 Hello, you're watching the 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. Honduras outlaws special economic zones. China rejects US threats over Solomon Islands Pact. United Nations urge support for banned Palestinian groups. And global military expenditure reaches record levels. In a landmark move, Honduran President Shomara Castro has outlawed the creation of special economic zones. The Organic Law of Employment and Economic Development Zones was repealed on April 26th. Called the ZE Law or the ZEDE Law, Castro stated that it violated the country's national sovereignty. It had also put the Guaruta Reserve, the Plurano River, Al Patuka and Entrez Rios at risk. The President added that joint work with local communities was necessary to preserve forest areas. Passed in 2013, the ZE Law was heavily promoted by right-wing US-backed former President Juan Orlando Hernandez. It paved the way for the creation of special zones which were exempt from certain national taxes and laws. President Castro had pledged to push for its repeal as part of her electoral campaign. On April 21st, the country's unicameral Congress unanimously repealed the law. The chamber reiterated that the legislation had violated the Honduran constitution and its sovereignty. Special economic zones were given administrative monetary, budgetary and fiscal autonomy. They also had their own independent judicial bodies. The law allowed for these zones that were promoted internationally as charter and free private cities. There were effectively no provisions for public oversight prior consultation and democratic participation of communities in decisions of land and resource expropriation. The government was giving investors unprecedented powers at a time when Honduras was among the world's deadliest places for environmental activists. While repealing the law, lawmakers have also passed a constitutional reform to abolish existing zones. This must be ratified in 2023. The United States has renewed its threats against a security cooperation packed between China and the Solomon Islands. On April 22, a high-level delegation visited Honiara to meet with Prime Minister Manaseh Sogaware. It included officials from the US National Security Council and the US Indo-Pacific Command. The team told Sogaware that the US would quote-unquote respond accordingly if China set up a long-term military presence on the islands. Crittenbrink reiterated this position on April 26. Washington and its Pacific allies have taken an increasingly alarming stance. This is despite repeated assurances from the Solomon Islands with Sogaware offering a strategic dialogue with the US. China has condemned the actions of the US as a blatant threat exposing its hegemonic mindset. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia has stated that Australia also has the same red line in terms of China's presence in the Solomon Islands. For all its accusations against Beijing, Australia itself continues to have a military presence in the country since the riots last November. The United States has grown concerned over the deepening of ties between China and the Solomon Islands. As reports of a possible security pact emerged, the US reopened its embassy in Honiara after nearly three decades. These reports followed the targeting of the Chinese community during the rioting in November 2021. Prime Minister Sogaware has rejected allegations of supposed Chinese dominance. He also said that the country was on the right side of history in its decision to re-establish ties with China in 2019. United Nations rights experts have urged the international community to protect Palestinian organizations outlawed by Israel. In October 2021, six civil society groups were designated as quote-unquote terrorist organizations. They include Ademir al-Haq, Defence for Children International Palestine and Bisan Centre for Research and Development. The Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees were also banned. The designation enables Israel to shut down these groups, seize their assets and charge their staff and leaders with terrorist offenses. UN experts have said that these actions have not been accompanied by any public concrete and credible evidence. They added that Israel's apparent misuse of anti-terrorism laws to attack civil society groups must be countered. Whatever information Israel has offered has failed to convince several governments and organizations. However, even though its claims are unsubstantiated, international donors have already delayed their funding. This includes the European Union, which has stopped providing funds to two groups. The experts note that Israel's actions seem to indicate a quote-unquote politically motivated attempt to silence some of its most effective critics. This is in violation of their rights to freedom of association and of expression. The outlawed organizations have consistently documented the occupation's crimes and advocated for the Palestinian people. Their work has provided a crucial basis for investigations into Israeli war crimes, including the inquiry by the International Criminal Court. And for our final story, the global military expenditure reached a record of $2.1 trillion in 2021. This marked an increase of 0.7% over 2020. These findings have been released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute or CIPRI. Global military expenditure accounts for 2.2% of the world's gross domestic product today. Seven US allies or NATO members are among the top 10 countries with the highest military expenditure. The US, UK, France and Germany collectively accounted for nearly half of global expenses with a total of $982 billion. US military expenditure alone stood at $801 billion in 2021, amounting to 3.5% of its GDP. It remains the world's biggest military spender. Eight European countries met NATO's minimum defense spending target of 2% of the GDP. Japan recorded an increase of over 7% in its military spending in 2021. South Korea and Saudi Arabia are also among the world's biggest spenders. China spent $293 billion in 2021 and Russia spent $66 billion. India placed third in the world spending $76.6 billion. Along with the US, these countries collectively accounted for 62% of all global military expenditure. Meanwhile, Nigeria spent a record 56% more on the military in 2021 as compared to 2020, reaching $4.5 billion. That's all for today's episode. For more stories, visit our website at peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.