 Hello and welcome to People's Dispatch. I am Surangya and you're watching Around the World in 8 Minutes, where we bring you news from working-class and popular moments across the globe. Our first story is from South Africa, where one person was killed when police opened fire on striking workers of the Eid-e-Thikwani municipality in Durban city on Thursday. Thirty-one others were arrested during the police action on angry protesters who had been on strike for over a week. The strike by the water and sanitation workers is being led by the South African Municipal Workers Union. The police began firing when the workers, angry over the lack of action on their grievances, expressed their anger by reportedly damaging bins and shop windows. All those arrested were later released on bail. The dispute began when the workers found out that the 55 former members of the armed wing of the ruling African National Congress, who were hired in 2016, had got out of turn salary raises. The union put forth the demand that the pay grades for the rest of the workers also be raised. The strike began on April 23. Two days later, when the authorities refused to respond, the workers blocked the entrances of various offices with water tankers and embarked on a protest. Water supply was disrupted in the area where a pipe burst during a storm. Authorities and certain political parties seized the opportunity to blame the workers and began to demand strong action against the workers. However, the strike grew in strength and workers in the electricity department joined the protest. Lifeguards also left their posts on the beaches to join the protest in solidarity. On April 30, the police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at the protesters who had assembled outside the city hall. On 2nd May, striking employees again marched to the city hall but they were attacked again. It was during this attack that one person was killed. Union leaders did manage to meet the municipal authorities and discussions at a central bargaining council will begin on Monday. We next go to Ecuador where software developer and privacy activist Ola Beanie will remain in jail after his plea against detention was rejected. A bench in Cuito rejected Beanie's appeal against his 90-day pretrial detention by a margin of 2-1. After the verdict, Ola Beanie's advocate Dr. Carlos Soria told reporters that there is no name for what has been done today. It shall be denounced in Ecuador and abroad. He also added that they felt utterly humiliated and vulnerable after the decision today. The prosecution claimed Beanie was closely associated with Julian Assange. However, they did not provide any proof of wrongdoing. One of the arguments was that Beanie had met Assange on several occasions at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. During this time, a number of people, including prominent journalist, also had met Assange. Apart from the embassy visits, the prosecution's evidence consisted of certain books on hacktivism and privacy rights. They also cited the fact that he had subscribed to an internet service provider, TelecoNet, which is under investigation over fraud charges. Again, thousands of Ecuadorians have subscribed to this network. Beanie's defense team brought attention to the absurdness of the prosecution's arguments. Soria pointed out that the possession of books is not grounds for imprisonment. However, the judges did not accept these arguments. After a few hours of deliberation, the judges dismissed the appeal and decided to put Beanie back in prison. Beanie, who is a Swedish national, was arrested on April 11. His arrest and his initial hearing was marked by a number of procedural violations. Activists and intellectuals across the world have condemned his arrest and called for his release. Our final stories from India, where corporate giant PepsiCo has been forced to withdraw its action against nine Indian farmers. This was following a massive boycott campaign launched across India against the company. Last month, PepsiCo filed cases against nine farmers in the state of Gujarat for growing potatoes over which the company claimed plant variety protection rights. According to the company, these potatoes could be grown only for making its laze variety of potato chips. The farmers were sued for sums ranging from 28,700 to 172,000 US dollars. These farmers are already in the midst of a massive economic crisis. The decision by PepsiCo led to massive outrage. Farmers' movements, including the All India Kisan Sabha, announced a major boycott campaign against Pepsi, and the farmers declared they would fight the legal battle till the very end. PepsiCo was taken aback and tried to approach the farmers for an out-of-coach settlement, but they refused. Farmer organizations cited the right of a farmer to save, use, sow, resew, exchange, share, or sell their farm produce, including seed of a variety protected under the protection of plant varieties and farmers' rights act, so long as they do not sell branded seed. Some of the farmers pointed out that the aim of the company seemed to be to bind all farmers in the region into a contract, as PepsiCo is trying to set up a food processing unit in the region where the farmers are from. Finally, on 2nd May, PepsiCo declared that following consultations with the government, it had decided to withdraw its action. That's all for this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. For more such stories and videos, do visit our website People's Dispatch.org and follow us on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.