India imposes regressive nationwide sales tax

Kranti Kumara 

With great fanfare, Narendra Modi’s Hindu supremacist, big business BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government has imposed a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Inaugurated July 1, the GST has been touted as an attempt to “modernize” India’s sales tax regime and create a single consumer market.

The rationale provided by the Modi government and its supporters in the press is that the GST will replace and/or harmonize the myriad of taxes that hitherto have been levied separately by the central and state governments depending upon the good or service. This, in turn, or so the argument goes, will ease the “cost of doing business,” attract new investments and, thereby, boost economic growth.

Under India’s federal constitution, the state governments were given the exclusive right to raise revenue through sales taxes on goods and services, with the central government permitted only to impose a Central Sales Tax (CST) on goods that had been transported across state lines. A constitutional amendment was therefore required to grant sales-tax powers to the central government before the GST could be approved by parliament.

In the case of intra (within) state commerce, the GST is comprised of two components, termed CGST (Central GST) and SGST (State GST). Commerce between India’s states is subjected to an Integrated GST, from which revenue payments are made to the central government and the exporting and importing states. All these taxes are ultimately off-loaded onto, and extracted from, the final consumer.

This “big-bang” tax-reform is part of a larger program of “pro-market” policies the right-wing Modi government has single-mindedly enacted since coming to power in May 2014. These are aimed at making India still more “investor friendly” and pushing the full brunt of the world capitalist crisis onto India’s workers and rural toilers.

The International Monetary Fund has given its full-throated endorsement of India’s GST, claiming it will propel the country’s GDP growth rate above 8 percent. The GST will aid in “efficient” movement of goods and services across the country, the IMF declared.

In reality, the GST is clearly structured to benefit big business at the expense of small traders and the working masses. It is part of a worldwide push to lower taxes on big business and the incomes of the rich, and, in the name of preferencing taxes on “consumption” over those on “productive investment,” to place an ever greater share of the burden of financing the state, including its burgeoning military and repressive apparatus, onto working people.

While the political establishment and corporate media hailed the adoption of the GST, its implementation was greeted by widespread protests across the country organized by associations representing big and small traders.

In a blow to Modi, who, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, drew substantial political support from small traders, textile traders in Surat, the state’s second largest city, commenced an indefinite “strike” or shutdown prior to the GST announcement. They are demanding a total exemption from the GST for textiles, since a significant part of the textile sector is small-scale cottage industry production. The protest resulted in the shutdown of the textile industry for close to a month, with tens of thousands of workers laid off and left without any means of support.

The textile industry in Gujarat had already been hard hit economically by the Modi regime’s demonetisation drive, which saw 85 percent of the country’s currency withdrawn overnight last November.

Barring a few food basic items and books and newspapers, all goods and services are now being taxed at rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

There is little logic to the various taxation rates. A significant number of goods defined as “luxury,” and therefore subject to the highest tax rate, are in fact broadly used. For example, motorcycles with engines of 350 cc or greater are taxed at 28 percent, although they clearly bear no comparison with the SUVs, sports cars, and private aircraft purchased by the rich and super-rich.

Similarly, it is punitive for the state to impose a 28 percent tax on electrical wires and television cables and, in the name of curbing the consumption of “sinful goods,” on beedis, the cheap cigarettes smoked by indigent workers.

While the government has widely popularized the claim that the top tax rate is 28 percent, there are in fact, some items that are being taxed at even higher rates. These include many “recreational” goods such as “pan-masala,” a chewable mélange of various items that Indians consume after meals to aid digestion.

The BJP and the media have claimed that the introduction of the GST will not result, on balance, in the average taxpayer paying more for goods and services, but this is patently false. Already there have been significant unexplained increases in the prices of many day-to-day items, like shampoo. Even the Firstpost website conceded the claim that the tax burden is not being increased is “greatly dependent” on whether companies “actually pass on to the end-consumers the benefits” of the input credits they are to receive under the GST regime.

