Joint Japan World Bank Group Scholarship Program 2019/2020 for Students in Developing Countries

Application Deadline: 11th April, 2019

Offered annually? Yes


About Scholarship: The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is open to women and men from developing countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying to a master degree program in a development-related topic.

After earning their degree, developing country scholars commit to return to their home country to use their new skills and contribute to their countries’ social and economic development.

Type: Masters

Selection Criteria: Eligible applications are assessed according to three main factors: academic excellence, professional experience, and relevance of program of study. Priority is given to candidates from the public sector with a high potential to impact the development in their own countries after completion of their studies

Eligibility: Details on Eligibility Criteria for each call for applications are provided in that call’s Application Guidelines, and these detailed eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. No exceptions are made.
Broadly speaking, Developing Country nationals must:

• Be a national of a World Bank member developing country;
• Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country;
• Be in good health;
• Hold a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date;
• Have 3 years or more of recent development-related work experience after earning a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree;
• Be employed in development-related work in a paid full- time position at the time of submitting the scholarship application.  The only exception to this criterion is for developing country nationals from a country that will be on the updated list of Fragile and Conflict States provided to applicants in the Application Guidelines for each call for scholarships.
• On or before the Scholarship Application Deadline date, be admitted unconditionally (except for funding) for the upcoming academic year to at least one of the JJ/WBGSP preferred university master’s programs and located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence listed at the time the call for scholarship applications open.
• Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of any type of appointment of the World Bank Group or a close relative of the aforementioned by blood or adoption with the term “close relative” defined as: Mother, Father, Sister, Half-sister, Brother, Half-brother, Son, Daughter, Aunt, Uncle, Niece, or Nephew; *Please note: All eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. No exceptions are made.
• Eligibility criteria WILL NOT change during an open call for applications. However, this information is subject to change between the close of one application process and the opening of the next.

Number of Scholarships: Several

Scholarship benefits: The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides annual awards to cover the cost of completing a master’s degree or its equivalent. The awards are given for one year and, provided that the academic program is longer than one year, may be renewed for a second consecutive year or a portion thereof, subject to satisfactory academic performance in the first year and the availability of funds.
The scholarship provides benefits for the recipient only, covering:

• economy class air travel between the home country and the host university at the start of the study program and one return journey following the end of the overall scholarship period. In addition to the ticket, scholars receive a US $500 travel allowance for each trip;
• tuition and the cost of basic medical and accident insurance usually obtained through the university;
• a monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses, including books.

Duration: The proposed program of study should start during the academic year 2018/2019 for a maximum duration of two years.

Eligible Countries: Developing countries

To be taken at (country): One of the preferred universities (see in Program Webpage Link below)

How to Apply: Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the online application form available in  English, French, or Spanish.
It is very necessary to go through the instructions in ALL application documents before applying.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

OWSD PhD Fellowships 2019/2020 for Women Scientists from Science and Technology Lagging Countries

Application Deadline: 30th May 2019

Eligible Countries: Developing countries


To be taken at (country): The award will give nominated students the opportunity  to study in centres of excellence in the developing world, and help educate the next generation of mathematicians thereby advancing science in the home countries of those chosen for the fellowship.

Fields of Study:
01-Agricultural Sciences
02-Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology
03-Biological Systems and Organisms
04-Medical and Health Sciences incl. Neurosciences
05-Chemical Sciences
06-Engineering Sciences
08-Mathematical Sciences
09-Physics

About the Award: The “South to South PhD Training” fellowships for Women Scientists from Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs) to undertake PhD research in the Natural, Engineering and Information Technology sciences at a host institute in the South. The fellowships are to be held at a centre of excellence in a developing country outside the applicant’s own country.

Candidates can choose between two study schemes:

• a full-time fellowship (maximum 4 years funding), where the research is undertaken entirely at a host institute in another developing country in the South.
• a sandwich fellowship, where the candidate must be a registered PhD student in her home country and undertakes part of her studies at a host institute in another developing country.
  The sandwich fellowship is awarded for a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 research visits at the host institute. The minimum duration of the first visit is 6 months. The total number of months spent at the host institute cannot exceed 20 months. The funding period cannot exceed 4 years.
  OWSD particularly encourages candidates to consider the sandwich option, which allows them to earn the PhD in their home country while accessing specialist researchers and equipment abroad, at the host institute.

The fellowship support is only provided while the student is on site, at the host institute.

Type: Postgraduate (Doctorate)

Eligibility: To be eligible, candidates must confirm that they intend to return to their home country as soon as possible after completion of the fellowship.
The minimum qualification is an MSc degree in one of the above listed study fields.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Scholarship: Each fellowship will cover the following:

• A monthly allowance to cover basic living expenses such as accommodation and meals while in the host country
• A special allowance to attend international conferences during the period of the fellowship
• A return ticket from the home country to the host institute for the agreed research period
• Visa expenses
• Annual medical insurance contribution
• The opportunity to attend regional science communications workshops, on a competitive basis
• Study fees (including tuition and registration fees) in agreement with the chosen host institute which is also expected to contribute
• Travel expenses to and from the host institute

Duration of Award: up to four years

How to Apply: The online application system will only accept applications complete in all parts, including the required documents. All documents must be uploaded through the online application system. Do not email any document to OWSD unless requested.

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

OWSD Early Career Fellowships 2019 for Women in Science and Technology Lagging Countries

Application Deadline: 30th April 2019

Eligible Countries: Science and Technology Lagging Countries


About the Award: The OWSD Early Career Fellowship is a prestigious award of up to USD 50,000 offered to women who have completed their PhDs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and are employed at an academic or scientific research institute in one of the listed Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs). The OWSD Early Career fellows will be supported to establish an environment at their institution where they can maintain an international standard of research and attract scholars from all over the world to collaborate.

