 Hello and welcome to today's episode of 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. Indian activist Sudha Bharadwaj released from jail. Journalists killed amid rising insecurity in the Philippines. U.S. company Kellogg to replace 1,400 striking workers. And the United States sells 1.1 million barrels of seized Iranian oil. In our first story, Indian activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj has been released from jail after over three years. She was arrested in August 2018 in relation to the Bhima Kuregao Algar Parishad case. The case refers to caste-based violence in the Bhima Kuregao village in January of that year. Police later claimed that progressive activists had instigated the violence. In the following months, 16 lawyers, activists and academics were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or the UAPA. The activists were also accused of having ties to the banned Communist Party of India Maoist. In the three years since, no formal charges have been framed and the trial in the case has not even started. Meanwhile, U.S. base firm Arsenal Consulting found that evidence had been planted in the devices of two of the accused, Rana Wilson and Surindra Gadling. According to official data, at least 7,243 people have been arrested under UAPA since 2016. Less than 3% were convicted. Sudha Bharadwaj had first applied for default bail in November 2018. Her petition was approved by the Bombay High Court last week and she was arraigned before the National Investigation Agency Court on December 8. The conditions of release included a bond of Rs. 50,000. Bharadwaj will also be required to surrender her passport and remain in the city of Mumbai. She has also been prevented from speaking to the media. Bharadwaj was finally released from Mumbai's Bhai Kala Jail on Thursday. A petition was the only one out of nine which was approved by the High Court. Among the pleas rejected was that of 82-year-old Varav Rarao who is suffering from serious ailments including asymptomatic Parkinson's disease. While he was granted bail, earlier this year he will have to report to jail on December 20. In our next story, a veteran journalist was killed by unknown assailants in the Philippines on December 8. Jesus Malabnan was shot near his house in the city of Kalwayog in Samar. He had worked with Reuters news agency to investigate the drug war killings under President Rodrigo Duterte. According to fellow journalist Manny Mogato, Malabnan had received threats prior to his murder. According to the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, at least 21 journalists have been killed since Duterte came to power in 2016. As of now, at least 14 such murder cases are unsolved in the Philippines. Jesus Malabnan had contributed to Reuters reporting which exposed the role of Dawaab police in the raids in Manila and the use of hospitals to hide drug killings. Reports on the brutal campaign have revealed severe abuses including possible fake operations, extrajudicial killings and the planting of evidence. According to official data, 6,215 people had been killed in Duterte's drug war operations by October 2021. However, estimates by Rides Group and the International Criminal Court placed the death toll between 12 to 30,000 people. A pretrial inquiry by the court found reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed between July 2016 and March 2019. However, the investigation was suspended in November after a request for deferral by the Duterte government. It was granted on the grounds that the Philippines was conducting its own inquiry into the matter. The move was heavily criticised by activists. In our next story, US food company Kellogg has stated that it will permanently replace workers currently on strike. 1,400 workers at plants in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Tennessee walked out on October 5th. The strike began after months of contract talks between Kellogg and the BCGTM Union. Workers reported that they were made to work up to 16 hours a day and even 7 days a week. They were also protesting threats of offshoring and a tiered wage system that would give new hires lower pay and benefits. An estimated 30% of workers at the four plants were subject to this unequal system. The strike shut down serial production across all these facilities. A tentative five-year agreement was announced by Kellogg and the BCGTM last week. The union announced on December 7th that the deal had been rejected by the workers with an overwhelming majority. It included a 3% annual wage increase which is lower than the rate of inflation. The deal would only allow workers with at least four years of experience to move to a higher pay level. According to the BCGTM, some workers would have to wait for nine years to be able to reach this level. Kellogg also kept the number of workers who could move to the upper pay level each year at 3% of the workforce. Following the contract vote, Kellogg is now trying to break the strike by hiring replacement workers. And for our final story, the US Navy has seized 1.1 million barrels of Iranian oil products from the tankers in the Arabian Sea. The US Justice Department announced on December 8th that it had conducted a successful forfeiture of these products. The seized goods were sold by the government for nearly $27 million. The Iranian oil shipments had been bound for Venezuela. The Justice Department stated that the products were seized to enforce sanctions. Between 2019 and 2020, the US Treasury Department imposed an oil embargo and a total ban on all oil deals with Venezuela. It also shut down import and swap deals. The UN Special Rapporteur Alina Duhan has stated that the US sanctions on Venezuela are politically motivated and violate international law. Despite claims of humanitarian exemptions, these measures have increased hunger and poverty. The Food and Agriculture Organization has recorded 213% increase in undernourishment and chronic hunger in Venezuela. The decrease in oil revenues and shortage of fuel has also impacted services including crucial medical treatments. Iran's economy has also been steadily shrinking after the US reimposed sanctions after withdrawing from the nuclear deal in 2017. Despite these measures, Venezuela and Iran signed an oil exchange agreement in 2020. The supplies of Iranian condensate have allowed Venezuela to boost its exports of crude oil.