New Zealand Government LEARN Postdoctoral Fellowships for Developing Countries 2018

Application Deadline: 30th June 2018

Eligible Countries: Developing Countries

To Be Taken At (Country): New Zealand.

About the Award: The Livestock Emissions Abatement Research Network or LEARN is an awards scheme sponsored by the New Zealand Government, through the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to build international capability in livestock emissions research.
LEARN is part of New Zealand’s support for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (or GRA (www.globalresearchalliance.org)). The GRA aims to increase international cooperation and investment in research to help reduce the emissions intensity of agriculture and increase its potential for soil carbon sequestration.

Type: Postdoctoral, Fellowship

Eligibility: To be eligible for the Postdoctoral Fellowship, you must:

• Have gained a PhD in the last 5 years.
• Be a high achieving researcher (supported by academic transcripts, letters of recommendation and publishing record).
• Be employed in an area of research aligned with livestock greenhouse gas mitigation in your home country.
• Have the support of your employer to apply for the Fellowship.
• Have a mentor in a New Zealand research organisation (host).
• Be resident in a developing country as defined by the OECD list of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) recipients: http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/daclist.htm
• Satisfy New Zealand Government requirements for international entry into New Zealand.
• Be able to speak and understand English to a level sufficient to function in a research role.

Selection Criteria: The assessment panel considers:

• The science quality and feasibility of the proposed research project.
• Alignment with known scientific priorities and profile of the applicant’s home organisationand the New Zealand host organisation.
• The extent to which the project will create enduring collaborations between New Zealand and the home country.
• The extent to which the project will contribute to building capability in livestock greenhouse gas research in the home organisation and country.

Taking into account the panel’s recommendations, the Ministry for Primary Industries then assesses the application’s ‘fit’ with the objectives of the GRA and other Ministry for Primary Industries objectives and priorities before making its funding decision.
The contract will be signed by the applicant, New Zealand host organisation, the applicant’s home organisation and the NZAGRC.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Funding is available for:

• Up to NZD$50,000 per year for a maximum of two years to cover living expenses while inNew Zealand (pro rata to be calculated on time spent in New Zealand).
• Up to NZD$5,000 will be provided for return economy class airfares and travel/medicalinsurance.
• Up to NZD$5,000 will be provided to assist with research costs associated with the project.

Duration of Program:  It is for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of two years and must be started within one year of the award being granted.

How to Apply: 

• There is a two-stage application process. The New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC) administers the LEARN awards on behalf of the Ministry for Primary Industries.
• Applicants must first submit an Expression Of Interest (EOI) to to determine eligibility. Forms can be downloaded from here. If eligibility is confirmed, the applicant will be invited to submit a full application to be considered by an assessment panel and Ministry for Primary Industries.
• An EOI for a Postdoctoral Fellowship can be submitted at any time during the year, however full applications must be submitted by 30 June (New Zealand time).

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: New Zealand Government

Important Notes: All applications must be developed in close collaboration with a New Zealand research institution.

Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) Scholarship Challenge for International Students (Full Scholarship to USA) 2018

Application Deadline: 15th April, 2018
Voting Begins on the 26th of March.

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): New York City, USA

About the Award: You will upload a (1) minute video explaining why you deserve to win 1 of 4 full tuition scholarships. You will be randomly assigned to one of four teams, each led by a celebrity chef, and your video will be posted to the contest website when public voting begins. The twenty-five (25) videos on each team with the most public votes will become semifinalists and scored by a panel of judges to determine the top five (5) videos per team, for a total of twenty (20) finalists. Finalists will compete in New York City in two skills challenges that will be shown on ABC’s The Chew, and as a result, there will be four (4) Grand Prize winners, who will each receive a full tuition scholarship to either the Culinary Arts program or Pastry & Baking Arts program at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York, New York or Los Angeles, California.
 After completing the Entry Information, you will be asked to upload a Video up to one (1) minute in length from your phone, computer or other applicable electronic device. You must appear in the Video. Video submissions may depict cooking, baking, or a passion for service in the culinary or hospitality industry. Video submissions can be comical or serious, depict a sense of accomplishment, or overcoming an obstacle/adversity. They can include testimonials from others, with prior written consent from each such individual. The goal is to demonstrate to ICE your passion for food, service, entrepreneurial flair and/or creativity, and convey why you would be a suitable candidate for a full tuition scholarship to ICE’s Culinary Arts program or Pastry & Baking Arts program. The Video should be well thought-out, represent a positive addition to the ICE community and last, and demonstrate that you are eager to learn and will never stop learning.

Type: Training

Eligibility: 

• You don’t have to be an actor or movie director—just be yourself! Show your creativity!
• Film your video horizontally to look best on screen.
• Videos should be no longer than one minute (60 seconds) in length.
• The sooner you upload, the more chances your video has to gain votes.

MAKE SURE YOUR VIDEO

• Is filmed horizontally to look best on screen.
• Is no longer than one minute in length.
• Does not include music.
• Is creative, shows your passion for food and features you.
• Is shared on your social networks to encourage friends and family every day to vote—spread the word!

Selection: The public will vote to determine the top 100 scholarship semifinalists between March 26, 2018 – April 15, 2018. Once public voting is closed, a panel of judges from ICE will review the semifinalists to determine the 20 scholarship finalists, who will be announced May 10, 2018. The finalists will be flown to NYC to compete in a series of challenges on ABC’s The Chew to determine the ultimate winners, who will be announced on air on June 15, 2018.

