ms pelosi has defended her trip, emphasising its purpose was to underline america's respect for taiwan's democracy. now on bbc news, shrimps, saris and guns. faarea masud investigates how the demand for shrimp is destroying land in bangladesh. along the coastline is riverbeds of rural bangladesh, thousands of fields where rice was once grown have been converted into intensive shrimp farms, catering to a multibillion—dollar global industry. since the explosion of the industry in the 1980s when the world's appetite for this luxury food grew, there have been increasing allegations of violence and land grabbing by criminal gangs. i've come to bangladesh to hear first—hand about the hidden abuses in the industry, and the detrimental effect of saltwater shrimp farms on these women's health and livelihoods. poor people are being exploited by the rich and powerful and poverty is not being eradicated. these shrimp are so expensive, and poor people can't even dream of buying them. it's taken me years to gain exclusive access to the working conditions of this remote, often secretive community. now these women farmers are fighting back to protect their rights. frozen shrimp exports are worth about $500 million to the bangladeshi economy. after garments, seafood is the country's biggest export. most of it is sold to europe. baby shrimp are caught from rivers and waterways and hatcheries, and then brought to these shrimp farms where they're cultivated to full size. most of these shrimp farms are along the coastal beds and riverbeds of bangladesh, where there is a plentiful supply of water. but environmentalists and local communities are telling me that fish farms leave the area weak and vulnerable. the land can no longer withstand the effect of cyclones and typhoons which bangladesh experiences regularly. as we travelled to the south—west coast, the effects of saltwater toxicity on the farms was clear. we are surrounded by cracked and grey coastline, which we actually saw using aerial cameras, stretched for miles. local wildlife had disappeared. the landscape is gutted and divided into rough rectangles known as polders, low—lying tracts of land surrounded by embankments. many of the people farming in this area in the polders live below the poverty line. i began myjourney in polder 23, when there are currently ongoing problems. here, the land is barren and muddy. well, this lady has just told me that because of problems of saltwater exposure, she has actually had to have surgery. in fact, many of the women here have said they had all kinds of related problems to be exposure to salt. many of the women say they have complained to local shrimp farm owners and the local authorities about the health issues they are experiencing, but they say their complaints aren't being listened to. these coastal areas are overseen by local union councils. the chairman of one such council told me that these days, violence in these shrimp times is not on the same scale days, violence in these shrimp farms is not on the same scale as a few decades ago, and that any complaints are dealt with through a more collaborative system. over in polder 29, i heard about the history of intensive shrimp farming, which included allegations of violent conduct by men with guns. since many shrimp farm bosses live in the cities, far away from the remote coastal areas, they would send local agents or local contacts to maintain the affairs of the shrimp farms. their methods, say local witnesses, got out of hand. during prolonged campaigns local farmers said these men would intimidate them into converting their rice land into intensive shrimp farms. i heard similar stories in some of the other areas i visited. and when did this happen? the police didn't respond to our request for comment on the weapons involved in the shrimp industry, but khushi kabirfrom the non—governmental organisation called nijera kori, or "do it yourselves," told me about the history of guns in the industry. they used to be armed. now they are less armed. they were very violent before, because they had gotten away with it in the past, so they thought they could get away with it, but because of all the noises we were making at all the levels, arms, etc has gone down considerably. now what they use is manipulation. iasked people, especially at the village level, you know you are risking your life, you know you are going to get killed 7 and yet you resist. and they said, we have nothing else to lose. they had to fight a lot, so did we, but the fact that we don't give up, and i always say that you only lose when you give up, i think that is what empowers the people in the area to feel that they can live their life the way they wish to. and they don't have to be intimidated by goons, thugs or people who are in power. slowly a resistance began against the encroaching intensive shrimp farms. the revolutionary spark originated in polder 22, where we travel to next. amidst the grey, infertile shrimp land, it remains a shining victorious patch of green. it was here in 1990 where a localfarmer was brutally shot dead. her name was karunamoi sardar. she had little formal education, but she had heard from neighbouring communities about the detrimental effect that saltwater from shrimp farms had on poor communities like hers. this memorial behind me was erected to commemorate her and the beginning of the women farmer's movement to protect their rights. i have come here to speak to her family about her legacy. what legacy has she left for women? sometimes the women are negatively referred to as "water bandits." i asked him what his responses to rumours that his mother and herfollowers were also violent. the bangladeshi government department, the ministry of fisheries, responded and said any complaint of harassment or violation of labour laws reported in shrimp industries are dealt with together with local administration. it added that it welcomed more detail on people we spoke with in order to resolve any cases. the slow progress in reducing violence in the shrimp industry has led to grassroots do—it—yourself collectives. kripa goldar led one of the key struggles. these days, she and her colleagues go from village to village re—enacting theirfight in short theatrical plays. they each play themselves. it is a way of directly educating their community who often cannot read or have no access to media. in an effort to see where the money to fund this industry is coming from, i tried to trace the global shrimp supply chain. i go to a fish depot where all of the small shrimp farmers sell their shrimp to factories and then they are sold on to export to foreign countries. but it was impossible to trace where all the shrimp here were coming from. it was an informal bazaar. piles of shrimp poured from unmarked baskets for brokers to sell on to the highest bidder. shrimp were brought in on carts with no license plates, crates full