 Hello and welcome to the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you major news developments from around the world. Our headlines. Left parties organize 12 hours shutdown to protest police violence in West Bengal. Thai protesters continue demands for democratic reforms and release of activists. Protests continue across Honduras following the murder of a young woman in police custody. Many left struggling amid delays and approval of emergency assistance in Brazil. The first story, we go to India, where left organizations in the state of West Bengal held a 12-hour shutdown on February 12th. The shutdown was organized following a brutal crackdown by police forces on a protest organized by left activists on February 11th. Activists and student organizations had led a protest march the state secretariat to demand jobs. When protesters tried to cross the concrete and metal barricades set up by the police, they were attacked with water cannons and tear gas. Police forces proceeded to beat protesters with batons. The violence led to nearly 100 protesters being hospitalized and an additional 150 injured. Video footage of the protest also showed police deliberately targeting students and activists from prominent left organizations. Cadre of the ruling Trinamolp Congress Party were seen using police cover to attack protesters in some places. The police have reportedly arrested around 500 people so far. The protests were organized in opposition to the policies of the state government and for an expansion of education and employment opportunities. Protesters also expressed their solidarity with the ongoing farmers' protests against the central government's three anti-farmer laws. The excessive use of force by Kolkata police against students and the youth has been widely denounced by left organizations. The statewide shutdown on February 12th extended from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Left activists organized rail and road blockades across West Bengal, including the capital city of Kolkata. Shops were closed in parts of the state. Another round of protests have reportedly been scheduled for February 13th. Around 1,000 people stepped out into the streets of Bangkok and made renewed protests for democratization in Thailand. The protest was organized by the Ratchadon or the People's Party and the Labor Network for People's Rights, along with civil society organizations on February 10th. Local media reported that people were protesting against the economic distress in the country and to demand the release of activists detained by the government during the protests in 2020. Protesters also reiterated long-standing demands for political reforms in the country, including the resignation of military-supported Prime Minister Prayut Chanosha. They also demanded democratic reforms including amendments to the constitution and limits the power of the monarchy. Thursday's protest was held days after a criminal court denied bail to four activists charged with sedition and violating the country's laze majest law. The widely denounced law criminalizes acts considered an insult to the monarchy. The protests extended to the evening and four protesters were detained by the police in the Skywalk area in the Pathawam district. Protesters then marched to the police station where the detained protesters were being held. Over 100 police officers were posted outside the police station who then proceeded to deploy tear gas and baton charges against the protesters to remove them from the area. Protests have spread across Honduras following the femicide of a 26-year-old nursing student in police custody. Kayla Martinez had been arrested in the Inti Bucá department on February 6th for allegedly violating curfew norms. She was detained in a police station in the city of La Esperanza following her arrest. In the early hours of February 7th, police officers brought Martinez to a hospital claiming she attempted to commit suicide. The national police also released a statement saying Martinez had died of suicide and that she had been alive when she was brought to the hospital. However, local media and the hospital report have contradicted this stating that she died on the way to the hospital. After the news of her death broke, hundreds gathered in the protest outside La Esperanza police station. People denounced the murder of Martinez and police attempts to cover up their role in her death. Protesters were met with heavy force as police officers and special forces deployed tear gas and hit people with their batons and shields. On February 9th, a spokesperson from the prosecutor's office announced that initials findings from the autopsy confirmed that Martinez had died due to strangulation. The report directly contradicted the police's claims of suicide. It was only after this report that the national police suspended the officers directly involved in the murder. As protests spread to other cities, five students were detained in Tegucigalpa on February 10th. Police have attempted to charge them with arson, illegal protests and injury. Reports of other women being detained under the pretext of curfew violations have also poured in. Women have reported being robbed of their belongings and being sexually abused by police officials while in custody. For our final story, we go to Brazil where many are struggling to cope as the government deliberates extending an emergency cash aid program. Brazil is among the country's worst hit by COVID-19 with over 233,000 deaths recorded so far. Brazil's economy and health infrastructure have deteriorated under an administration which has failed to adequately respond to the pandemic. The end to emergency cash benefits has left people unable to purchase basic necessities. Here is a video from Brasil de Fato on the current situation in São Paulo which has been among the worst hit in the country. On the outskirts of São Paulo, the end of emergency aid benefits meant a drastic decrease in purchasing power for families. I don't know why they didn't maintain the aid. It was helping a lot of people. It was a really big help to me. Just yesterday, my son who is still on milk asked for some and I didn't have any. I had to ask for some. Last night, I had to go find a packet of sugar because I didn't have any. Today, he asked for an orange. I didn't have any to give. He asks for bananas. It makes me cry since I have nothing to give them. The benefits assisted more than 126 million people, representing more than 60% of the Brazilian population. According to a recent study, 69% of Brazilians who are receiving emergency assistance have yet to find another source of income. You buy the cooking gas, buy the rice, the beans and the money is over. The price of rice is absurd. The beans are expensive too. Here in the community, most families have single moms. The ones that aren't single have to take care of everything, fix everything. It's very complicated. There's a lot of people out of work. To make up for the absence of emergency aid, the government is looking into creating a new, smaller benefits package. All the while amid a rise in COVID-19 deaths, poor families need to put themselves at risk to make ends meet. Three of my kids have breathing problems, so I get scared of going out to look for a job. What would I do if one of them catches it? I think the government might even like this since it's a way to kill off the poor. Unfortunately, they think we are useless, but we are useful for cleaning their bathrooms. We are useful for cooking, for ironing, for taking care of their children. We are the class they need. Even this we can no longer do because we don't have jobs anymore. We've been truly forgotten by them. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back next week with more news from across the globe. Until then, keep watching People's Dispatch.