 Hello and welcome to today's episode of the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch where we bring you some of the top news from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. Taliban seizes key cities as violence displaces thousands across Afghanistan. Zambia holds presidential and general elections amid an economic crisis. Nigerian doctor strike near two week mark as no deal has been reached with the government. Teachers in Ecuador and hunger strike after court upholds new education reform. And in our video section, we take a look at the evictions facing families in South Polo. Beginning with our first story in Afghanistan, the Taliban has seized some of the major cities of Herat and Kandahar on August 13. The capital cities of Badgis, Ghor, Logar, Urzgan and Zabul provinces have also been taken over. The Taliban has captured 18 provincial capitals across Afghanistan so far. As the fighting continues, the US has stated that it will redeploy 3,000 additional troops to evacuate its citizens. The UK has also announced the deployment of 600 troops. The ongoing violence has triggered the mass displacement of civilians. As per UN estimates, nearly 400,000 people have been forced to flee in 2021 so far. According to Save the Children Foundation, 72,000 children have arrived in Kabul in recent days. Afghan officials are currently participating in peace talks in Qatar's capital, Doha. The government offered the Taliban a power sharing deal to end the violence on August 12. Moving on to our next story, we take a look at vote counting which is underway in Zambia that held its presidential and general elections on August 12. Over 7.2 million people were registered to vote and a high turnout was reported. In combat, President Edgar Lungu from the patriotic front is seeking a third term. Haqqain de Hijilema from the United Party for National Development is considered his main rival. The election took place amid a heavy presence of the armed forces with violence reported in at least three regions. Security forces were deployed on August 2 after violence between the patriotic front and the UPA indicators were reported. President Lungu stated that two people from his party were killed in election day. Internet services and certain social media platforms remained restricted on August 12 and the 13. The final results of the election are expected by August 15. Activists in Zambia have pointed to a growing crackdown on human rights and dissent under Lungu. The country is also undergoing an economic crisis with debt standing at 118% of the GDP. The government is in talks with the IMF for a restructuring program. Zambians are also facing high levels of unemployment, poverty and food insecurity. It is against this backdrop that the country's socialist party is seeking to offer an alternative. Party leader and journalist Fred Amembe contested in the presidential election. The SP is also contesting in 143 out of the 156 constituencies. Its platform includes universalised healthcare and education. The party has also proposed a 10-year infrastructure plan and the expansion of housing and sanitation. Moving on to our next story, teachers in Ecuador successfully ended their hunger strike after 32 days on August 12. Organised by the National Union of Educators, the protest action was launched on July 12. Teachers were demanding the implementation of the organic law of intercultural education. The education reform was passed by the National Assembly in March. However, it was suspended due to a lawsuit. Ecuador's constitutional court ruled on Thursday that the law was valid. The LOEI will modify 80% of the existing education system. It will increase the share of the education budget in the GDP to 6%. It also includes measures for the employment of special education teachers for students with disabilities at all levels. The basic salary of the teachers will be increased from 817 US dollars to 1086. The law also provides guarantees for inclusive education and the reinstatement of teachers dismissed during the pandemic. Thursday's ruling has been welcomed as a victory for students, teachers and parents. However, reforms related to a special retirement system and salary increase will not yet be included. The court stated that the formal defect of their unconstitutionality must be resolved in parliament. The hunger strike had initially began with around 30 teachers in four cities. However, over the course of five weeks, it grew into 89 teachers across 13 provinces. After the court's decision, 11 teachers who were in poor health were transferred to the hospital. On to our next story. Around 19,000 doctors across Nigeria have been on strike for almost two weeks. They are protesting unsuitable working conditions and unpaid salaries. They have also accused the government of not implementing an agreement signed months before. Organized by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors or the NARD, the strike began on August 2nd. The union president has stated that doctors in some states have not been paid in 16 months. Moreover, only one out of the 19 families of doctors who died of COVID have received compensation. The doctors hazard allowance have also not been revised since 1991. NARD has also pointed to the lack of funding in the health care system. According to the union, only 4% of the budget is allocated to the health sector. Two days of talks were held between the NARD and the House of Representatives this week. However, no final agreement was reached. Local news outlet Premium Times has reported that the government might impose a no-work-no-pay policy. This is the fourth time that doctors have gone on strike since the pandemic began in Nigeria last year. Hospitals are short-stuff just as there is a surge in cases. 753 new infections and 5 deaths were reported in the country on August 12th. Meanwhile, only around 0.7% of the population has been fully vaccinated so far. And for our final story, we go to Brazil where families in São Paulo are facing evictions. This is taking place as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic and related economic crisis. Here is a video feature by Brasil de Fatou on this issue. The São Paulo state government vetoed a bill that suspended repossessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislative proposal had been approved more than a month ago by São Paulo's Legislative Assembly. But the evictions continue. At Shakara das Gaivotas, in the Gratão district, around 300 families are at risk of living their homes amidst the health crisis. Many have lived there for over 30 years. In this case, it is as if our house was worthless. All this time, all this construction that we made, the expenses. It's as if it wasn't worth anything. If it's necessary to do the work, are we going to be unemployed? The São Paulo city hall justifies the evictions by saying that the area is part of the city's wellspring recovery program and the works aim at environmental repair of the buildings and Guarapiranga dams. These two water reservoirs supply the largest city in the country. But according to the families, the eviction announcement was sudden. At the end of 2020, social workers went to the houses to register the families but without telling them why. The municipal administration offered a rent aid of 400 reais for six months and promised residences in a housing development, which had not even been built. Most of the families rejected the agreement. There is no document. It's all spoken word. It's a social worker who sets up a meeting. We ask, try to call them. They say nothing and we get like that. The 30-day deadline is over and we still haven't left the house. We don't know what will happen. What we were looking for right now is just an indemnity. So we can leave it with the guarantee that we will be able to have a housing from the first. We don't want to depend on renting. City Councilor Alfredo from the Workers' Party has been trying to negotiate with the administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes to get an alternative for the hundreds of residents. We are not against the construction of the wellspring recovery program. Even because we need the dams, we need them both. They produce the water we consume. The problem is that when the government came up with a program which has expropriation to be done, it should be intertwined with another housing option for people who will leave that place. The city halls stance is regrettable at a time like this, putting people in this situation an absurdity that we will not accept. 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