Type: Fellowship (Academic)

Eligibility: To be eligible to apply for the ECWS fellowship applicants must meet the following criteria:
1. Eligible countries

• Applicants must have been resident in one of the listed Science and Technology Lagging Countries (STLCs) for at least 5 years.
• The fellowship must be undertaken in one of the listed STLCs.

Please note this list may be subject to slight variation each year according to criteria established by our donor, IDRC, and in agreement with OWSD. Each year the list will be updated when the call for applications is opened.

2. Eligible STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

• Agricultural Sciences
• Astronomy, Space and Earth Sciences
• Biological Systems and Organisms
• Chemical Sciences
• Computing and Information Technology
• Engineering Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Medical and Health Sciences
• Neurosciences
• Physics
• Structural, Cell and Molecular Biology

3. Eligible academic qualification
PhD in one of the above listed study fields.

• PhD awarded not more than 10 years prior to application.

4. Eligible employment

• At the time of application, applicants must be already employed at the university or research institute where the project will be carried out.
• The university or research institute must be based in one of the eligible countries.
• Applicants must provide evidence that they will receive a salary from the above institute for the duration of the two-year fellowship.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• The ECWS fellowship is for two years and provides up to USD 50,000 to enable fellows to maintain an international level of research as well as initiate collaborations and partnerships with industry and the private sector.
• The ECWS fellowship does not provide for the fellow’s salary which must be guaranteed by the fellow’s institute.
• The eligible expenses are listed in the Program Webpage (see Link below).

Duration of Program: 2 years

How to Apply:

• All applications must be submitted online. 
• The documents listed in the Program Webpage (see Link below) may take some weeks to prepare, especially when they require official signatures. We strongly encourage eligible applicants start gathering all requested documentation as soon as possible.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Leading Africa Scholarship 2019 (Fully-funded for Young Africans to attend One Young World 2019 Summit in London)

Application Deadline: 15th April 2019, 5PM BST

Eligible Countries: African countries


To be taken at (country): London, UK

About the Award: The Leading Africa Scholarship is an initiative designed to ensure that outstanding young people from Africa are represented at the One Young World Summit 2019 in London.
Africa is host to the largest population of young people in the world, with over 60% of its population under the age of 25. With 72% of its labour force in “vulnerable” employment and several countries experiencing challenges of governance and violent extremism, the Fourth Industrial Revolution could provide a lifeline to this young, eager population. Given their sheer numbers, they have the ability to transform their regions, whether it be in governance, energy, infrastructure, medicine and beyond.
In the midst of these challenges and opportunities, it is young leaders who are devising meaningful strategies to build a more sustainable region. Are you one of those leaders? If so, One Young World is looking to bring you to the next annual Summit in London.

Type: Conference

Eligibility: You are eligible for sponsorship if you:

• Are between the ages of 18 – 30
• Have an evidenced commitment to delivering positive change
• Demonstrate capacity for leadership
• Are addressing key local and/or global issues in your work
• Have a track record of generating impactful and innovative ideas 
• Are a national (passport holding citizen) of one of the countries listed below

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award:

• Access to the One Young World Summit 2019 in London, the United Kingdom.
• Hotel accommodation on a shared basis between 22 October and 25 October 2019.
• Catering which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Transport between the Summit accommodation and the Summit venue.
• Summit handouts and support materials.
• The cost of travel to and from London. Your flight to and from London must depart from and return to one and the same international airport.

Please note that if you are ultimately selected for a Scholarship and require a visa to enter the UK to attend the One Young World Summit 2019, you will be required to pay the UK visa fee yourself. The UK visa costs £93 GBP plus the applicable service charge of your local visa application centre. The costs of the visa and the applicable service charge as well as any further costs associated with the visa application (including travel to and from the visa application centre) fall on you as the participant.

Duration of Programme: 22-25 October 2019

How to Apply: Apply Here

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

MasterCard Foundation Youth ThinkTank 2019 for Young Africans

Application Deadline: 17th March 2019

Eligible Countries:  Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia or Ghana


To be taken at (country): Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi & Ghana

About the Award: The YTT is a group of young African researchers. They conduct research to support Foundation programming and strategy development. They are trained and mentored to conduct research, document youth needs, challenges, and aspirations, and share their findings with government, policymakers, and development practitioners.

Type: Job, Research

Eligibility:

• Nationals of the participating countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia and Ghana) aged 18-24 years
• Must hold valid passport and associated travel documents or demonstrate timeliness to secure them

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Salary: This is a voluntary position but honorarium of $800 will be paid for the whole period upon satisfactory accomplishment of assigned tasks

Duration of Programme:  10 months (February to November 2019 with flexibility to engage beyond this period  in an alumnus capacity participating in key activities  whenever  called upon

How to Apply: Please send a completed application form and required documentation to yttugrecruitment@restlessdevelopment.org by 17th March 2019.

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

Mandela Rhodes Scholarships 2020 for African Students to Study at South African Universities

Application Deadline: 15th April 2019

Offered annually? Yes


Eligible Countries: open to citizens of all African countries

To be taken at (country): South African universities or tertiary institutions

About Scholarship: The Mandela Rhodes Scholarships Programme is a combination of financial support for postgraduate studies and a high quality leadership development programme, with the intention to build exceptional leadership capacity in Africa.
A Mandela Rhodes Scholarship enables a Scholar to study at a South African tertiary institution registered with the South African Council on Higher Education for an accredited postgraduate degree programme. The Scholarship is awarded for one or a maximum of two years, currently for an Honours or Masters degree.

