 Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes by People's Dispatch, where we bring you stories of resistance against capitalist exploitation, state repression and neoliberal onslaught. In today's episode, we will be taking a look at the death of one person and injuries to over 40 in the Israeli attack on Great March of Return protests in Gaza. We will also be taking a look at protests in India as the blockade in Kashmir enters its third month and South African security guard unions raising wage issues with their employers. Before we go into our main stories, let's take a look at the massive protests in Ecuador, which continued for a second day on Friday. Tens of thousands resisted the neoliberal package of President Lenin Moreno. Moreno's so-called reforms seek to remove subsidies on diesel and petroleum, which would increase prices considerably. He has also introduced labour laws, which will attack workers' rights and lead to a decrease in wages. While some organizations have announced an end to the strike, many more will be continuing the actions in the coming days against the betrayal by Lenin Moreno of his mandate and his surrender to the IMF. Here is some footage from yesterday's protests. We now look at the Great March of Return protests in Palestine and Israel's continuing and brutal repression. One protester was killed and over 50 injured when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters at a Gaza border on Friday. The victim, 28-year-old Ala Nizar Hamdan, was killed when Israeli forces fired at demonstrators using live and rubber-coated ammunition. A number of the injured were taken to hospital for treatment and others were given medical attention at the scene. Thousands of thousands of Palestinians have been participating in the weekly Great March of Return protests since March 2018. The protesters are demanding the right to return to their lands and an end to the 11-year-old Israeli blockade of Gaza. Around 313 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 injured by Israeli forces who have resorted to lethal force, including the deployment of snipers and use of tank and artillery fire. For our second story, we look at protests against India's brutal repression of the people of Kashmir, which entered its 60th day on October 3rd. On August 5th, the far-right government of Narendra Modi abrogated the constitutionally guaranteed autonomy of Kashmir and bifurcated the state. Simultaneously, it launched a massive crackdown on the people. Political leaders remained in detention, a communications blockade has denied Kashmiris even basic ability to talk to each other and a massive military deployment has caused innumerable day-to-day difficulties to the people. Activists across India have been demanding the lifting of the siege on the people, the release of political prisoners and the immediate restoration of all communication lines. They have also expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir and condemned the use of torture. Here's some footage from a protest in New Delhi in solidarity with the people of Kashmir. Today is the 60th day when Kashmiris have been silenced. They are not being allowed to speak of how they are. And today, CPI MN has called for a nationwide solidarity day with Kashmir and in that context we are having it in Delhi. We demand, we are seeing that our rulers, the ruling government, the ruling party, is claiming that everything is normal in Kashmir, that everything is peaceful and only people outside Kashmir are worried about Kashmir. We want to ask if everything is so normal, everything is so peaceful. Why are not Kashmiris being allowed to speak up? Why are leaders under detention? We have got news how, at the earliest instance of any protest, pellet guns are being fired at people. We have got news how teenagers have died because of the danger. We have got news how people are dying in hospitals and they are not being able to see their nearest relatives because of the locket that is continuing in Kashmir. And this situation cannot happen. Indian Prime Minister goes outside, goes to America and he claims that everything is fine. If everything is fine, why are Kashmiris being silenced? Of course. In our final story, we look at organizing by security guards in South Africa who run the verge of a strike. This is following the failure of talks between unions representing over 150,000 security guards and employers over the last week. The unions have approached the commission for conciliation, mediation and arbitration which will try to intervene in the case, failing which a strike may be called. The unions have been demanding a wage hike which the employers have been resisting. Even the most highly paid security guards or those belonging to grade A get a monthly salary of ran $5,557 that is around $366 which is way lesser than the living wage for an individual which is estimated to be around $6,340. Meanwhile, the living wage for a family is estimated to be nearly $11,300. The situation for grade B and grade C guards is even worse as they earn $4,891 and $4,377 respectively. Moreover, all these are wages before deductions after which the lowest paid security guard earns a meager $3,800 per month. When confronted by the unions, the employer's offer was initially a measly 1%. During negotiations last week, they raised it to 5%. But even this hike will not bring the highest paid workers' salaries to the level of the minimum wage, not to mention those of grade B and grade C. This paltry offer is despite the fact that the unions were ready to accept a progressive increase which would have taken their salaries to the minimum wage level in 3 years. The unions also demanded a health cover to which employers would be obliged to contribute 60% but the latter just ignored the demand. Security guards work under exceptionally difficult circumstances in South Africa where crime rates are quite high. The paltry offer by employers has infuriated the workers who are determined to go on a strike if their legitimate demands are not met and their interests are sacrificed at the altar of profit. That's all we have for this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. To know more about these stories, visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for watching. Thank you.