Number of Awardees: 4

Value of Scholarship: Successful candidates will each receive a full tuition scholarship to either the Culinary Arts program or Pastry & Baking Arts program at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York or Los Angeles, California.

How to Apply: Upload your Video

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Award Provider: Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)

Government of Azerbaijan ADA University International Fellowship 2018

Application Deadlines: 

• Early application deadline for international students: 5th April, 2018
• Late application deadline for international students: 1st August, 2018

Eligible Countries: International

To Be Taken At (Country): Azerbaijan

About the Award: The ADA University is committed to grooming world class leaders. Their research focuses on diplomacy, public and international affairs, business, humanities and sciences, information technologies and system engineering. The programme aims to attract bright minds.
ADA University is located in Baku, the capital city of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is the cultural and commercial centre of the country.

Type: Undergraduate, Masters

Eligibility: 

• Applicants should first be admitted into ADA University.
• Previous work experience in public sector and/or commitment to serve in public sector is valued most.
• Incoming undergraduate fellows are eligible to receive a 100 percent tuition waiver for the first year of their studies.
• Incoming graduate fellows are eligible to receive a 100 percent tuition waiver for the first semester of their studies.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Alimardan Bay Topchubashov Fellowship covers the tuition fee and rent of housing only. Fellowship recipients are expected to cover all other expenses, including books, student fees and utilities.
The following expenses will be from the student’s own account:
Flight ticket
Monthly stipend
Medical insurance
Books

Duration of Program: Not stated

How to Apply: To apply, visit Link below

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: ADA University

Johnson & Johnson One Young World Scholarship Program to attend One Young World Summit 2018

Application Deadline: 8th May 2018

To Be Taken At (Country): The Hague, The Netherlands

About the Award: If you are a young leader (aged 18-30) working within health and/or care-giving, then this scholarship is for you. You may be a social entrepreneur or working for a social enterprise, medical facility and/or an NGO, or you may be a birth attendant, nurse, doctor or an individual dedicated to health and care giving to underserved communities.
As well as attending the upcoming One Young World Summit, scholarship recipients will receive individual coaching from senior Johnson & Johnson leaders to further develop their aspiration, strategy and/or initiatives.

Type: Conferences

Eligibility: 

• Candidates must be aged between 18 and 30 at the time of the 2018 OYW Summit
• You must be working on the front lines of delivering care (i.e. you may be a social entrepreneur or working for a social enterprise, medical facility and/or an NGO, or you may be a birth attendant, nurse, doctor or an individual dedicated to health and care giving to underserved communities)
• If selected, Health Care Professionals classified as Government Officials within their home country will need approval from their employer, and will undergo an additional health care compliance approval process by Johnson & Johnson before their scholarship can be confirmed

Selection Criteria: 

• Passion for global and local health/care issues
• Leadership and innovation on the front lines of care
• Willingness to share and learn from others
• Commitment to invest 10% of their time to the Program

Number of Awards: 12

Value of Award: 

• Access to the One Young World Summit 2018 in The Hague, The Netherlands
  • The cost of travel to and from The Hague, The Netherlands (economy flights only)
  • Hotel accommodation in a single room from 16-20 October inclusive
  • Catering which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, during these days
  • Transport between the Summit accommodation and the Summit venue
  • Summit hand-outs and support materials​​
• Participation in the 2018 Johnson & Johnson One Young World Program
  • Individual coaching with senior Johnson & Johnson leaders
  • Buddying with 2018 Johnson & Johnson delegates prior, during and post Summit
  • Participation in webinars and conference calls throughout the duration of the Program​

Duration of Program: July 2018 – January 2019.

How to Apply: Apply here

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: Johnson & Johnson

Mastercard Start Path Global Accelerator Program for Innovative Startups 2018

Application Timeline:

• Application deadline: Ongoing
• Global Pitch Day: In Sept (tbc) Virtual
• Immersion Day: Btw Nov – Dec (tbc)

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Global

To be taken at (country): Dublin, Ireland

About the Programme: Mastercard works with an ever growing portfolio of later stage startups with unique solutions across fintech and commerce. Start Path Global is based on what has worked best for our portfolio of startups: more flexibility, more customization, and no distractions from your current business.

Offered Since: 2014

Type: Entrepreneurship

Eligibility: Start Path Global is designed for later stage startups:
* That have raised investment
* That are looking for support to scale
* That are targeting the fintech and broader commerce space
* That can benefit from partnering with MasterCard and accessing our ecosystem

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Programme: 
* Six month virtual programme tailored to the individual needs of your company
* No need to move from your home location
* No equity taken up front (but an option to participate in your next round)
* Immediate access to 60+ MasterCard experts
* Connections to potential customers – global corporate brands spanning banking, retail, tech and telecoms
* Funds provided so that you have no out of pocket expenses

How to Apply: Apply here

Visit Programme Webpage for details

Award Provider: Mastercard Foundation

School Enterprise Challenge for Schools, Teachers & Students ($50,000 in Prize) 2018

Application Timeline: runs from March–October 2018

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: for school around the world

To be taken at (country): where the school is resident

About the Challenge: The School Enterprise Challenge is a global business planning awards programme run by the educational charity ‘Teach A Man To Fish.’ It aims to create globally aware, socially responsible, young entrepreneurs.