The GST council responsible for setting the tax, comprised of the Finance Ministers of the central and state governments, is essentially oblivious to the massive social consequences of its actions.

The informal sector, where an estimated 70 to 80 percent of Indian workers are employed, has been hit especially hard by the GST since many of the goods they make have significantly increased in price. This has caused deep shock to the populace who have reacted with a mixture of indignation, anger and confusion. Whereas certain items were previously exempt from central excise taxes, which were imposed directly on the manufacturer, these exemptions have either been removed entirely or significantly curtailed under the GST.

Additionally, whereas merchants were exempt from the old central excise, now even petty merchants have to impose GST on the goods they sell, and file sales data monthly. Many, however, lack a computer to access the tax-filing system.

The GST will adversely impact Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector since their tax liability will rise substantially. SMEs are defined by the Indian government as those enterprises which have a capital investment of Rs 2.5 million to Rs. 100 million ($38,000 to $1.5 million). SMEs employ 40 percent of India’s workers.

The GST’s adverse impact is compounded by the low wages that prevail across India. According to official Labour Ministry data, the average daily wage in 2014 was a miserable Rupees (Rs.) 272 (US $4.25). Moreover, hundreds of millions of Indians eke out their existence on less, even far less, than this.

The argument that the GST is essential to create a single national market is disproven by the example of the United States, where sales taxes are imposed by states and counties, which are subdivisions of states.

Successive Indian governments have been attempting to enact this “tax modernization” for over a decade. The Modi government expended considerable political energy to overcame opposition from several state governments, which feared that their finances would be severely impacted by giving up their sole constitutional prerogative to collect sales taxes.

The GST is strikingly regressive in nature. Some countries, including Canada, make payments to low-income people to partially offset the magnified negative impact of GST-style consumption taxes on those whose incomes are so small that they must forego all pension and other savings. But from the start, the BJP’s GST scheme, like that of the Congress Party-led government that preceded it, made no provision for any such offset for the poor.

Nonetheless, the GST garnered enthusiastic support from across the political spectrum, including from the two main Stalinist parties, the CPM (Communist Party of India, Marxist) and the CPI (Communist Party of India).

The opposition to the GST, such as it was, focused almost entirely on technical details surrounding its implementation, such as how the states would be compensated for any loss of revenue. The Congress Party, with the support of the CPM, did call for a constitutional limit on the maximum GST rate of 18 percent, but when the BJP ruled this out of hand, quietly dropped the proposal.

Earthquake in China kills 25

Robert Campion

A major earthquake struck the Chinese province of Sichuan last week, destroying buildings, roads and communications, and leaving many areas vulnerable to landslides.

According to the state media release on Sunday, 25 people died in the quake and 525 have been injured, including 45 who are in a critical condition. Around 85,000 people have been relocated from affected towns and villages in the region, using tourist buses and private vehicles.

The quake occurred at 9:20 p.m. on August 8, in the mountainous area of Jiuzhaigou county and measured 7.0 on the Richter scale at a depth of 20 kilometres, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre.

Only hours later, another tremor, unconnected to the first, hit the northwestern province of Xinjiang. According to the US Geological Survey, this occurred in Jinghe county, about 2,200 kilometres from Jiuzhaigou and registered 6.3 on the Richter scale. At least 32 people were injured, with two in a serious condition.

The western provinces of China are situated in a tectonically unstable region. Major earthquakes occur every few years as a result of the interaction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Aftershocks from the events in Sichuan and Xinjiang are still occurring, with magnitudes of up to 4.8.

Liu Mian, a geophysicist at the University of Missouri, told the South China Morning Post: “We don’t know if this is ending, or dying down, so people need to be alert. It’s possible that there’s an even bigger one that will occur.”

Both quakes occurred in sparsely populated areas, which limited the destruction and loss of life. However, their remoteness also hampered rescue efforts. It was roughly 24 hours before most major roads were reopened in Jiuzhaigou by clearing boulders and debris.

