 Hello, you're watching the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. US activists surveilled since the George Floyd protests, Peru begins trial in 1990's force sterilization case, report reveals sweeping crackdown on Muslims in France and pandemic causes major disruption from women's health care. We begin with the United States today, where an investigation has revealed the extensive surveillance of activists and journalists by US law enforcement. They began being targeted in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. Called Operation Safety Net, the program was announced in February 2021. Its purpose was to supposedly protect free speech and ensure public order during the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin. However, MIT technology review has now found that the program expanded far beyond its scope. It used tools to scourb social media and track cell phones. Detailed photos were taken of detained journalists and uploaded into a program called Intrepid Response. This allowed police with geo-locations of other targets. The operation involved 9 Minnesota state agencies, 120 external officers and at least 3,000 National Guard soldiers. The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection were extensively involved. Operation Safety Net was supposed to have four phases, first being preliminary planning and the second for any protest during jury selection. Phase 3 was set for closing arguments and involved things like armored vehicles, stun grenades, tear gas and drones. MIT found that Phase 3 was deployed a week early with its focus on the protest against the police killing of Daunte Wright. After the Chauvin trial ended in April 2021, officials told the public that OSN was ramping down. However, the MIT investigation has found that it is in fact actively ongoing and has been referred to as OSN 2.0. The program appears to also have surveilled the protest against killing of 22-year-old Amir Lok by the police in January. We now move on to Peru, which has begun a trial of three former health ministers for forced realisation during the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori. The brutal policy was enacted under the reproductive health and family planning program. Between 1996 and 2000, over 270,000 women and 22,000 men were made to undergrow sterilisation. Women from mostly poor, Andean, indigenous and Quechua communities were targeted. The three former ministers will be investigated for crimes against life, body and health, and serious injuries followed by death. These charges have been placed in the context of a serious violation of human rights. The three health ministers are considered to have promoted forced realisations as a systematic practice to lower the birth rate and reduce poverty. These actions were in violation of Peru's constitution. According to the EFE agency, just over 2,000 people formally reported that they were victims of forced realisation. 1,307 of them were left with serious injuries, and five people died as a consequence of the procedure. Meanwhile, the proceedings against Fujimori himself has been suspended. This is until the Chilean justice accepts the expansion of the 2005 extradition charges, which led to his arrest. Fujimori is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity, for the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres. Rights groups have demanded guarantees for an independent and impartial investigation, and for the rights of the victims as per the law. We now take a look at France, where President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of systematically targeting the Muslim community. This has been done through a slate of policies aimed at so-called Islamism and separatism. Advocacy group Cage has stated that Macron has used executive powers to create a systematic obstruction policy. It was originally drafted in 2017, with a stated purpose to address why people had fled to become fighters in Iraq and Syria. However, the policies turned into a nationwide project to address Islamism, and quote-unquote community withdrawal. Cage says that the policy operates by putting maximum pressure on Muslims. This is done via cells in all of France's 101 government departments. Systematic obstruction has given France sweeping powers to surveil sanctions, and forcibly dissolve organizations and seize money. Persecution has also taken place through heavy-handed policing and the criminalization of Islam in social, political and religious spheres. Cage has documented 718 closures, nearly 25,000 investigations, and the extortion of 46 million euros. At least 12 mosques and hundreds of businesses and charities have been shut down. Cage argues that the French state's pattern of behaviour is calculated to harass and humiliate Muslims. This has resulted in the severe deprivation of their rights and freedoms. Cage argues that this unprecedented crackdown meets the threshold of persecution under international law. It has also called for the repeal of Islamophobic policies, including the Imam's Charter and the Nicar ban. And finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to essential health services worldwide. 40% of African countries reported disruptions in sexual, reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent care. The WHO conducted its global pulse survey on the continuity of essential services between November and December. A majority of the 36 African countries, which provided full data, reported up to 25% of disruption of services. Maternal deaths in health facilities grew by 16% between February and May 2020, in 6 out of 11 countries surveyed. This figure dropped to 11% last year. The actual estimate is likely to be much higher, given the most maternal deaths tend to occur at home. In November and December, facilities-based birth declined in 45% of the countries as compared to pre-pandemic levels. Women and girls were also at higher risk of sexual violence during the pandemic due to factors like lockdowns and economic uncertainty. Around 245 million women and girls aged 15 and above are subjected to sexual or physical violence each year. In Africa, services to women experiencing sexual violence declined in 56% of the countries during the survey period. Access to essential reproductive supplies, like contraceptives, was also disrupted with the rise in teenage pregnancy recorded in some countries. Globally, 247 million women and girls were projected to live on less than $1.9 a day in 2021. 53% of them were from sub-Saharan Africa. And that's all for today's episode. For more such stories, visit our website at www.peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you for watching.