This free programme guides and supports teachers and students to plan and set up real school businesses. Students develop essential skills in business and entrepreneurship in a practical, fun and innovative way. The Challenge also helps schools generate extra income for their school, or a social cause of their choice.
Schools have set up an amazing variety of businesses. In 2016, 5265 schools from 106 countries participated in the Challenge and their businesses ranged from fly fishing in Belize, to an inter-schools newspaper in India and a car wash in South Africa.
The programme is FREE and it helps students plan and set up school-based enterprises that:

1. Generate real profits to help support their educational activities.
2. Give students the chance to gain hands-on experience of running a real business.
3. Are sustainable, and will grow and develop every year.

How does it work?
The School Enterprise Challenge awards programme runs from March–October 2017 with $50,000 in prizes on offer!
It is divided into three stages.

• In Stage 1, Students have 4 weeks to develop and submit a business idea for a school enterprise.
• In Stage 2, Students have 6 weeks to develop and submit a business plan for a school enterprise.
• In Stage 3: Students launch a school enterprise, get hands on business experience, and generate income to support either their school or a charitable cause of their choice! This stage lasts up to 4 months.

Students then submit a Final Report.
School businesses can be run in many different ways. Your school can decide which one suit you best, whether as an after-school club, at lunchtime, during lessons or at any other time that works for you. If you would like to incorporate the School Enterprise Challenge into your lessons, our guides and curriculum will help you to do it.

What is a School Enterprise?
A school enterprise is a business that is owned by a school but that is staffed and operated by the students that attend it. Enterprises should be sustainable, selling products or services on a consistent basis (i.e. not just at a one-off event) and at least part of the profits should be reinvested in the school’s educational activities or growing the business further.

What support does the School Enterprise Challenge Team provide?
The School Enterprise Challenge Team provides support to schools throughout the whole programme, from coming up with a business idea, to writing a business plan, all the way through to successfully running a school business!

Why should you participate?
It is FREE to join and this year the program is giving away approximately USD $50,000 worth of prizes, including:

• A top prize of $5,000 for the overall global winner.
• Three prizes of $2,000 for the People, Profit and Planet categories
• Multiple prizes of up to $2,000 for the Regional Winners.
• Business Growth and Primary school prizes up to $2000 each.
• Multiple smaller prizes for the best business idea!
• $2,000 for the ’Inspirational Teacher’ Award, with $1,000 for two runners up.
• A laptop for the ‘Enterprising Student’ Award and cameras for two runners up.
• Fully-funded places to our regional education conference.

Benefits of Participating
Schools

• Win great prizes including places at our international conference and cash prizes worth over $50,000.
• Gain global recognition as an entrepreneurial school.
• Raise extra income for your school.
• Become part of a global community of enterprising schools.

Teachers

• Teach your students 21^st Century skills-take learning out of the classroom and into the real world.
• Access easy to follow lesson plans and educational resources including our enterprise curriculum.
• Get great skills for your CV.
• Win one of our inspirational teacher prizes worth up to $2000.

Students

• Experience running a real business.
• Learn workplace skills like problem-solving, communication and teamwork.
• Win one of our enterprising student prizes including laptops and cameras.
• Get great experience for your CV and university applications.

Deadline: runs from March–October 2018. From the date you register you will have one month to submit a business idea and get started with the programme. Please consider this schedule when you register formally online and register at a time that will best fit with the school calendar in your country.

How to Apply

• Register: Register online here
• Download resources
• Create your business idea
• Launch your business
• Participate in our extra opportunities
• Write your business plan
• Submit your final report
• Finally celebrate your achievements and earn a school enterprise certificate

Register today and be part of this network of enterprising schools across the world!
If you would like to learn more about the School Enterprise Challenge, download this Information Pack

Visit challenge Webpage for details

Scholarship Provider: Teach A Man To Fish educational charity

Important Notes: If you still have questions about the School Enterprise Challenge, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions or email info[at]schoolenterprisechallenge.org.

Teach for Nigeria Fellowship for University Graduates and Young Professionals 2018

Application Deadline: Ongoing

Eligible Countries: Nigeria

To be taken at (country): Nigeria

About the Award: The Teach for Nigeria Fellowship program is a 2 year full-time paid commitment in which we place the most outstanding graduates and professionals to teach in Nigeria’s underserved schools in low- income communities.The Teach For Nigeria fellowship is a transformational leadership program that equips Fellows with transferable leadership skills to effect change beyond the classrooms in the communities we serve.
Teach For Nigeria ensures that all Fellows have the knowledge and skills necessary to lead their students towards achievement. The Teach For Nigeria Fellowship begins with a six-week residential training program. Here, Fellows are exposed to curriculum, lesson planning, and classroom facilitation and student assessments among other modules, sessions, and keys to successful teaching.
After the Fellowship, alumni of Teach For Nigeria build on their classroom teaching experience to drive long-term systemic changes in the educational sector in Nigeria as they progress into leadership roles in their varied professions. The Teach For Nigeria model is based on the proven success of 40 country organizations including Teach For America, Teach First UK, Teach For Ghana, Teach For Bangladesh, Teach For Nepal and Teach For India, who are all part of the Teach For All network.