In a preliminary analysis of the disaster in Sichuan province, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction estimated that more than 130,000 houses could have been damaged.

According to the Sichuan provincial government, the damage in Pingwu county, a more urbanised area just southeast of the epicentre, has been estimated as being over 110 million yuan ($US17 million).

Most of the displaced people are now housed in makeshift tents provided by authorities, waiting out the subsequent tremors and for government assistance. Authorities have set up 200 evacuation centres and have deployed some 600 fire officers and soldiers, according to the People’s Daily.

Jiuzhaigou county relies heavily on the tourist industry, which peaks at this time of year. Two thirds of its economy is based on services, according to its economic yearbook, and approximately 40,000 tourists were visiting the area each day prior to the quake.

After the earthquake, important tourist sites have been destroyed, and valleys left prone to landslides that could take years to rehabilitate. Many businesses and tourist operators face the costs of reconstruction without their economic lifeline.

The strength and location of the earthquake recalls the devastating 2008 Sichuan quake that hit closer to the provincial capital Chengdu, killing nearly 90,000 people and injuring approximately 375,000.

That tragedy exposed the reality of class relations in China. Many schools and buildings in poor areas collapsed due to the lack of reinforcement and poor quality concrete, killing the occupants inside. Yet those buildings designed for the use of top officials or members of the wealthy elite survived due to higher construction standards.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faced a furore from angry survivors. Fearful that the tragedy would become a focus for national unrest, the government dispatched Premier Wen Jiabao to the area in a show of support and sympathy. In the end, however, it resorted to arrests and intimidation to suppress demands for a genuine investigation and greater assistance.

In the wake of the latest Sichuan tremor, President Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts to rapidly organise relief work and rescue the injured people.” Such calls are completely cynical, however, and designed to cover up the lack of measures to minimise the impact of quakes.

Since 2008, little has been done to address the quality of building materials in the countryside. Only 6 percent of residential properties in rural areas conform to anti-seismic design requirements, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

Instances of corruption have also plagued reconstruction efforts. A National Audit Office report in 2012 revealed that 1.4 billion yuan ($228 million) of the funds made available for relief work after the 2008 Sichuan disaster had been embezzled or illegally transferred.

The life expectancy of buildings in China averages 25 to 30 years, less than half of those in the United States (70 to 75 years), and less than a quarter of that in Britain (132 years). Building codes are frequently sidestepped in the rush to maximise profits.

Reports have also surfaced of new villages built for earthquake survivors in some locations showing cracks in the walls, leaky pipes and faulty wiring. One such area is Longtoushan, in Yunnan province, where a 6.3 quake hit in 2014. “We are terrified,” one anonymous resident told Caixin Global, a Beijing media company, “If a relatively small earthquake could do this much damage, what will happen when a bigger one strikes?”

China accelerates privatisation of state-owned enterprises

Gary Alvernia

Recent Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announcements indicate it is preparing to speed up the privatisation of state-owned companies (SOEs), by converting the vast majority into joint stock companies, open to private investment, by the end of the year. While praised by the corporate media as a milestone in opening up the Chinese economy, this move will pave the way for a massive assault on workers’ jobs and conditions.

Collectively, SOEs still account for nearly half of all China’s economic production, assets and profits, despite the substantial boosting of the private sector since the 1980s as a result of the processes of capitalist restoration. The proportion is nearly 70 percent in sectors such as mining, energy production, defence and heavy industry.

There are about 155,000 SOEs, worth a combined $US17 trillion, with roughly two-thirds owned by local governments and one-third controlled by the central government. Of these, some 100 SOEs, all controlled by the central government, constitute the lion’s share of public sector economic activity, and include the 10 largest corporations in China.

Globally, China’s largest SOEs account for 5–10 percent of global revenue in coal mining, banking and industrial production. These are the corporations that primarily have been targeted for conversion into joint-stock companies.

