National Intelligence Secretaryate. If Beeney is found guilty, he could face imprisonment for anywhere between three to five years. He was first arrested on April 11, 2019 and was held in detention for nearly 30 hours without the hearing. This was hours after Ecuador's Interior Minister claimed that Russian hackers were present in the country. On the same day, the government of President Lenin Morino revoked the asylum granted to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He was then arrested by the UK Metropolitan Police at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Meanwhile, Beeney was remanded to 90 days in pretrial detention without any formal charges or proper evidence. He was finally released from prison in June 2019 after the court accepted a petition of habeas corpus. Court hearings were repeatedly postponed and the charges against Beeney were inexplicably changed. His lawyers Carlos Soria and Jose Chari have documented over 120 cases of irregularities and violations of due process in this case. They had previously also challenged the presiding judge Yadira Prahana for allowing undue interference in the case by the prosecution. Soria and Chari announced on June 29 that they will now file a complaint of procedural fraud. In the next two years, we go to the US where workers at a World War Trucks plant have entered their fourth week on strike, organized by the United Auto Workers Union. Nearly 3,000 workers at the plant in Dublin, Virginia, went on strike on June 7. This was after the workers rejected a six-year tentative agreement. This was the second deal rejected by the workers who first went on strike on April 17. The UAW unilaterally called off the strike on April 30, stating that a tentative deal had been reached. It was only later that workers found out that it would increase healthcare costs while retaining a tired wage system. It also contained provisions for an alternative work schedule which could include 10-hour shifts and alternative shift operations. Leading up to the vote on the second agreement, workers found that it had retained most of the provisions they had previously rejected. This included the tiered wage system which would see a difference of over $8 between recent hires and workers with seniority by end of contract. It also maintained the alternative work schedule and made changes to retiree benefits. As the strike action continues, the company has cancelled the health insurance benefits of the workers. It has also forced the picket line off its property and has reportedly sent out termination letters. Meanwhile, negotiations between the UAW and the management are ongoing. However, as for an update posted on June 29, no consensus has been reached. And for our final story, we look at the ongoing pro-democracy struggle in Swaziland. Protests are being held across the country as people demand an end to the rule of King Maswati III. Roads have been blocked in properties, shops and vehicles owned by the king have been set on fire. The government has now imposed a curfew and internet blackouts have been reported. Meanwhile, security forces have continued to use tiered gas and live ammunition to disperse protests. 70% of Swaziland's people live in poverty and healthcare and education systems are severely underfunded. Here is a video feature on the ongoing protests. Reports have emerged stating Swaziland's King Maswati III has fled the country amid rising civil unrest. Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy left in Africa. While the people have been protesting the monarch's rule since years, lately the country has been witnessing an unprecedented country-wide wave of pro-democracy and anti-monarchy protests. On June 24th, King Maswati banned these demonstrations, but this has only added to the anger. With the whereabouts of the king currently unknown, major cities in the country have come to a halt as roads and highways are blocked with burning tires. A riot-like situation now prevails in many industrial areas. Properties owned by Maswati and his associates, including supermarkets, cars, trucks, etc., were set ablaze amidst a riot in Matsapa. Matsapa has long been a boiling pot of anger with underpaid workers and the unemployed desperately vying for jobs. Protesters have been braving bullets, batons and tear gas used by security forces. Army has been deployed across the country to help the police who are raiding the homes of the key organizers of the protests. Internet has been blocked raising concerns. Security forces may commit serious atrocities under cover of information blackout. Shops, businesses, factories in capital Mabane and economic hub Manzini have been shut. Over the weekend, several peaceful marches took place intending to deliver petitions to members of Swaziland's parliament. These faced heavy crackdown. Some of the demands in the petitions are specific to the issues faced in the constituencies. The common set of demands reject the monarchy and fall for a people's government, particularly multi-party democracy and democratic ownership of the economy. The royal family's control of the economy has turned Swaziland into the country with the most unequal wealth distribution in the world. While 70% of the population languishes in poverty, the king continues to spend billions of dollars every year on grand festivities, palaces, jewels, a fleet of Rolls Royce cars, private jets, etc. Thus, the people are demanding democratization of the economy along with the socially guaranteed healthcare and education as much as the demand for the right to elect the prime minister. Currently, the king appoints the prime minister, the cabinet, the top jurists, two-thirds of the upper house of the parliament and 12% of the lower house. Political parties have been banned in Swaziland since 1973, when Maswati's father, King Subuza II, suspended the constitution, dissolved the legislature, and assumed absolute power. While freedom of association is recognized in law, protests and strikes face repression. Activists and union leaders are frequently persecuted under suppression of terrorism act. For the first time, mass protests against the monarchy are not limited to urban areas. They have also spread across rural Swaziland. This has stretched security forces to the limit. Pius Villacati, International Secretary of the Communist Party of Swaziland, cautioned against complacency. He said, With the power that the monarchy holds, there is no way its defeat will be easy or even possible by mere negotiations. The Communist Party advocates for unity of the masses for a nationwide mass uprising. The Communist Party is calling on all anti-monarchist forces to come together to hold a national democracy conference in which a common minimum program for the transition period can be worked out to transform the state from a monarchy into a republic.