 Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a show from People's Dispatch where we bring you stories of resistance and defiance from across the world as the collective strength of the people fights back against the horrors of capitalism and imperialism and strives for a better world. For the first story, we go to Swaziland, where the police detained and allegedly tortured seven students, including the president of the Swaziland National Union of Students while they were returning from a protest march last week. The students were demanding scholarship for all students admitted to higher education. On August 15, students from the country's three major universities, the University of East Swatini, the Lim Kok Wing University of Creative Technology and the East Swatini Christian Medical University came together in joint action for the first time in decades. The demonstration was a part of the campaign launched by the Swaziland National Union of Students or SNUS in May 2017 to force the government to reverse its decision of cutting 60% of the scholarships, making the remaining 40% available only to selected courses. The students are demanding that anyone who gets an admission into an institute of higher learning after having secured the required grades must get a scholarship regardless of which course they choose to study. The protesting students also delivered a petition to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security stating their demand. The act was enough to provoke the police forces in the capital of Amabadi to launch an attack on the students who were on their way back after the delivery of the petition. In Swaziland, over 70% of the population lives below the poverty line of $2 a day. Without scholarships, higher education is inaccessible to the great majority of the masses regardless of how well they score in their secondary education. Journal reports have indicated that young students who are unable to feed themselves sufficiently are being forced to sell themselves as prostitutes. Exploiting these conditions, many local businessmen have made it a part of their business to offer university students as sex workers to rich tourists from neighboring South Africa. The government of King Maswati III refuses to allocate the required funds for their education and bring an end to this abuse of the young generation who seeks to study on the grounds that there is a shortage of funds. Maswati is the last absolute monarch in Africa who reigns above the law. The royal family of the king, who controls 60% of the country's economy, has 13 palaces, a fleet of luxury cars and motorbikes, and two private aircrafts. Condemning the police action against the students, the Communist Party of Swaziland said in a statement that they will continue to work with SNUS and the entire student movement in support of their demands. After leading a decade of peaceful struggle against the monarchy to bring about a democratic Swaziland, in the course of which the party has been banned and its mass organizations subjected to harassment and oppression, the party has begun preparing for an armed sabotage campaign against those industries and infrastructure that are crucial for the upkeep of the monarchy. The party argued that none of the demands of unions of workers or students can be met under a repressive monarchy. With the demand democracy now, it has urged the students to come on board to participate and contribute meaningfully to this engagement and ensure that the socialism they call for is implemented in their lifetime. Now on to a story of workers, Victorian Qatar. Thousands of migrant workers, most of them hailing from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and India, have won significant concessions and assurances from the Qatari government following two days of strikes and protests. Held in the first week of August, the workers were protesting against the delay and non-payment of salaries in human working conditions and threats of wage reduction. A local trade union activist said that the protests had taken place on August 4th and 5th, mainly in and across Labour City, where a majority of the migrant workers live as many of the big construction companies are situated in the area. On August 4th, workers belonging to the ISKCON construction and contracting company went on protests due to delays of over two months in the payment of their salaries. The following day, between 800 to 1000 ISKCON employees refused to report to work. One of the employees claimed that in response to the protests, the company's management threatened to deport workers who refused to sign the new contracts with reduced wages. The protests resulted in the workers entering into negotiations with Qatari government officials over issues and problems faced by them. Following the successful negotiations, those affected received two months of unpaid salaries from their companies. Qatari authorities also arrested company officials who were guilty of not paying the workers their dues. Many workers also registered their grievances regarding applying for and procuring no objection certificates. The certificate is a necessary requirement to quit a job without the employer's permission. Government officials issued such NOCs to the workers, allowing them to change their employer as a result of these protests. The protests reflected the precarious and desperate situation of the workers. The workers are employed under the kafala system, which forbids employees from changing jobs without prior permission of their current employers who have sponsored their work visa. The employers also have power over the workers' movements and can decide whether they can leave the country. Trade unions remain illegal in the country with a general ban on strikes. A trade union activist who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity clarified that the protests were not related to the projects for the FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar in 2022, the anticipation of which is generally considered to have affected the government's response to the situation. Ever since Qatar was awarded the rights to host the prestigious football World Cup by FIFA in 2010, the nation's treatment of its migrant workers has received global scrutiny. Qatar has the highest proportion of migrant workers' population in the world, with 2.3 million of the 2.6 million inhabitants being expatriates. Most of these workers come from poorer South and Southeast nations and work under extremely poor conditions and for meagre wages. What brought attention to the condition of the migrant workers in the tiny Gulf state would be the high incidence of deaths among workers under the age of 50, often because of exhaustion and adverse impact of years of strenuous work. According to data revealed in 2014 by various sources as reported by Guardian, over 700 Indian workers and over 400 Limpali workers were estimated to have died in a span of two years since 2012 across the country. A 2013 report by the International Trade Union Confederation had estimated that if situations did not improve, then nearly 4,000 workers can be expected to be dead by the time the World Cup begins in 2022. Finally, we go to Turkey. The Turkish riot police on August 20 used water cannons and tear gas bombs to brutally suppress Kurdish protesters who were demonstrating against the government's decision to remove three Kurdish mayors on August 19. The mayors represented the Kurd majority cities of the Arbaqir, Mardin and Van in Southeast Turkey and belong to the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party or HDP. In the city of the Arbaqir, police were seen using high pressure water cannons on small groups of protesters who attempted to join and stand together in a bid to protect themselves. They were also seen making victory signs with their hands. Some protesters had gathered near the Arbaqir municipal building which was sealed off by metal barriers. Videos emerged of riot police brutally beating them up. Several journalists who were covering the protests were also physically assaulted with batons and tear gas. The police even used plastic bullets to crack down on the demonstration. Reports indicated the presence of over 500 riot police personnel meant to contain the roughly 200 Kurdish protesters who had gathered there. Armoured vehicles were also seen at the site of the protests serving as a backup for riot police. Several pro-Kurdish HDP lawmakers who were part of the protests ended up with injuries. The HDP leader, Cezayit Emili, told reporters, you can see here today a regime of pressure and persecution. We will continue to resist wherever we are because resistance is a legitimate right. Turkey had removed the mayors after accusing them of various crimes including being part of a terrorist organization and spreading terror propaganda. These accusations have been categorically denied by the HDP. The three mayors were elected to the respective mayoral seats in the elections that were held in March. The Arbaqir mayor Selkukh Mizraqli received 63 percent of the votes. Mardin Mayor Ahmed Turgh received 56 percent and Van Mayor Bidya Ertan received 54 percent of the total votes. Turkey had on Monday also detained at least 418 people across 29 provinces in the country on suspicion of links with the outlawed Kurdistan, workers' party and other armed Kurdish groups. So, this is all we have for this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. For more such stories and videos, visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.