Areas of Study: The leadership development programme is made up of the following three components.

• Three residential workshops
• Three regional group pods
• Mentoring

Type: Undergraduate, Masters .

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

• The Scholarship is open to citizens of all African countries
• The Scholarship is for postgraduate study at South African universities or tertiary institutions
• Full funding is for Honours (maximum one year) or Masters (up to a maximum of two years) or their equivalents (MBA’s excluded)
• Any individual who will be between the ages of 19 and 30 years at the time of taking up the Scholarship may apply
• Applicants must posess a first degree or its equivalent or must be in the process of completing one by 31 January 2017
• Applicants should have a history of well above average academic results
• Individuals that reflect in their character a commitment to the four principles of Education, Reconciliation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship
• The MRF leadership development activities sometimes include weekends. It is a condition of the Scholarship that attendance is compulsory

Number of Scholarships: Several

Value of Scholarship: The Scholarship covers the cost of a Scholar as follows:

• Tuition and registration fees as set by the institution;
• A study materials allowance as set by the MRF;
• Accommodation and meal allowances as set by the MRF;
• A medical aid allowance as set by the MRF;
• Economy-class travel allowance for international Scholars only from the Scholar’s home to their institution at the beginning and back home at the end of their degree programme;
• Personal allowance.

Duration of Scholarship: Full funding is for Honours (maximum one year) or Masters (up to a maximum of two years)

How to Apply: All Mandela Rhodes Scholarship applicants are to apply online via the Embark application system.

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

One World Media Fellowship 2019 for Journalists in Developing Countries

Application Deadline: 10th April 2019

Eligible Countries: International


About the Award: Working in film, print, audio or multimedia, our Fellows’ projects bring together integrity and creativity to present under-reported stories that break down stereotypes and build cross-cultural connections.
We guide filmmakers and journalists on a single project, and provide a supportive network of mentors and peers through the production and completion of their project.
We seek to champion diverse emerging talent, and particularly encourage submissions from BAME applicants as well as from people from and based in developing countries.

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility:

• We are open to applications from all around the world.
• One World Media Fellows are aspiring filmmakers and journalists ready to take the next leap in their career reporting from developing countries. Looking for their first director role or solo investigation, our Fellows experiment and learn in a supportive environment.

Number of Awards: We select 12 Fellows each year, and we reserve at least 3 spots for international Fellows from and based in developing countries.

Value of Award:

• £1,000 production grant
• Executive Producer for your project
• Career mentorship
• Workshops and webinars by industry experts
• Fair Reporting and Security Guidance
• Introductions to commissioners
• Network of like-minded Fellows and Alumni

How to Apply: How To Apply

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

New Hope for People Suffering from Depression

Cesar Chelala

The FDA approval of the drug esketamine is a significant advance in the treatment of depression, a mood disorder. Esketamine is particularly effective for those that have been resistant to conventional treatment or who are at imminent risk of suicide. The drug is a nasal spray that could be self-administered by patients but under the supervision of health care professionals. Esketamine can bring relief to millions of patients all over the world.

Like ketamine, a related drug, esketamine, in addition to its anesthetic effects, is a rapid-acting antidepressant, whose medical use was started in 1997. On February 12, 2019, an independent panel of experts recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve the use of esketamine, as long as it is administered in a clinical setting to ensure patient safety.

Depression has been called a “democratic disease” since it affects people of all social and economic strata. Abraham Lincoln suffered from prolonged periods of depression, which didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most admired presidents in U.S. history.

A study of the first 37 U.S. presidents (1776-1974) by Jonathan Davidson, of Duke University Medical Center and colleagues concluded that half of them had been afflicted by mental illness, and that 24 percent met the criteria for depression, including James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Franklin Pierce, and Calvin Coolidge, in addition to Lincoln.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, more than 300 million people were affected by depression worldwide in 2015, equivalent to 4.4 percent of the world’s population. Nearly 50 percent of all people diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Depression is also a major contributor to suicide, which numbers approximately 800,000 globally annually. In the U.S., 44,000 people die by suicide every year.

Depression is a state of low mood which can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings, and sense of well-being. Its symptoms include sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, and altered appetite and sleep. Many depressed people have feelings of dejection and hopelessness that may drive them to suicide. According to a person’s condition, it may be a short-term or a long-term affliction.

At some point in their lifetime, 15 percent of the adult population will experience depression. At any given year, five percent of the U.S. population experiences seasonal depression. Among women, one in seven experiences post-partum depression; about half of them start experiencing symptoms during pregnancy.

Depression can happen at all ages. It can begin during childhood or during the teenage years. As happens also among adults, girls are more likely to experience depression than boys. Although in the U.S. there has been an increase in teenage depression, there has not been a parallel increase in their treatment. Because symptoms of depression among teens are often missed by their parents and teachers, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends regular depression screenings for all adolescents and youngsters ages 11 to 21.

Clinical depression among the elderly is also common, affecting 6 million Americans ages 65 and older. Among the elderly, depression is frequently confused with the effects of other illnesses, and the medicines used to treat them. Studies in nursing homes of elderly patients with physical illnesses show that depression substantially increases the risk of dying from those illnesses.

Aside from the effects on health and on people’s well-being, depression exacts a heavy economic toll on individuals, families and on society as a whole. The total economic cost of depression in the U.S. is estimated to be $210 billion annually. That includes decreased productivity, medical expenses, and indirect medical costs.