Type: Fellowship (Career)

Eligibility: 

• Teach for Nigeria is open to Nigerians who after the program can be a contributing change to education in Nigeria.
• Candidate must be a Nigerian citizen, hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and be younger than 35.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Fellowship: As a Teach For Nigeria Fellow, you are a part of movement of young leaders working to eliminate educational inequity. In addition, these are some of the benefits of being a Fellow:

1. Opportunity to be part of a movement that is changing lives and that will change society
2. Extensive leadership development training
3. Intensive teacher training leading to a Postgraduate Diploma in Education
4. Real responsibility from day one
5. Job and internship opportunities during and post Fellowship
6. Opportunity to be a part of a global network of change agents from across 42 countries
7. Access to a 9 month Mentoring Programme, offering a unique opportunity to achieve professional and personal development
8. Access to professional development and network of supporters
9. Ongoing leadership development, coaching, business training and skills workshops
10. Opportunity to design and implement a social change project
11. A stipend for two years including during the school holidays.
12. About 9-10 weeks of holiday

Duration of Fellowship: 2 years

How to Apply: The Application process is in three stages.

1. In stage one, you submit an application HERE. When your application is received, you will be invited to write an online test for numeracy and literacy.
2. If you are successful, you will be invited for a pre-assessment interview either in person or online. Based on your performance, you will be invited for a final assessment day at the Teach for Nigeria office in Lagos.
3. If successful at the assessment centre, you will be made an offer to the Teach for Nigeria Fellowship for September 2018.

Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

Award Provider: Teach for Nigeria

The Coming Crisis with Iran

Mel Gurtov

With the appointments of Mike Pompeo as secretary of state and John Bolton as national security adviser, Donald Trump has signaled his preparedness by the May 12 deadline to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and ramp up pressure on North Korea if it refuses to denuclearize.  The two moves would have interactive consequences: casting aside the Iran nuclear deal is likely to be read in Pyongyang as indicating that the US cannot be trusted to keep its commitments. It might also be read as a signal that should nuclear talks with Trump fail, a US attack on North Korea’s missile and nuclear sites could be in the offing.

The always precarious state of US relations with Iran, and with the Middle East as a whole, will be blown apart should Trump nix the nuclear deal.  Iran is likely to immediately resume production of nuclear-weapon grade materials. US relations with its European allies will be deeply unsettled, another bitter pill will be added to relations with Russia and China (both of which endorsed the nuclear deal), the Israeli far right will be emboldened to join in pressuring (and perhaps attacking) Iran, and the Saudis and others will be encouraged to produce their own nuclear weapons.

Most important of all, ending US participation in the nuclear agreement will bring it closer to war with Iran.  In John Bolton we already have a top official who is on record as favoring an attack on Iran’s, as well as North Korea’s, nuclear facilities.  That record is consistently wrong in its predictions about Iran; Bolton made it appear that war was inevitable and negotiations with Iran a fruitless alternative.  Especially worrisome is his obliviousness to international law and to the human consequences of belligerent actions.  Bolton can therefore be expected to push for a preventive war (not preemptive war, as he maintains) on Iran just as he argued after 9/11 for invading Iraq.  To some observers, only defense secretary James Mattis stands between Trump and war with Iran, a slim reed indeed.

We should keep in mind that the nuclear deal is working.  The International Atomic Energy Agency has several times judged Iran to be in compliance with the agreement.  Rex Tillerson and H.R. McMaster apparently agreed and argued for continuing to certify it—perhaps one reason they are gone.  Numerous scientists and military professionals argued during the Obama years that the agreement was a breakthrough in keeping Iran denuclearized.  In short, the agreement is in the national security interest of the US. Withdrawing from it would be a gross, and dangerous, disservice to that interest.

In my new book, Engaging Adversaries, I suggest that the nuclear deal with Iran could be the basis for a normal relationship with Iran that might work in favor of other US policy objectives in the Middle East.  These would include resolving the conflict in Yemen, loosening of Iran’s ties to Hezbollah and its support of the Syrian regime, and undercutting Israel’s and Saudi Arabia’s confrontational strategy with Iran.

China Pledges To Protect Freedom Of Religion Amid Reports Of Religious Repression

Abdus Sattar Ghazali 

China pledged to continue to respect and protect its citizens’ freedom of religious belief in a white paper published Tuesday (April 3).

As a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China adopts policies on freedom of religious belief based on national and religious conditions to protect citizens’ right to freedom of religious belief, build active and healthy religious relationships, and maintain religious and social harmony, said the white paper published by the State Council Information Office, titled “China’s Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief.”

Protecting freedom of religious belief, properly handling religious relations and adapting them to the times, and curbing religious extremism are common tasks facing all countries around the world, said the white paper.

China will uphold the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt themselves to the socialist society, it said.

The major religions practiced in China, which are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, have a total of nearly 200 million believers and more than 380,000 clerical personnel, according to Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese government supports all religions in upholding the principle of independence and self-management, according to the document.

The religious activities of foreigners in China are protected in accordance with the law, the white paper said.

Foreigners may attend religious activities at temples, mosques, churches, and other sites for religious activities, but shall conduct religious activities in line with law, it stressed.

Religious extremism and violent terrorist activities are dealt with in accordance with the law, the document noted. China opposes all extremism that seeks to instigate hatred, incite discrimination and advocate violence by distorting religious doctrines or through other means, it said.

“China takes measures against the propagation and spread of religious extremism, and at the same time, carefully avoids linking violent terrorism and religious extremism with any particular ethnic group or religion,” the white paper said.

There are about 5,500 religious groups in China, including seven national organizations, and about 144,000 places of worship registered for religious activities in China, including 33,500 Buddhist temples of different schools, 9,000 Taoist temples, 35,000 Islamic mosques, 6,000 Catholic churches and places of assembly spread across 98 dioceses, and 60,000 Protestant churches and places of assembly, according to the white paper.