Currently, SOEs are owned fully by the government. Even among those companies that are publicly traded on financial markets, the CCP owns the vast majority of shares, giving it control. The government is now offering up to 50 percent of available shares to domestic and foreign private investors. Hence the term joint-stock company, as SOEs would be co-owned by public and private entities. The CCP would still retain ultimate control of the companies, with the right to select the board of directors.

The government has claimed that nearly 90 percent of the 100 biggest SOEs have completed the conversion process into joint-stock companies, with the remainder expected to be ready by the end of the year.

SOEs are highly profitable, and are often exploited as sources of wealth and political power by high-ranking officials within the corrupt CCP bureaucracy. Such is the political importance of SOEs that the politicians who control the largest companies are often referred to as holding “fiefdoms.” The biggest SOEs often own company towns populated by hundreds of thousands of workers, with their own hospitals and schools, in addition to factories and offices.

Since the 2008 global economic breakdown, however, SOEs have come under increasing financial strain, largely surviving through massive borrowings from Chinese banks and government handouts. This is underscored by their ballooning debt over the past decade. It now stands at 175 percent of Chinese gross domestic product, an unprecedented figure. With this enormous debt posing a serious threat to financial stability, the CCP is hoping for an influx of foreign investment into the SOEs.

Beijing is also looking to boost the global competitiveness of the major SOEs. One of the provisions in the conversion process allows SOEs to form partnerships with private corporations within China and internationally, in order to acquire access to new technologies and assets.

Under pressure from American companies, US President Donald Trump has just initiated measures aimed against Chinese requirements that foreign investors in joint enterprises share technology and know-how, falsely branding this as the “theft” of intellectual property. Depending on the findings of the US trade representative, Trump could impose trade sanctions on China.

China’s SOEs have long been targets for privatisation. Over the past three decades, the social services, employment guarantees and pensions provided by SOEs have been substantially reduced. However, despite substantial pressure from international financial institutions, until now the CPC has avoided undertaking further steps toward privatisation.

Layers within the state apparatus who have carved out fiefdoms in the state-owned sector have resisted any undermining of their power and privileges. This strata, however, suffered a significant blow when leading CCP figure Bo Xilai was ousted as party secretary in Chongqing and eventually jailed on corruption charges. Bo was the most prominent defender of boosting the role of SOEs.

More fundamentally, the CCP regime fears that major job losses will provoke widespread social unrest. The CCP has retained power by suppressing strikes and protests, on the one hand, while maintaining high growth and relatively low levels of unemployment. The SOEs have been crucial, as they employ one-fifth of the total Chinese workforce.

The Chinese economy is now slowing significantly. Moreover, there is already a crisis of over-production in the steel and mining industries, where hundreds of thousands of workers have been sacked over the past two years. The transformation of SOEs into joint stock companies and their eventual privatisation could lead to a rapid rise in joblessness.

An article in the Economist entitled, “Reform of China’s ailing state-owned firms is emboldening them,” gave an indication of the scale of job losses. It cited the case of a recently privatised liquor company in Sichuan province. Immediately after municipal authorities sold it to a Chinese private equity firm, a third of the production workforce was fired.

It is not clear that the CPC will be able to transform its major SOEs into joint-stock companies. According to an article in the financial newspaper Caixin, 69 of the 100 major SOEs had not taken the necessary steps for conversion into joint-stock companies as of late July this year, contradicting government claims of a 90 percent completion rate.

The article, “China SOEs win concessions on taxes, fees,” noted that even with government assistance, the conversion of the 69 SOEs to joint-stock companies would require an expensive and time-consuming asset evaluation process. This could lead to the imposition of taxes under the country’s asset valuation laws. The article estimated that total costs could be as high as 500 billion yuan ($75 billion).

Regardless of whether the Chinese government meets its proposed deadlines, the conversion of SOEs to joint-stock companies is a form of back-door privatisation that will accelerate the attacks on the jobs and conditions of the Chinese working class.

IMF sharpens its warning on “dangerous” Chinese debt growth

Nick Beams 

The International Monetary Fund has issued its sharpest warning yet of the dangers that the build-up of debt in China poses to the country’s financial stability and the global financial system as a whole.