Although there are known, effective treatments for depression, fewer than half of those affected by it receive such treatments. As depression is on the rise globally, the approval of a drug to treat cases resistant to treatment is most welcome, and necessary, news.

Neglect of Education, Death-Squads, and the Deep State Syndrome in Bangladesh

Taj Hashmi 

Education has almost everything to do with changing, modifying, and improving the levels of people’s culture (although “improving the cultural level” is a loaded and controversial expression). To remain politically correct, we may assert that education helps us broaden our world view, liberate ourselves from age-old, prejudicial ideas and practices promoted and nurtured by pre-modern feudalism, colonialism, and stagnating postcolonial states in the Third World, which are still clinging to many feudal and colonial values to the benefit of the postcolonial ruling elites. However, the systemic neglect of education at every level by all the post-Liberation governments in Bangladesh — the allocation for education being one of the lowest in the world, much lower than Sri Lanka’s — has not improved the cultural level of the bulk of the population.

There are three mediums of instruction in the country, Bengali, English, and Islamic or Madrasa, which respectively in general create under-employable, employable, and unemployable graduates. While the lower middle classes send their children to Bengali medium schools and colleges, the upper classes send their children to English medium institutions at home or abroad, and the poor can only afford Madrasa education for their children, who grow up as fatalist, unemployable, angry and frustrated adults. Last but not least, the official policy of promoting only Bengali medium education by almost classifying English-medium education as anti-national and unpatriotic (albeit it is grossly hypocritical and dichotomous to what the elites do with regard to the education of their own children) is mainly responsible for massive unemployment among “educated” and unemployable graduates in the country, their number is in the neighborhood of thirty to forty per cent. The consequential employment of tens of thousands of English-educated Indians in the private sector costs the country very dearly, to the tune of almost three billion dollars per year, remitted to India by the Indians, mostly working illegally in Bangladesh.

The education system that produces semi-educated, and even virtually illiterate people, cannot produce politically conscious citizens to question, let alone resist, autocracy, and extra-judicial killing, which are the building blocks of an overpowering Deep State. Bad education is possibly worse than illiteracy as it destroys traditional values that nurture civility, honesty, mutual love, trust and respect among people without building any better alternatives.

Postcolonial states like Pakistan and Bangladesh — as studied by Hamza Alavi — are glaring examples in this regard. As Alavi has pointed out , in postcolonial Pakistan and Bangladesh over-developed military, bureaucracy, and police run the state where the civil society being under-developed, remain dormant, ineffective, and irrelevant. In recent years, while the situation has substantially improved in Pakistan, Bangladesh has virtually become a police-state run by the over-developed military, bureaucracy, and police. Since January 2007, the Deep State is actually running Bangladesh, where the so-called elected governments are virtually at its service. The Deep State is also known as a state within a state, a clandestine government runs the show. As David de Leon pointed out in 1903, private corporations had been running the United States to the detriment of the best interests of the people [ David de Leon, “Imperialism in Imperio”, Daily People (editorial) June 4, 1903], so do modern scholars point out several deep states, like the CIA in the US, the ISI in Pakistan (its military intelligence outfit) are examples in this regard. The deep state is made of covert networks of power, such as the military, intelligence agencies, police, bureaucrats, and big business, who operate independently of a nation’s political leadership, in pursuit of their own agenda and goals.

In Bangladesh today, the culture of the deep state is more powerful than the collective mass culture of compliance, apathy, and dejection. The slow and steady rise of the deep state was inevitable after the Government in 2004 had introduced the dreadful Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) or death-squads à la Hitler’s Gestapo or secret police, and the Schutzstaffel, or SS troops, and the last Shah’s SAVAK in Iran, initially to get rid of hard-core criminals, which by early 2007 became the fearsome and unaccountable death-squads. Initially, cross sections of Bangladeshis, including educated people, welcomed the RAB as their last hope for restoring order in Bangladesh. It is time to understand people’s unconditional support for extra-judicial killings by the dreadful RAB actually symbolizes people’s diminishing respect for the police and judiciary. This culture of lack of faith in law-enforcers and the judiciary is an age-old tradition of Bengal, developed out of pragmatic reasons, or people’s experience of living under brutal pre-colonial and colonial regimes for centuries, from the Palas to the Senas, and the Mughals to the British. This culture of admiration for the RAB, which is a powerful organ of the deep state is very pertinent to the study of the cultural dimension of underdevelopment, or the absence of democracy, freedom, and human rights in Bangladesh.

Again, thanks to the excesses of the RAB — in a killing spree since 2007 — which has forcibly made hundreds of dissidents and others disappear across the country, the vast majority of Bangladeshis want a way out of the state of fear. In sum, Bangladesh is not only a fractured polity today — which is roughly divided between the Awami Leaguers and Anti-Awami Leaguers — it is also in a state of confusion, fear, and uncertainties. How long the so-called myth of prosperity will keep the underdogs — at least 70 per cent of the population live below the poverty-line drawn at more than $1.90 per capita income per day — is an embarrassingly loaded question. Nobody wants to answer it, economists, development practitioners, human rights activists, let alone the Government!

I end this submission with an old Urdu story, which goes like this: One poor widow invited four maulvis to pray for her dead husband. She prepared a good meal for them as well. Incidentally, all the four so-called maulvis were illiterate, even did not know any prayers. The first one came and while eating halwa and paratha, started murmuring in subdued voice, ” Mai kutch nahi janta” (I don’t know anything). Then came the second maulvi and sat next to the first one. He wanted to follow the first. He was shocked, and started chanting in low voice, “Jaisa tu, waysa mai” (I am like yourself). Then came the third one, and after discovering what was going on there, was very worried and started chanting in low voice,”Yeh kab tak chalega? (How long will this last?). Then came the fourth one, who was illiterate but smart. After listening to all the three maulvis, he just grabbed the bowl of halwa and parathas, and started gulping the food and started chanting, also in low voice: “Jab tak chale chala jaye, halwa-paratha khaya jaye” (Let us all eat halwa-paratha as long as we can!). I think the situation in Bangladesh is very similar to what was going on at the old lady’s house that day, ignorant but powerful people are busy ruining the country with their crude culture, ignorance, and brute force!