About 20,000 prominent religious figures are serving as deputies and members at all levels of people’s congresses and committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, according to the document.

Council on Foreign Relations Report

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is officially atheist, but it has grown more tolerant of religious activity over the past forty years following extensive efforts to eradicate religion under Mao Zedong, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Amid China’s economic boom and rapid modernization, experts point to the emergence of a spiritual vacuum as a trigger for the growing number of religious believers, particularly adherents of Christianity and traditional Chinese religious groups, the CFR reported on March 15, 2018, and added: “While China’s constitution allows religious belief, adherents across all religious organizations, from state-sanctioned to underground and banned groups, face intensifying persecution and repression.”

Article 36 of the Chinese constitution says that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief.” It bans discrimination based on religion and it forbids state organs, public organizations, or individuals from compelling citizens to believe in—or not believe in—any particular faith. The State Council, the government’s administrative authority, passed new regulations on religious affairs, which took effect in February 2018, to allow state-registered religious organizations to possess property, publish literature, train and approve clergy, and collect donations. Yet alongside these rights come heightened government controls. The revised rules include restrictions on religious schooling and the times and locations of religious celebrations, as well as monitoring of online religious activity and reporting donations that exceed 100,000 yuan (around $15,900).

The FCR quoted Human Rights Watch’s China director, Sophie Richardson, as saying that while religious belief in China is protected by the constitution, the measures “do not guarantee the right to practice or worship.” Religious practices are limited to “normal religious activities,” though “normal” is left undefined and can be broadly interpreted. The state recognizes five religions—Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. The practice of any other faith is formally prohibited, although often tolerated, especially in the case of traditional Chinese beliefs. Religious organizations must register with one of five state-sanctioned patriotic religious associations, which are supervised by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA).

The government’s tally of registered religious believers is around one hundred million (less than 10 percent of the population), according to several sources including the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 2013 Universal Periodic Review. Yet some independent reports suggest the number of religious adherents in China is far larger and is steadily increasing. The research and advocacy group Freedom House estimates there are more than 350 million religious believers in China, primarily made up of Chinese Buddhists, followed by Protestants, Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, Catholics, and Tibetan Buddhists. Many believers do not follow organized religion and are said to practice traditional folk religion. These practitioners, along with members of underground house churches and banned religious groups, account for many of the country’s unregistered believers. One of the higher estimates comes from the U.S. State Department’s 2016 International Religious Freedom Report, which says there are about 650 million Chinese religious believers.

Waves of Extremism in North Eastern States in India Against Christians

Punsara Amarasinghe

When Indian constitution was drafted by Amedkar, his visionary mind understood the importance of placing specific emphasis on the religious freedom as India shelters for dozens of religions and faiths with its vast cultural homogeneity. The religious freedom of Indian constitution has been verified by Article 25 and secularism in Indian constitution is predominant factor which is accepted by the preamble in 1976 Amendment. Having such a fervent protection towards ensuring the religious liberty India faces number of religious ethnic animosities regularly.

Many have seen the role of Christianity in India as a legacy of its colonial past, but this myth is refuted in studying the growth of Christianity in North Eastern states in India. North Eastern India refers to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The historiography of North Western states in India gas particularly shown that those states were partially aloof from the common Indian culture and especially the cultural roots which are intrinsic to these states have not impacts from the either North Indian Hindu culture or Darvidian routines in India. Nevertheless the spread of Christianity in North Eastern India was mainly attributed to the Christian educational policy. After the annexation of Assam in 1829 to British Raj, British missionaries started their missionary activities in Assam.

The Barrister Pakem in his study of the interaction between Christianity and the people of Northeast India believes that “the prospects which Christian education has offered to the peopleof Northeast “compensates for any of its shortcomings”. The establishment of education through Christian schools laid a foundation to nourish knowledge among the backward tribal communities in North East states.

Before the establishment of Christian educational institutions in Northeast India, there might have been some general awareness that the people living in a particular geographical area are related to each other. Nevertheless, such awareness was definitely nonfunctional at the interactive level. Each village was self-sufficient and remained as an isolated unit. There was hardly any interaction between villages, even among the villages of the same tribe. Christian educational institutions played a positive role in providing a basis for establishing a new relationship at the intra tribal; inter-tribal and extra tribal levels. The Christian education was the first agent of tribal solidarity.

Another way the Christian educational institutions nurtured tribal identity within the same group was through the standardization of their language. Often it was the Christian missionaries who gave the script to many of these languages and wrote their first dictionary and grammar. Gradually the same method was applied to different tribes by introducing English as a common medium of instruction in the schools. Thus the Christian educational institutions were able to expand the relationships among the people of the Northeast from village to tribe, tribe to different tribes and finally to the nation at large. No wonder then, today many people from the region are prominent on the national scene, both in politics and in the bureaucracy.