The IMF has been sounding the warning bell over Chinese debt for the past couple of years but the language it employed in its annual review of the country’s economy, issued earlier this week, showed that the concern is rising.

The review said the Chinese economy would grow faster than previously estimated over the next three years because of the government’s determination to meet its pledge to double the size of the economy between 2010 and 2020, and its use of debt to achieve its target. The IMF revised upward its estimate of Chinese growth rates. It said the economy would expand by an average 6.4 percent in 2018–2020, compared with its previous estimate of 6 percent, and by 6.7 percent in 2017, compared with its earlier forecast of 6.2 percent.

The rise in debt began in response to the 2008–2009 financial crisis, during which the Chinese economy shed some 23 million jobs. Since then, total debt has quadrupled, reaching $28 trillion by the end of last year.

According to the IMF, the rate of debt growth will accelerate over the next few years. It said China’s non-financial sector debt was now expected to reach 290 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022, compared with 235 percent last year. Previously the IMF estimated that debt would stabilise at around 270 percent of GDP over the next five years.

“International experience suggests that China’s credit growth is on a dangerous trajectory, with increasing risks of a disruptive adjustment and/or a marked growth slowdown,” the IMF said.

“Since 2008, private sector debt relative to GDP has risen by 80 percentage points to about 175 percent—such large increases have internationally been associated with sharp growth slowdowns and often financial crises.”

The report highlighted the growing dependence of economic growth on rising debt, noting that if credit growth had been kept at a sustainable rate, GDP growth in the five years between 2012 and 2016 would have averaged 5.5 percent, rather than the recorded level of 7.25 percent.

The Chinese government rejected the IMF’s warnings. According to Jin Zhongxia, China’s representative at the IMF, the expected stronger performance of the Chinese economy was not merely driven by policy stimulus. It was a “reflection of rebalancing and structural adjustment,” he said. The IMF scenario “of an abrupt slowdown of the Chinese economy … is highly unlikely.”

Chinese authorities are no doubt acting in the belief that the expansion of debt will be countered by economic growth.

Figures produced by the IMF, however, show a marked decline in the effect of credit stimulus on the economy. In 2008, new credit of 6.5 trillion renminbi produced a rise of 5 trillion renminbi in nominal GDP. In 2016, it took 20 trillion renminbi in new credit to obtain the same result. In other words, the impact of additional credit has fallen by two-thirds in the space of eight years.

While Chinese authorities have been somewhat dismissive of the IMF’s warnings, they are well aware of the problems posed by increased debt and have been trying to rein in expansion of credit in the so-called shadow banking system.

But government policy is not driven by purely economic considerations. Politics is a major factor.

Having long ago abandoned any commitment to socialism and social equality, the regime is seen by the population as ruling in the interests of major corporate and financial elites. Its political legitimacy rests solely on its ability to continue economic expansion. It lives in mortal fear that any significant economic slowdown will lead to the growth of opposition from the multi-million working class.

The fate of the Chinese economy has major international implications. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, China has been the major contributor to the expansion of the global economy, accounting for more than half the increase in world GDP in recent years.

With growth in the US economy stuck at 2 percent and below for the foreseeable future, that dependence is increasing. The IMF revised down its estimate for US growth in its most recent review of the American economy. Yet continued Chinese growth depends, in turn, on an increase in its debt levels, threatening to set off a financial crisis.

The IMF report also pointed to the rapid growth of the Chinese banking system. It said China now had one of the largest banking sectors in the world. At 310 percent of GDP, it was above the average for advanced economies and more than three times the average level for so-called emerging markets.

“The sharp growth in recent years reflects both a rise in credit to the real economy and intra-financial claims. The increase in size, complexity and interconnectedness of these exposures have resulted in sharply rising risks,” the report said.