Pulwama attack: Politicizing a conflict for electoral gains

George Abraham

Ever since the attack in Pulwama by a suicide bomber killing 42 of India’s security personnel, the country has been on the edge fearing an all-out war with Pakistan.  Any civilized person could see the barbarity of this dastardly terrorist act only with disgust and rage. However, a confrontation between these two nuclear powers is neither in the interest of these two nations nor does it bode well for the future of this turbulent region. Pakistan has been waging a proxy war with India over the Kashmir issue from the time of Independence, and a final solution to this crisis is not within sight.

Some would argue that this is the time of war and everyone should keep their apprehensions about its conduct or any other questions they may have close to their chest.  However, a massive intelligence failure of this magnitude over the Pulwama tragedy should not be missed. How did a young man in his twenties, who was already on the radar of the Security personnel, come to possess, pack & conceal, and then drive 300KG worth of explosives towards a military convoy undetected? Reports from the region suggest that a police advisory was already in effect a week before this, stating that the Central Reserve Police Force deployment would be targeted. Where is the accountability on these massive security lapses?

A recent New York Times report paints a scathing image of India’s vintage military equipment and its impact on military readiness. “India’s armed forces are in alarming shape. If intense warfare broke out tomorrow, India could supply its troops with only 10 days of ammunition according to government estimates. And 68 percent of the army’s equipment is so old. It is officially considered ‘vintage’”.  A swollen bureaucracy together with lack of funding obviously rendered these procurement and training processes anything but cumbersome.

Nevertheless, India was left with no choice but to retaliate. Pakistan has been aiding and abetting Jaesh-e-Mohammed and its leader Masood Azhar despite the pressure from the U.N. and other international bodies. The Air Force was tasked to strike these terror targets in Balakot region: an order that was carried out despite bad weather conditions. The Indian Military has been known for its professionalism and respect for civilian leadership in a democratic setup. Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa refused to give a casualty count saying “”IAF doesn’t count the number of dead” and the “casualty figure in an air strike on Balakot camp will be given by the government,” referring to the air strike it had carried out on February 26, 2019.

However, what we have witnessed following the strike from the Government and the BJP leaders would not only sully the image of India but also the nation’s credibility through overt politicization of this conflict, as the country is preparing itself for a critical election. First, the leaked information from sources to the media put the casualty count at 300 to 350. Western intelligence sources and the International press immediately cast severe doubt on these numbers, and some reports directly from the ground characterized the damages as minimal.

However, in public speeches, Amit Shah, the President of the ruling party BJP, talked about 250 terrorists being wiped out. Other BJP leaders like BS Yeddyurappa said that his party would win 22 seats in Karnataka after the strike. It is as if BJP leaders are relishing these moments of war and salivating about the prospects of riding to victory in the fog of a protracted fight between these nations. It boggles one’s mind to believe that after the Pulwama attack, the terrorists associated with Jaesh-e-Mohammed just gathered together to sleep in one place, making an easy target of themselves for the IAF!

Anyone who questioned the veracity of these BJP leaders’ claims is called an anti-nationalist and accused of doing Pakistan’s bidding. “At a time when our army is engaged in crushing terrorism, inside the country and outside, some people within the country are trying to break their morale, which is cheering our enemy,” Modi said at an election rally. “I want to know from Congress and its partners why they are making statements that are benefiting the enemies”, he added. Modi is apparently absent from the capital in managing the conflict. Instead, he is entirely taking advantage of the ongoing battle on his campaign trail, vilifying the opposition and questioning their patriotism for political advantage.

Another shameful spectacle that is unfolding in India today is the blatant display of jingoism by the media and their networks to propel a wider war.  Instead of bringing together the nation at a time of crisis, some of these news channels are creating divisions, promoting hate and sowing discord. They broadcast manufactured news; shamelessly appropriate nationalism; and designate a segment as enemy allies. Many of them have become vassals of special interests mostly controlled by crony capitalists aligned with the ruling party.

It is also sad to hear that there is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation created for Kashmiri students across the country, as Sangh Parivar forces target them for revenge attacks. “It is no secret that the Bajrang Dal and the student wing of the Sangh were foremost in fomenting trouble against Kashmiri students in various parts of India. This was done keeping in mind the upcoming general election”, Omar Abdulla, former Chief Minister of Kashmir said. “It is obvious that BJP sees an advantage in these types of environments. It helps them paper over Modi’s mistakes like demonetization, joblessness, India’s poor economic growth and the distress faced by the country’s agricultural sector” he added.

We collectively admire the bravery and sacrifice of our armed forces. They are fighting to keep all Indians safe and protect the sovereignty of the nation from terrorists and a country that provides haven to them. Moreover, they are fighting to safeguard our democratic traditions and way of life. As Sashi Kumar, a commentator eloquently put it recently, “they are not fighting for this or that political party; they are not fighting for the electoral gains of the ruling party or of the opposition. However, they are if anything fighting the religious fundamentalism of one kind but not to replace it with the rampant religious fundamentalism of another kind, even of the majoritarian variety”.