However the peaceful existence of Christianity and Missionary activities in North Eastern states in India has begun to envisage severe existential threats from the rise of far right Hindu extremism in the recent past. The fallacy propagated by some Hindu extremist activists in North Eastern states in India by portraying Christianity as a diabolical force to destroy Hindu native culture or convert Hindus to Christianity has agitated the people to be hostile towards Missionary activities in some North Eastern states. As an example the communal unrest occurred in state of Manipur in India in 2011 shows the consequences of manipulating public under religious extremism. Technically state of Manipur’s majority belongs to Hindu community representing 60% of the state population, but the propagandas led by hardcore Hindu nationalist groups misguided even moderate Hindus in Manipur to boycott trades and businesses belonged to Christians in 2011. The infiltration of far right Hindu nationalist organization named RSS into the state politics in North Eastern states mainly created the platform for religious hostilities towards Christians. The recently conclude election  in Tripura gave a massive land side victory for BharatiyaJantha Party which is current ruling party of India and RSS has known for its ideological affinity with BJP for many years. The current ideological waves of Hindu extremism spreading over North Eastern states have gutted Christians in those states considerably. Many right wing Hindu historians have a tendency of scorning Christianity in India as a mere colonial heritage introduced by Western invaders. In tracing country’s colonial past, such an accusation has a rationale as British rulers granted special privilege for those native who converted to Christianity, but surprisingly the expansion of Christianity is attributed to the great social welfare campaign led by Christian missionaries from American Baptist , Jesuits. The backward tribes who were trampled and isolated for centuries gained a greater strength from the missionaries and Christian schools in those states. For instance the Italian born missionary Fr. Porcu Mario was known for his bonhomie in state of Assam, where he founded a vocational school that trained many unemployed young people in the state. On the other hand the Christianity’s service to unify the scattered and weak tribal people in North Eastern India cannot be forgotten. The tribes like Kuki’s and Naga’s in North Eastern India were suppressed and their voice was unheard during the epoch of British Raj, but the arrival Christian Missionaries drastically changed their position into more productive in many way. Instead of following the British modeled “ Macaulay “ style Western liberal education, the Christian Missions in North Eastern states in India  established  more vocational based educational institutes, which helped backward tribes to seek many opportunities for come out of their impoverished status.

The recent hostile environment towards Christians has not yet tuned to a Christian persecution like Pakistan ad some Middle Eastern countries, but if this unrest continues to exist in North Eastern states in India could possibly create havoc in the sub-continent. The waving flag politics practiced by India’s ruling party BharatiyaJanatha Party and its ideological wing RSS has plunged the sword into Christian hearts in many of ways. According to local reports from Nagaland six Pentecostal churches were burnet by Hindu extremists between years 2015 to 2017 and threating and assaults on Christian community in Nagaland have been often reported. Throughout the history India has been a homogenous multi ethnic state and country’s complex past has shown the severe repercussions of raising religious extremism. North Eastern states in India have known for their mystic charm and silence from rest of the other India states, moreover the growth of education and other enterprises in this states under Christian missionary influence have provided a stable for entire North Eastern Indian states, but its peaceful stability can be shattered by recent religious hostilities.

Air pollution is an invisible killer: Denial will cost lives!

Shobha Shukla & Bobby Ramakant

World Health Day 2018 special

A senior editor in Thailand is being victimized for putting spotlight on an issue that the World Health Organization (WHO) refers to as “invisible killer” of over 6.5 million people globally every year. Air pollution warrants much more urgency to save lives and help people breathe life, and not inhale deadly disease-causing polluted air.

According to the WHO, 92% of the global population lives in places where ambient air pollution is so high that it makes air unsafe to breathe. As much as 36% of lung cancer deaths, 34% of stroke deaths, and 27% of heart disease deaths in a year are attributed to air pollution. More alarmingly, climate change and air pollution are closely interrelated, further escalating the economic costs and health hazards for humankind. Yet it does not seem to be invoking governments to act with the compelling urgency.

Air pollution is biggest environmental crisis we face: WHO

Air pollution causes 1 in 9 deaths and is the biggest environmental health crisis we face, says WHO. Over 80% of the world’s cities have pollution levels exceeding WHO’s guidelines for safe air.

Is feeling concerned about the quality of air we breathe, a crime? In Thailand, Pim Kemasingki, Editor, Citylife Chiang Mai magazine, has been on the forefront of several initiatives over the years for helping make Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand, a better place for everyone. Recently, Citylife Chiang Mai magazine aimed to draw attention to the region’s sometimes dangerously unhealthy air pollution, probably caused by crop burning and traffic. Editor of Citylife Chiang Mai was charged by authorities for posting on Facebook a student’s painting of ancient kings wearing pollution masks. Even more shockingly, instead of supporting Thai citizens’ initiative to raise awareness about the invisible killer- air pollution – the Governor of Chiang Mai recommended that police should investigate and charge the publication for being disrespectful and endangering tourism. According to a news published in The Bangkok Post, Citylife Chiang Mai Editor Pim Kemasingki could be imprisoned for up to five years if convicted under the Computer Crime Act, which has several broad provisions, including criminal penalties for undermining national security and entering false information into computer systems.

Editor Citylife Chiang Mai Pim Kemasingki told Reuters that “I shared this picture (a student’s painting of ancient kings wearing pollution masks) thinking it was pertinent and powerful” and “For decades I have been promoting the city and loving it… so it’s quite unsettling that fighting for healthy air for my fellow citizens has turned into me besmirching the city.”

Hope sanity prevails, and justice ensues for not only protecting and promoting citizens’ call for improving air quality, but also for protecting those who bravely stand up to defend human rights – right to breathing clean air!

No air pollution data from most polluted cities

WHO says “Many cities in the world, including some expected to be among the most polluted, do not collect information or report on its ambient air quality.” Similar news comes from India where unmonitored cities had much higher air pollution levels than those cities that came under the radar for monitoring air pollution. Not surprisingly, countries, such as Thailand, that share air pollution data in a spirit for collective action and shared learning to ensure that citizens breathe life (read clean air), get noticed.