The situation may be even worse than indicated by the IMF. According to Charlene Chu, a long-time analysis of the Chinese financial system, bad debt is some $6.8 trillion above the levels indicated by official figures. Government intervention, while providing stability in the short term, has allowed problems to grow.

Speaking to the Financial Times in the wake of the IMF report, she said while everyone knew about the credit problem in China, “people often forget about the scale. It’s important in global terms.”

Chu estimated that bad debt in the Chinese financial system would reach as much as $7.6 trillion by the end of this year, more than five times the official estimate of loans classified as either non-performing or one grade above. This implies a bad debt ratio of 34 percent, compared to the official ratio of 5.3 percent.

Chu said she appreciated how the authorities managed to orchestrate the financial system and an acute crisis did not appear imminent because Beijing could delay the emergence of problems longer than in a purely market-driven system.

“The upside is that it creates stability,” she commented. “The downside is that it can create a problem of proportions that people would think is never possible. We’re moving into that territory.”

Thirteen dead, over 80 injured in Islamic State attack in Barcelona, Spain

Alejandro López & Alex Lantier 

At least 13 people have been killed and over 80 injured, 15 seriously, after a van ploughed through crowds of people on La Rambla, Barcelona’s busiest pedestrian street, Thursday afternoon. According to the Catalan regional interior minister, Joaquim Forn, it “is very possible” that the death toll will rise.

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. “The perpetrators of the Barcelona attack are soldiers of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting coalition states,” the IS militia’s Amaq news agency declared.

La Rambla is one of the most popular parts of the city, with newsagents, flower sellers, street performers, cafés, restaurants, shops, painters and artists making it a major tourist destination. At the time of the rampage, in high tourist season, La Rambla was very crowded.

According to police, the van drove 530 meters of the 1.2 kilometer-long street, which stretches from Barcelona’s main square, Plaça de Catalunya, to the Christopher Columbus Monument at the port. Minutes later, adjoining streets were evacuated by police, as hundreds of people sheltered in doorways while others ran in terror.

A witness, Ellen Vercamm, told El País, “We were going to La Rambla when we saw a white van crashing against people. We saw how people were flying out because of the crash. We also saw three cyclists flying as the van ran them over.”

Another eyewitness, Rebeca, who works at a hotel, told La Vanguardia, “It’s tragic. I’ve seen several people on the ground run over and people were running and crying... The van went through the middle, razing everything.” At around six in the evening yesterday, she added, “Now we cannot go out and our guests are nervous and crying because they do not know where some of their relatives are.”

La Rambla was turned into an emergency field hospital yesterday, with the wounded being treated and local authorities appealing to people in the city to donate blood.

Thursday’s attack in Barcelona is the sixth such attack in Europe in the last 13 months. Attacks where a person driving a vehicle ploughs through crowds in high-density areas have also taken place in Nice (France), Stockholm, Berlin, Paris and London. In several of these previous attacks, the terrorists were well known to the intelligence agencies. They were part of a broader milieu that has operated as a proxy force for the US and European powers’ regime-change operations in Libya and Syria.

The identity of the attackers in Spain remains unclear, however, though it appears that a coordinated attack has taken place. As of this writing, large-scale operations by police special forces are unfolding across Catalonia.

Just after the attack took place, the attacker was alleged to be Driss Oukabir, a Moroccan born in Aghbala, legally residing in Spain. He has a police record but was released from Figueres prison, which he left in 2012. However, Oukabir, after seeing his photographs in the media, came to the police station in the town of Ripoll, where he lives, to report the theft of his documents.

Oukabir is still under interrogation to clarify why he did not report the robbery earlier, but his brother Moussa, 18, has now been named as a suspect in the theft of his documents.

According to the Guardia Civil paramilitary police, the van used in the attack was rented by Driss Oukabir in the town of Santa Perpetua de la Mogoda. Local police in another town, Vic, 70 kilometers from Barcelona, said they found a second vehicle that attackers might have planned to use as a getaway vehicle. Early this morning, the bomb squad was seeking to open the van with remote-controlled robots, fearing that the vehicle was rigged to explode.