The BJP’s strategy appears to be clear and straightforward: playing up Hindu nationalism; linking Kashmiri youth and Jihadi terrorists supported by an enemy, Pakistan; and providing ‘red meat’ to a large segment of the voting public, who are so disappointed with Modi’s failure to deliver his campaign promises. However, this is all at the risk of endangering India’s democratic and pluralistic values, and accelerating animosity between two armed nuclear neighbors, which may even put them on a path to potential disaster!

Syria Accuses U.S. Stole 40+ Tons of Its Gold

Eric Zuesse

The Syrian National News Agency headlined on February 26th, “Gold deal between United States and Daesh” (Daesh is ISIS) and reported that,

Information from local sources said that US army helicopters have already transported the gold bullions under cover of darkness on Sunday [February 24th], before transporting them to the United States.

The sources said that tens of tons that Daesh had been keeping in their last hotbed in al-Baghouz area in Deir Ezzor countryside have been handed to the Americans, adding up to other tons of gold that Americans have found in other hideouts for Daesh, making the total amount of gold taken by the Americans to the US around 50 tons, leaving only scraps for the SDF [Kurdish] militias that serve them [the U.S. operation].

Recently, sources said that the area where Daesh leaders and members have barricaded themselves in, contains around 40 tons of gold and tens of millions of dollars.

Allegedly, “US occupation forces in the Syrian al-Jazeera area made a deal with Daesh terrorists, by which Washington gets tens of tons of gold that the terror organization had stolen, in exchange for providing safe passage for the terrorists and their leaders from the areas in Deir Ezzor where they are located.”

ISIS was financing its operations largely by the theft of oil from the oil wells in the Deir Ezzor area, Syria’s oil-producing region, and they transported and sold this stolen oil via their allied forces, through Turkey, which was one of those U.S. allies trying to overthrow Syria’s secular Government and install a Sunni fundamentalist regime that would be ruled from Riyadh (i.e., controlled by the Saud family). This gold is the property of the Syrian Government, which owns all that oil and the oil wells, which ISIS had captured (stolen), and then sold. Thus, this gold is from sale of that stolen black-market oil, which was Syria’s property.

The U.S. Government claims to be anti-ISIS, but actually didn’t even once bomb ISIS in Syria until Russia started bombing ISIS in Syria on 30 September 2015, and the U.S. had actually been secretly arming ISIS there so as to help ISIS and especially Al Qaeda (and the U.S. was strongly protecting Al Qaeda in Syria) to overthrow Syria’s secular and non-sectarian Government. Thus, whereas Russia started bombing ISIS in Syria on 30 September 2015, America (having become embarrassed) started bombing ISIS in Syria on 16 November 2015. The U.S. Government’s excuse was “This is our first strike against tanker trucks, and to minimize risks to civilians, we conducted a leaflet drop prior to the strike.” They pretended it was out of compassion — not in order to extend for as long as possible ISIS’s success in taking over territory in Syria. (And, under Trump, on the night of 2 March 2019, the U.S. rained down upon ISIS in northeast Syria the excruciating and internationally banned white phosphorous to burn ISIS and its hostages alive, which Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had routinely done to burn alive the residents in Donetsk and other parts of eastern former Ukraine where voters had voted more than 90% for the democratically elected Ukrainian President whom Obama’s coup in Ukraine had replaced. It was a way to eliminate some of the most-undesired voters — people who must never again be voting in a Ukrainian national election, not even if that region subsequently does become conquered by the post-coup, U.S.-imposed, regime. The land there is wanted; its residents certainly are not wanted by the Obama-imposed regime.) America’s line was: Russia just isn’t as ‘compassionate’ as America. Zero Hedge aptly headlined “’Get Out Of Your Trucks And Run Away’: US Gives ISIS 45 Minute Warning On Oil Tanker Strikes”. Nobody exceeds the United States Government in sheer hypocrisy.

The U.S. Government evidently thinks that the public are fools, idiots. America’s allies seem to be constantly amazed at how successful that approach turns out to be.

Indeed, on 28 November 2012, Syria News headlined “Emir of Qatar & Prime Minister of Turkey Steal Syrian Oil Machinery in Broad Daylight” and presented video allegedly showing it (but unfortunately providing no authentication of the date and locale of that video).

Jihadists were recruited from throughout the world to fight against Syria’s secular Government. Whereas ISIS was funded mainly by black-market sales of oil from conquered areas, the Al-Qaeda-led groups were mainly funded by the Sauds and other Arab royal families and their retinues, the rest of their aristocracy. On 13 December 2013, BBC headlined “Guide to the Syrian rebels” and opened “There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters.” Except in the Kurdish areas in Syria’s northeast, almost all of those fighters were being led by Al Qaeda’s Syrian Branch, al-Nusra. Britain’s Center on Religion & Politics headlined on 21 December 2015, “Ideology and Objectives of the Syrian Rebellion” and reported: “If ISIS is defeated, there are at least 65,000 fighters belonging to other Salafi-jihadi groups ready to take its place.” Almost all of those 65,000 were trained and are led by Syria’s Al Qaeda (Nusra), which was protected by the U.S.

In September 2016 a UK official “FINAL REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON COMBATING TERRORIST AND FOREIGN FIGHTER TRAVEL” asserted that, “Over 25,000 foreign fighters have traveled to the battlefield to enlist with Islamist terrorist groups, including at least 4,500 Westerners. More than 250 individuals from the United States have also joined.” Even just 25,000 (that official lowest estimate) was a sizable U.S. proxy-army of religious fanatics to overthrow Syria’s Government.