Undoubtedly, we need reliable data on air pollution from every country/ city so that appropriate action is taken without delay. Targeting only those cities or countries that are reporting and sharing air pollution data will do more harm than good. Targetting or profiling of those who raise issues such as air pollution is even more worse. The larger issue should be to encourage every country to share reliable data on air pollution and take urgent evidence-based action to address the issue and mitigate human suffering, and avert untimely deaths.

Profiling those spirited crusaders, such as Pim, who raise a long over-due alarm on air pollution, and targeting them will not help address the cause; rather it might be detrimental for efforts to save lives from non-communicable as well as from infectious diseases and fail us in averting untimely deaths.

It is important to mention that Thailand is among the 190+ countries that promised to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. Some of these SDGs aim to reduce untimely deaths due to heart disease and stroke, lung cancer, asthma, among other diseases, by one-third by 2030 – a lion’s share of these diseases is caused by air pollution.

It is important for the government of Thailand, and every other government in the world, to have coherent policies, programmes and actions on the ground to help progress towards delivering on the promise of SDGs. Uncalled for targeting of citizens who champion human rights causes, like the one to control air pollution, will only take nations further away from achieving these goals and will be a setback for efforts to build a better tomorrow.

New Zealand government under pressure to expel Russian diplomats

Tom Peters

Over the past week, the New Zealand Labour-led government has come under sustained attack from the opposition National Party and the media over its refusal to join Britain, the US, Australia and 19 other countries in expelling Russian diplomats.

More than 130 diplomats have been expelled, ostensibly in retaliation for the March 4 poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, UK. Without producing any evidence or plausible motive, British Prime Minister Theresa May declared it “highly likely” that the Russian government was responsible, a claim the Kremlin has denied.

Yulia is reportedly recovering in hospital—a development that seriously undermines claims she was the victim of a sophisticated attack using the “military grade” chemical Novichok. Russian officials have been barred from speaking to Yulia.

Just as they lied about “weapons of mass destruction” to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Britain and the US are using the murky Skripal affair to justify their military build-up and preparations for war against nuclear-armed Russia.

Following pressure from Britain’s high commissioner, the New Zealand government announced it would halt efforts to restart trade negotiations with Russia. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have expressed support for Britain’s belligerent stance against Moscow.

New Zealand, however, is the only member of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence sharing network, which has so far refused to expel any Russian diplomats. Ardern told the media on March 27: “While other countries have announced they are expelling undeclared Russian intelligence agents, officials have advised there are no individuals here in New Zealand who fit this profile.”

This decision immediately provoked a storm of criticism. Until recently, the new Ardern government has been heavily promoted by the media as a means of containing working-class anger over social inequality. Now it is coming under intense pressure to fully line up behind the escalating drive to war with Russia.

In a widely-quoted interview with Radio NZ, security analyst Paul Buchanan, a former US State Department official, said Ardern’s statement was “unbelievably silly” and had “made New Zealand a laughing stock.”

University of Waikato law professor Alexander Gillespie wrote on Newshub’s website that expelling diplomats was “not about uncovering spies” but rather “about making a statement of what is unacceptable behaviour between countries in the 21st century.” He noted that Australia’s government expressed support for any move to send weapons inspectors to Russia.

Such professions of outrage are completely hypocritical. Gillespie and Buchanan supported New Zealand’s participation in the US-led imperialist wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have led to at least a million deaths. NZ soldiers in Afghanistan have been accused of war crimes including killing civilians.

In parliament on March 29, Peters echoed British claims that the Skripals were poisoned by a chemical sourced from Russia, but added that culpability was “still a matter of substantial investigation in the UK.”

This prompted an angry response from opposition National Party foreign affairs spokesman Todd McClay, who accused Peters of “dancing around the issue” of Russia’s responsibility. He asked: “Has Mr Peters bought into the Kremlin’s theory that the UK Government might be responsible for attempting to kill the Skripals?” He called on Ardern to “pull Mr Peters into line.”

In fact, Peters did not suggest that Theresa May’s government carried out the poisoning. However, given that the incident has provided the pretext for ramping up the anti-Russia campaign, it cannot be ruled out that the British state, or elements within it, were involved.

Peters was also attacked for correctly stating during an interview on March 11 that there is “no evidence” the Russian government had any involvement in shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a Sydney radio station: “It’s bizarre of the New Zealand foreign minister to make excuses for the Russians.” Australia’s Labor Party foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong also insisted that Russia was responsible. The unsolved murder of 298 passengers and crew has been used by the US and its allies to justify sanctions against Russia and military support for Ukraine.

Peter Jennings from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank wrote in the Australian on March 31: “Sadly, New Zealand’s failure to join other democracies in expelling Russian spies and Wellington’s kowtowing to Beijing shows that this is one old ally that already has given up the fight for Western values.”

In fact, the Labour-NZ First-Green Party government supports New Zealand’s alliance with Washington and Canberra. Ardern has kept troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and stated last November that she would be prepared to join a war against North Korea.

Labour, the Greens and NZ First agreed with the previous National Party goverment’s decision in 2016 to spend $20 billion to upgrade the military and integrate New Zealand into the US military build-up against China.

The conflict erupting within the New Zealand political establishment stems from NZ First’s push to re-start trade negotiations with Russia in order to lessen the country’s reliance on China, currently NZ’s second largest trading partner. Talks with Moscow were suspended by the Nationals in 2014 over the shooting down of MH17.