Two men were detained, apparently after a standoff with police in a restaurant in La Rambla. However, Josep Lluis Trapero, the top official of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police, said that neither man was the driver of the van, who was still on the run this morning.

Another incident occurred when a white car skipped one of the police controls in Barcelona, running down three policemen; shots were reportedly fired as the driver fled the scene.

There are also reports that a gas explosion in the village of Alcanar, killing one person and wounding 13 yesterday morning, before the Barcelona attack, may have been linked to the ongoing terror attacks.

Sometime after 1 a.m. Spanish time today, police announced that they had launched an antiterror operation in the town of Cambrils. The Catalan regional government published Twitter messages calling for inhabitants of the town to stay inside and not to report anything on social media.

Police in Cambrils later said five suspects were shot and killed. Police claimed some of the dead were wearing explosive vests that could be used in suicide bomb attacks. Six civilians were reported wounded by the “alleged terrorists” before the police attack.

Deadly mudslide in Sierra Leone kills hundreds

Eddie Haywood 

After a torrent of heavy rains early Monday morning caused massive flooding, a devastating mudslide completely buried an entire neighborhood and hundreds of people under tons of debris near the capital city Freetown.

Set off by torrential rains in the early morning hours on Monday, the mudslide buried a mass of shanty dwellings and has claimed scores of victims, with the confirmed death toll reaching 304 on Wednesday, with rescue efforts continuing. According to rescuers at the site, several hundreds more remain unaccounted for and are feared dead. Scores more are severely injured. It is one of Africa’s deadliest natural disasters in recent memory.

The mudslide’s brutal force of momentum gathered high on the slopes of Mount Sugar Loaf after the abnormally heavy rains which culminated into a snowball effect, propelling tons of enormous stones, boulders, mud, and debris which buried everything in its wake. The scale of the social catastrophe is only beginning to be understood.

Abubakarr Bah, a colonel with the Sierra Leone army leading the rescue effort, told the media Wednesday that the city morgue at Connaught Hospital was overwhelmed by the significant numbers of dead. He reported that so far the dead included 105 men, 83 women, and 109 children. It is estimated that as many as 600 are unaccounted for, and that this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

The scenes of the floodwaters and the mudslide’s effects appearing in media reports are apocalyptic. The capital, Freetown, received more than double the amount of rain which typically falls between July 1 and August 13.

The heavy rains made literal rivers of streets in the Regent District and the towns beyond, although the population living directly below Mount Sugar Loaf experienced the worst of the mudslide’s destruction. This area is located five miles southeast of the capital and is home to some of the most impoverished residents in the country.

Housing in the district largely consists of little more than scraps of wood cobbled together with flimsy tin sheeting roof constructed into makeshift dwellings for the scores of residents, reflecting the severely impoverished conditions which the residents confront.

In the media, surviving residents agonizingly described family members buried alive under the mudslide.

Resident Alie Marah told Sky News, pointing to a large pile of debris, “My house is buried underneath there. There's nothing left. I've lost my brother, his wife and their five children. There used to be two hundred houses here. Now there is nothing".

James Chifwelu, the national director of the charity World Vision in Sierra Leone and part of the rescue effort, remarked on the “heartrending” experience of hearing the wails and moans of survivors trapped under piles of rubble.

"But it's most disturbing that many children in their school uniforms were unfortunately fatally caught up in the landslide and many more are homeless, orphaned and will be without food and clothing for days to come. This certainly calls for immediate action,'' Chifewelu said.

The deadly consequences of the catastrophic mudslide are nothing short of an indictment of the ruling government in Freetown.

For their part, the government of President Ernest Bai Koroma and other elected officials together with an assortment of religious leaders, made appearances before the public cynically employing religious piety and crocodile tears for the victims in an attempt to conceal the ruling government’s responsibility in overseeing the material conditions which made such a devastating mudslide possible.