On 26 November 2015, the first of Russia’s videos of Russia’s bombing ISIS oil trucks headed into Turkey was bannered at a U.S. military website “Russia Airstrike on ISIS Oil Tankers”, and exactly a month later, on 26 December 2015, Britain’s Daily Express headlined “WATCH: Russian fighter jets smash ISIS oil tankers after spotting 12,000 at Turkish border”. This article, reporting around twelve thousand ISIS oil-tanker trucks heading into Turkey, opened: “The latest video, released by the Russian defence ministry, shows the tankers bunched together as they make their way along the road. They are then blasted by the fighter jet.” The U.S. military had nothing comparable to offer to its ‘news’-media. Britain’s Financial Times headlined on 14 October 2015, ”Isis Inc: how oil fuels the jihadi terrorists”. Only America’s allies were involved in this commerce with ISIS — no nation that supported Syria’s Government was participating in this black market of stolen Syrian goods. So, it’s now clear that a lot of that stolen oil was sold for gold as Syria’s enemy-nations’ means of buying that oil from ISIS. They’d purchase it from ISIS, but not from Syria’s Government, the actual owner.

On 30 November 2015 Israel’s business-news daily Globes News Service bannered “Israel has become the main buyer for oil from ISIS controlled territory, report”, and reported:

An estimated 20,000-40,000 barrels of oil are produced daily in ISIS controlled territory generating $1-1.5 million daily profit for the terrorist organization. The oil is extracted from Dir A-Zur in Syria and two fields in Iraq and transported to the Kurdish city of Zakhu in a triangle of land near the borders of Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Israeli and Turkish mediators come to the city and when prices are agreed, the oil is smuggled to the Turkish city of Silop marked as originating from Kurdish regions of Iraq and sold for $15-18 per barrel (WTI and Brent Crude currently sell for $41 and $45 per barrel) to the Israeli mediator, a man in his 50s with dual Greek-Israeli citizenship known as Dr. Farid. He transports the oil via several Turkish ports and then onto other ports, with Israel among the main destinations.

After all, Israel too wants to overthrow Syria’s secular, non-sectarian Government, which would be replaced by rulers selected by the Saud family, who are the U.S. Government’s main international ally.

On 9 November 2014, when Turkey was still a crucial U.S. ally trying to overthrow Syria’s secular Government (and this was before the failed 15 July 2016 U.S.-backed coup-attempt to overthrow and replace Turkey’s Government so as to impose an outright U.S. stooge), Turkey was perhaps ISIS’s most crucial international backer. Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s leader, had received no diploma beyond k-12, and all of that schooling was in Sunni schools and based on the Quran. (He pretended, however, to have a university diploma.) On 15 July 2015, AWD News headlined “Turkish President’s daughter heads a covert medical corps to help ISIS injured members”. On 2 December 2015, a Russian news-site headlined “Defense Ministry: Erdogan and his family are involved in the illegal supply of oil”; so, the Erdogan family itself was religiously committed to ISIS’s fighters against Syria, and they were key to the success of the U.S. operation against Syrians — theft from Syrians. The great investigative journalist Christof Lehmann, who was personally acquainted with many of the leading political figures in Africa and the Middle East, headlined on 22 June 2014, “U.S. Embassy in Ankara Headquarter for ISIS War on Iraq – Hariri Insider”, and he reported that the NATO-front the Atlantic Council had held a meeting in Turkey during 22-23 of November 2013 at which high officials of the U.S. and allied governments agreed that they were going to take over Syria’s oil, and that they even were threatening Iraq’s Government for its not complying with their demands to cooperate on overthrowing Syria’s Government. So, behind the scenes, this conquest of Syria was the clear aim by the U.S. and all of its allies.

The U.S. had done the same thing when it took over Ukraine by a brutal coup in February 2014: It grabbed the gold. Iskra News in Russian reported, on 7 March 2014, that “At 2 a.m. this morning … an unmarked transport plane was on the runway at Borosipol Airport” near Kiev in the west, and that, “According to airport staff, before the plane came to the airport, four trucks and two Volkswagen minibuses arrived, all the truck license plates missing.” This was as translated by Michel Chossudovsky at Global Research headlining on 14 March, “Ukraine’s Gold Reserves Secretly Flown Out and Confiscated by the New York Federal Reserve?” in which he noted that, when asked, “A spokesman for the New York Fed said simply, ‘Any inquiry regarding gold accounts should be directed to the account holder.’” The load was said to be “more than 40 heavy boxes.” Chossudovsky noted that, “The National Bank of Ukraine (Central Bank) estimated Ukraine’s gold reserves in February to be worth $1.8 billion dollars.” It was allegedly 36 tons. The U.S., according to Victoria Nuland (Obama’s detail-person overseeing the coup) had invested around $5 billion in the coup. Was her installed Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk cleaning out the nation’s gold reserves in order to strip the nation so that the nation’s steep indebtedness for Russian gas would never be repaid to Russia’s oligarchs? Or was he doing it as a payoff for Nuland’s having installed him? Or both? In any case: Russia was being squeezed by this fascist Ukrainian-American ploy.

On 14 November 2014, a Russian youtube headlined “In Ukraine, there is no more gold and currency reserves” and reported that there is “virtually no gold. There is a small amount of gold bars, but it’s just 1%” of before the coup. Four days later, Zero Hedge bannered “Ukraine Admits Its Gold Is Gone: ‘There Is Almost No Gold Left In The Central Bank Vault’”. From actually 42.3 tons just before the coup, it was now far less than one ton.