The 2008–2017 National Party government strengthened the alliance with Washington, while also expanding lucrative business ties with China and avoiding direct denunciations of Beijing. This fraught balancing act could not be sustained under conditions where the US is recklessly pursuing trade war against China.

NZ First, an extreme nationalist and anti-Asian party, formed a coalition with Labour in October 2017 after the US ambassador Scott Brown criticised the National Party’s reluctance to endorse Trump’s threats to annihilate North Korea. Last September Anne-Marie Brady, an academic from the NATO-funded Wilson Centre in the US, accused the National Party of being in thrall to Chinese interests and National MP Jian Yang of being a Chinese “agent,” claims echoed by NZ First.

In line with Washington’s demands, Ardern has ordered an investigation by the Security Intelligence Service into so-called Chinese “interference.” NZ First and Labour have for years whipped up anti-China sentiment, scapegoating Chinese immigrants for the housing crisis, low wages and other social problems.

The Labour government has been caught off-guard by the intensifying confrontation with Russia. Whatever the present divisions between New Zealand’s capitalist parties, there is no anti-imperialist faction of the ruling elite. For more than a century it has relied on its alliance with British, US and Australian imperialism to further New Zealand’s own neo-colonial interests in the Pacific. The ruling class has dragged the country into two world wars in the past century and is preparing to do so again.

Russia-Japan dispute over Kurils reflects mounting tensions in North East Asia

Gary Alvernia

In the midst of acute tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Russia announced in January that it intended to base military aircraft in the Kuril Islands, which are claimed by Japan as its Northern Territories. While portrayed by Western media as an aggressive Russian provocation, the decision is in response to the military threats by the US, backed by Japan, to attack North Korea if it does not bow to Washington’s demands to denuclearise.

The Kuril Islands, situated between the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the eastern coast of Russia, are currently controlled by the latter nation. Japan responded angrily to the Russian plan to base military aircraft in a newly-constructed civilian airport on Iturup, one of the more populated islands. The aircraft will bolster existing missile defence systems on Iturup, following a decision last November to build a naval base on Matua, another island.

Russia announced its military basing plan amid diplomatic talks with Japan to ratify an official peace treaty ending World War II. After issuing diplomatic protests, accusing Russia of negotiating in bad faith, the Japanese government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threatened to withdraw from further negotiations.

Tensions flared again last week when the Russian military conducted an air force readiness exercise in its far eastern territories, including sending two SU-35 fighters to Iturup for the first time. After making a formal diplomatic protest, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono declared that “the strengthening of the Russian military presence in the Northern Territories ... contradicts our country’s position on these islands.”

In Japan, Abe is under pressure. His government had advanced the negotiations with Russia as a means of reclaiming at least some of the Kurils, in exchange for increased economic investment by Japan in Russia’s energy-rich Siberian regions.

The Kuril Islands are a remote, sparsely populated archipelago, spanning 1,300 kilometres. Held by Japan until World War II, the Soviet Union took them over in 1945 and, following its dissolution, they remained a part of the Russian Federation. Japan has always considered the loss of the islands, particularly the southern group, including Iturup, to be a humiliation—a factor in its refusal to sign an official peace treaty with Russia concluding World War II.

Given the Kurils’ relative proximity to Russia and Japan, both nations consider them to have strategic importance. The islands also sit atop large and mostly unexploited deposits of valuable natural resources, including gold, silver and the rare element rhenium.

While an ongoing sore point in relations between the two countries, the dispute over the island chain has not become a flashpoint for military confrontation. However, since the announcement of the “pivot to Asia” strategy by US President Barack Obama, tensions throughout the region have dramatically sharpened.

As part of its growing confrontation with China, the US has encouraged Japan to remilitarise and play a more belligerent role in North East Asia. Apart from its demands on the Kurils, Japan has escalated its dispute with China over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which has led to dangerous stand-offs involving aircraft and ships.

For its part, Russia has indicated that a necessary pre-condition to re-engage in talks would be for Japan to reduce its military ties with the US. Russian government officials have emphasised that the reason for basing warplanes in the Kurils is the US placement of advanced anti-missile systems in Japan. Last December, Tokyo approved the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) batteries and Aegis Ashore missile defence systems on the Japanese mainland.

Though the systems are supposedly defensive, China and Russia regard them as provocative steps intended to enhance the US military’s capabilities in the event of a war. The THAAD systems in Japan and South Korea are equipped with advanced radar systems that enable the US to monitor military installations and missile launches deep inside the two nations.

In January, Pravda.ru suggested negotiations between Russia and Japan have been complicated by Russian fears that any transfer of the Kurils to Japanese control would result in US military forces being based there under the US-Japan Security Treaty. As a result, the US military would have forces close to major Russian Far East bases, including the strategic port city of Vladivostok.

While accusing Russia of militarising supposedly “disputed-territory,” the Abe government has enhanced and strengthened Japanese military bases and fortifications, including with Aegis Ashore systems, on Hokkaido, its northernmost island, adjacent to Russian territory.

Abe has also backed US President Donald Trump’s bellicose threats against North Korea, including his rant last year that the Pyongyang regime faced “fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, fears the consequences of a war on the Korean Peninsula, which could involve nuclear weapons and create millions of refugees.

The Russian regime of President Vladimir Putin, however, has no progressive solution to the mounting dangers of war. It is organically incapable of making any appeal to the international working class—the only social force able to halt the war drive. Russia’s strengthening of its military in the Far East, as in Europe, only plays directly into the hands of US and Japanese imperialism as they accelerate their preparations for conflict.