 Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a show where we bring you stories of resistance and defiance against the dictates of authoritarianism, capitalism and neoliberalism from across the globe. In today's episode, we report on protests in Rodriguez Island. We also talk about the crimes against humanity committed by Israel when it demolished a Palestinian village. And finally, we go to Peru, where a struggle against a mining project is being waged. On Monday morning, Israel started demolition of Palestinian residential buildings in the Surbahar village in the occupied East Jerusalem. According to Palestinians residing in the Wadi al-Hummas neighborhood of the village, hundreds of Israeli soldiers accompanied with bulldozers arrived in the village at dawn. The residents said that the Israel was targeting 16 residential buildings comprising of approximately 100 apartments for demolition. According to the United Nations, the demolitions would see 17 people displaced and another 350 affected. The State of Israel considers these Palestinian homes as a security risk due to their close proximity to the illegal apartheid wall, which Israel calls separation barrier. We talk to Diana Buttu, Palestinian lawyer and activist, and former legal advisor of the Palestinian Liberation Organization on these demolitions. One thing that is alarming about these demolitions is the fact that they're being done with complete impunity. So far, the US administration has given Israel complete green light to carry out these demolitions. Now, I think it's also important for people to understand why these demolitions are taking place in the first place. So this area is an area that's in East Jerusalem where about 24,000 Palestinians live in this area of East Jerusalem. This particular area where the home demolitions are taking place, Israel built its wall a little bit after 2003. And in building the wall separated Palestinian families from one another, so created an artificial line separating these Palestinian families from one another in order to build the eight meter high concrete wall. Now, the pretext for these demolitions is that Israel wants to have a buffer zone in order to protect the wall effectively, in order to protect the wall. So what they've done is that they're now demolishing any houses that are within close proximity to the wall. Now, these houses are houses that are in Palestinian-controlled areas, Palestinian authority areas. They have building permits that were issued by the Palestinian authority, but in Israel's mind, of course, that is all irrelevant. And so they're proceeding with the demolitions as well. And the precedent that it sets is that now Israel is going to be able to both demolish with impunity, which it's done for a while, but also continue to unilaterally expand the buffer zone area that's close to the wall in order to bring more and more houses within that area, within that, so to create a larger buffer zone. The village of Surbeher is located between the occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Israel has been occupying this area since 1967's Six-Day War. Under the Oslo Accords of 1993, most of the Palestinian structures situated in the Wadi ul Humus neighborhood are stipulated to be under Palestinian authority and civilian control. Last month, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favour of the military. This ruling came after a seven-year-long battle was waged against an order issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry to evacuate apartments deemed close to the upper side wall in the occupied West Bank. The court's ruling also set a deadline for the demolition of these homes to Monday, July 22. International and Palestinian organizations have condemned the demolitions as illegal under the international law amounting to crimes against humanity. For our next story, we go to the island of Rodrique in the Indian Ocean. The discovery of a treasure in a small coastal village in Rodrique by two Mauritian ecologists has given a new urgency to the debate and struggle for Rodragon independence from Mauritius. While the Environmental Commissioner of the Rodrique Regional Assembly demanded that the treasure remain in the island, the Mauritius appointed Minister of Rodrique declared that the treasure will be divided between the state of Mauritius and the ecologists who found it. In response, the people of Rodrique have risen up against what they see as another colonial loot of their resources. The Rodrique independent movement has been spearheading the resistance to the minister's declaration. On July 13, they began a sit-in with tents 400 meters away from the site of the treasure where Mauritian officers who are members of the special mobile force are stationed. In a press conference on July 13, members of the independence movement denounced the looting and demanded that the Rodragon people have control over the resources of the island calling for an end to the Mauritian occupation. They highlighted how the Mauritian government's actions with regard to the treasure are emblematic of how the government has exploited the resources of Rodrique while deliberately under-developing the island. On July 18, the movement reported that about 50 police officers from the anti-drug smuggling unit, the special mobile force and the Central Investigation Bureau arrived at the site where the movement had directed their tents and forcefully pulled down the tents. A woman and a seven-year-old child were also president of the sit-in and were forcefully pulled out. The police at the scene claimed that the orders came directly from Mauritius and that it was because the people had erected tents in a public place. The disproportionate violent repression by police shocked the population and complaints have been filed against the police brutality. With regards to the police attack on the sit-in, the Rodrique independence movement stated, the truth is that our crime is telling that we are a colonised island and that we aspire to be free. Since 15 July, thousands of farmers and inhabitants of the Tambo Valley in the Arequipa region of Peru have been mobilising in rejection of the right-wing government of President Martin Vizcarra's decision to authorise the Mexican mining company, Southern Copper Corporation, to begin the construction of the long-resisted Tia Maria Mining Project. On July 8, the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted construction license to the SEC despite strong resistance by environmentalists and inhabitants. The protesters are demanding that the government revoke the granted license considering the negative consequences that mining activities will have on the environment and agriculture. Tia Maria is a large open-pit copper mine located in the Islay province of Peru. SEC claims that it will produce 120,000 tons of high-grade copper per year for 18 years. The mine project involves an investment of $1.4 billion. The mine is located two kilometres away from the Tambo Valley, which is home to over 24,000 people who are primarily dependent on agriculture. Due to its proximity, at least 1300 hectares of agricultural land is threatened by the project. The strike is growing. The trade union of education workers of Arequipa region has expressed its solidarity and suspended all kinds of educational activities across the region. The civil workers trade union called the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers has also called on its 40-associated construction and civil workers unions to halt their activities and support the peasants. That is all that we have for you in this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. For more such stories and videos, do visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you for watching.