The Syria operation was about oil, gold, and guns. However, most of America’s support was to Al-Qaeda-led jihadists, not to ISIS-jihadists. As the great independent investigative journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva reported on 2 July 2017:

“In December of last year while reporting on the battle of Aleppo as a correspondent for Bulgarian media I found and filmed 9 underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. They were used by Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria designated as a terrorist organization by the UN).”

The U.S. had acquired weapons from around the world, and shipped them (and Gaytandzhieva’s report even displayed the transit-documents) through a network of its embassies, into Syria, for Nusra-led forces inside Syria. Almost certainly, the U.S. Government’s central command center for the entire arms-smuggling operation was the world’s largest embassy, which is America’s embassy in Baghdad.

Furthermore, On 8 March 2013, Richard Spenser of Britain’s Telegraph reported that Croatia’s Jutarnji List newspaper had reported that “3,000 tons of weapons dating back to the former Yugoslavia have been sent in 75 planeloads from Zagreb airport to the rebels, largely via Jordan since November. … The airlift of dated but effective Yugoslav-made weapons meets key concerns of the West, and especially Turkey and the United States, who want the rebels to be better armed to drive out the Assad regime.”

Also, a September 2014 study by Conflict Armaments Research (CAR), titled “Islamic State Weapons in Iraq and Syria”, reported that not only east-European, but even U.S.-made, weapons were being “captured from Islamic State forces” by Kurds who were working for the Americans, and that this was very puzzling and disturbing to those Kurds, who were risking their lives to fight against those jihadists.

In December 2017, CAR headlined “Weapons of the Islamic State” and reported that “this materiel was rapidly captured by IS forces, only to be deployed by the group against international coalition forces.” The assumption made there was that the transfer of weapons to ISIS was all unintentional.

That report ignored contrary evidence, which I summed up on 2 September 2017 headlining “Russian TV Reports U.S. Secretly Backing ISIS in Syria”, and reporting there also from the Turkish Government an admission that the U.S. was working with Turkey to funnel surviving members of Iraq’s ISIS into the Deir Ezzor part of Syria to help defeat Syria’s Government in that crucial oil-producing region. Moreover, at least one member of the ‘rebels’ that the U.S. was training at Al Tanf on Syria’s Jordanian border had quit because his American trainers were secretly diverting some of their weapons to ISIS. Furthermore: why hadn’t the U.S. bombed Syrian ISIS before Russia entered the Syrian war on 30 September 2015? America talked lots about its supposed effort against ISIS, but why did U.S. wait till 16 November 2015 before taking action, “’Get Out Of Your Trucks And Run Away’: US Gives ISIS 45 Minute Warning On Oil Tanker Strikes”?

So, regardless of whether the U.S. Government uses jihadists as its proxy-forces, or uses fascists as its proxy-forces, it grabs the gold — and grabs the oil, and takes whatever else it can.

This is today’s form of imperialism. Grab what you can, and run. And call it ‘fighting for freedom and democracy and human rights and against corruption’. And the imperial regime’s allies watch in amazement, as they take their respective cuts of the loot. That’s the deal, and they call it ‘fighting for freedom and democracy and human rights and against corruption around the world’. That’s the way it works. International gangland. That’s the reality, while most of the public think it’s instead really“fighting for freedom and democracy and human rights and against corruption around the world.” For example, as RT reported on Sunday, March 3rd, about John Bolton’s effort at regime-change in Venezuela, Bolton said: “I’d like to see as broad a coalition as we can put together to replace Maduro, to replace the whole corrupt regime,’ Bolton told CNN’s Jake Tapper.” Trump’s regime wants to bring clean and democratic government to the poor Venezuelans, just like Bush’s did to the Iraqis, and Obama’s did to the Libyans and to the Syrians and to the Ukrainians. And Trump, who pretends to oppose Obama’s regime-change policies, alternately expands them and shrinks them. Though he’s slightly different from Obama on domestic policies, he never, as the U.S. President, condemn’s any of his predecessors’ many coups and invasions, all of which were disasters for everybody except America’s and allies’ billionaires. They’re all in on the take.

The American public were suckered into destroying Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011, Syria in 2011-now, and so many other countries, and still haven’t learned anything, other than to keep trusting the allegations of this lying and psychopathically vicious and super-aggressive Government and of its stenographic ‘news’-media. When is enough finally enough? Never? If not never, then when? Or do most people never learn? Or maybe they don’t really care. Perhaps that’s the problem.

On March 4th, the Jerusalem Post bannered “IRAN AND TURKEY MEDIA PUSH CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT US, ISIS: Claims pushed by Syrian regime media assert that US gave ISIS safe passage out of Baghuz in return for gold, a conspiracy picked up in Tehran and Ankara”, and simply assumed that it’s false — but provided no evidence to back their speculation up — and they closed by asserting “The conspiracies, which are manufactured in Damascus, are disseminated to Iraq and Turkey, both of whom oppose US policy in eastern Syria.” Why do people even subscribe to such ‘news’-sources as that? The key facts are hidden, the speculation that’s based on their own prejudices replaces whatever facts exist. Do the subscribers, to that, simply want to be deceived? Are most people that stupid?

Back on 21 December 2018, one of the U.S. regime’s top ‘news’-media, the Washington Post, had headlined “Retreating ISIS army smuggled a fortune in cash and gold out of Iraq and Syria” and reported that “the Islamic State is sitting on a mountain of stolen cash and gold that its leaders stashed away to finance terrorist operations.” So, it’s not as if there hadn’t been prior reason to believe that some day some of the gold would be found after America’s defeat in Syria. Maybe they just hadn’t expected this to happen quite so soon. But the regime will find ways to hoodwink its public, in the future, just as it has in the past. Unless the public wises-up (if that’s even possible).