of shrimp had travelled along unmarked roads through off—map villages and a few impromptu ponds. several species of shrimp were often piled onto the same mat and after a chaotic verbal bidding process a buyer could walk off without showing any papers. consider that it is from depots like this that most of the world receives its bangladeshi shrimp. it is a very murky supply chain to verify in any meaningful way. and there is sometimes a problem with drinking water supply in those areas as a result of the saltwater proliferating in the area. what solutions would you propose to improve that condition for the farms? whilst bangladeshi shrimp exporters like shyamul push for growth in the industry, the country's law is also at work. environmental lawyer rizwana hassan has been fighting cases around saltwater shrimp farms for years. a substantial amount of agricultural land owned by the poor farmers are being forcibly grabbed by shrimp cultivators, but for the government it is export earning, but it is actually earning by a few. totally damaging the traditional livelihood earning of millions. the shrimp are so expensive that poor people cannot even dream of buying them and meeting their protein intake demand. saltwater shrimp farms have many female workers and they have complained to me about things like skin issues and ongoing health issues. what has been your experience of having to handle those cases or those issues? the local people protesting against the undue interest of the outsiders, undue interest which are protected by local lawmakers and national level policymakers. local people come into conflict with these outsiders and one way of suppressing people is to kill them or to threaten them with tactics so that they do not really open their mouth anymore and they do not get organised any further. and when you see that your land is underwater and you have no chance of getting it back, you are forced to work in the shrimp industry. bangladeshi's department of fisheries said in a statement that more than 250,000 rural families are dependent on shrimp farming for their livelihoods. it is said that most of the people employed in shrimp cultivation in bangladesh are marginalised people who live in coastal areas and are victims of climate change, sea level rise, saline water intrusion and loss of livelihood. it added that for a decade or more these people have been maintaining high global standards and that the government conducts awareness activities, training, formation of trade unions and that it supports arbitration processes based on labour rules and social compliances. but not all of bangladesh's shrimp farms are problematic, of course. successful efforts to conserve the nearby mangrove forest have led to akash�*s shrimp farms having healthier water for both shrimp and farmer. the collective strength of these women has led to some victories against an encroaching multibillion—dollar industry. the women of folder 22 enjoy rich harvests of vegetables, rice and fruit. women sing . hello. there will only be a few exceptions to the hot and sunny story over the next few days. so far this week, we've got above 30 degrees three times, 32 celsius on wednesday afternoon. the heatwave intensifies further through the rest of the week and into the weekend. we could have four consecutive days above 35 degrees, more than we saw back in 1976. the highest of the temperatures are in the area covered by the met office extreme heat warning, an amberwarning, health and transport impacts expected — leeds, liverpool, down the way to the south coast. and it's this area, under high pressure, where we'll also see heat build elsewhere. but notice weather fronts very close to the north of scotland. this is your exception. here, through the night and into the morning, we'll have had some rain, temperatures not dropping away much. maybe a little bit fresher through scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england, but a warmer night and start to thursday morning in the south. a few mist and fog patches clearing, dry and sunny for many, but across the western isles, 0rkney, shetland, the northwest highlands, rain will come and go through the day. 14—18 celsius here, but 27, 28 eastern scotland, 27 in parts of northern ireland, 35 degrees, potentially, to the south midlands, that heat continuing to build. now, as we go into thursday evening and overnight, more cloud, occasional rain or drizzle in the north of scotland. chance of a few mist and fog patches close to eastern coasts of england and scotland too, but night by night, temperatures starting to creep up a little bit as well. friday, we do it all again. some early morning mist and fog in the east, one or two patches close to eastern coasts, a greyer outlook across the north of scotland but not as wet as it'll have been for some on thursday. under sunny skies and light winds elsewhere, we'll see temperatures climb, potentially 36, maybe 37 celsius, through the south midlands. a little bit fresher down some eastern coasts. coolest of all, though, in the far north of scotland. by the start of the weekend, probably a better chance of some sunshine in the far north of scotland, but a better chance of some low cloud continuing, eastern coast of scotland, northeast england, limiting the temperatures in aberdeen a little bit. 26 inland, 27 to northern ireland, again, 36 or 37 in some parts of southern england. that warmth and heat continues into sunday, but a slot of something changing. a bit more cloud, the chance of a few storms around later on sunday into monday, bringing a drop in temperature. but even though those storms may occur into next week, they'll be fairly sporadic, many places probably staying largely dry. and, of course, we need a good deal more rain. a bit more cloud, the chance of a few storms around later on sunday into monday, bringing a drop in temperature. but even though those storms may occur into next week, they'll be fairly sporadic, many places probably staying largely dry. and, of course, we need a good deal more rain. welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: donald trump refuses to answer questions under oath as part of an investigation into his business activities in new york — he calls it a witch—hunt. dozens of people are missing after a boat, laden with migrants, sinks off the greek coast — a search and rescue operation is underway. china reaffirms that it could take taiwan by force. nancy pelosi, whose visit sparked china's drills around the island, has defended her trip. we will not allow china to isolate taiwan. they have kept taiwan from participating in the world health organization, other things, where taiwan can make a very valued contribution. british farmers fear their harvests will fail, as a heatwave and drought conditions have a devastating impact on the agriculture industry.
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