The government, cynically calling for a moment of silence to honor the dead, trotted out bishop John Yambasu of the United Methodist Church to speak before a crowd gathered at the site of the mudslide. “We have been through 10 years of war, then Ebola and now this. Have mercy on Sierra Leone, Father.”

Contradicting the attempt to obscure responsibility for the disaster by making appeals to God is the fact that the ruling Koroma government presides over a society of abject social misery for the Sierra Leone masses.

Koroma, a multimillionaire former insurance tycoon, and his clique in Freetown, came to power in 2007 promising to “open Sierra Leone up for business.” This consisted of the wholesale removal of any obstacles or restrictions in making Sierra Leone and its working masses available for the profit of international banks and corporations.

Home to trillions of dollars in mineral deposits, including diamonds, gold and iron ore, Sierra Leone’s mining industry rests atop a brutal system overseeing the exploitation of the workers toiling in the mining sector for poverty wages at the behest of the Western corporations extracting the significant mineral wealth for private profit.

That this wealth is expropriated for the profit of a tiny layer of wealthy parasites at the expense of spending for vital infrastructure to deal with natural disasters is an indictment of the capitalist government in Freetown.

Already ravaged by years of civil war and disease, including the recent 2014 outbreak of Ebola, the underdeveloped country of over 7 million is one of the poorest on earth, ranking 180 out 187 on the Human Development Index.

Illustrating clearly the shocking level of social inequality in Sierra Leone are figures provided by the United Nations which document that more than 60 percent of the population resides in poverty. The reality is these numbers are likely much higher, as the poverty line is set at the absurdly low benchmark of $1.25 per day. Young people aged 15-35, whom comprise around a third of Sierra Leone’s population, cope with a 70 percent unemployment rate. Testifying to the lack resources made available for education is a literacy rate of 41 percent.

Life expectancy at birth is at the shockingly low age of 48, while infant mortality is at a high of 89 per 1000 live births. The rate of disease which afflicts the masses of Sierra Leone are largely due to lack of access to sanitation facilities for clean water and proper disposal of waste.

The responsibility for the lack of critical funding made available for decent housing and infrastructure is rested squarely on the shoulders of the Koroma government. The corrupt lackeys in ruling the country in Freetown subserviently act on the behalf of the Western corporations and banks responsible for extracting profits from the country’s resources at the expense of its deeply impoverished population.

Trump administration demands Internet records on 1.3 million political opponents

Don Barrett & Niles Niemuth

A Washington DC Superior Court will hear a challenge Friday to the ominous and anti-democratic warrant filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), demanding the emails, logs of visitor Internet addresses, contact information and photographs relating to the website DisruptJ20.org, a group that coordinated protests at President Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.

The search warrant, issued July 12, was directed at Los Angeles-based provider DreamHost, which hosts DisruptJ20.org on its servers, allowing individuals to access and use the site online. If the warrant is enforced, the activities of some 1.3 million visitors will be revealed to the government through the seizure of their personal Internet records.

DreamHost is challenging the warrant in the Superior Court. DreamHost’s general counsel, Chris Ghazarian, characterized the warrant as “a sweeping request for every single file we have.” He added, “The search warrant is not only dealing with everything in relation to the website, but also tons of data about people who visited it.”

The company’s filing notes: “Scrutiny of this type demonstrates that the warrant lacks the specificity required by the Fourth Amendment and is unreasonable as a whole. In addition, the search warrant violates the Privacy Protection Act and was not authorized by District of Columbia law. For the foregoing reasons, DreamHost respectfully requests that the government’s motion be denied.”

Mark Rumold, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group which has been advising DreamHost in its efforts to fight the warrant, denounced the warrant as an unconstitutional “fishing expedition.”

The warrant is part of a wide-ranging investigation into the DisruptJ20 inauguration day demonstrations in which several hundred people were arrested following several incidents of vandalism in which black bloc anarchists smashed bank and chain restaurant windows, threw garbage cans in the street, set off fireworks and injured six police officers.

While the vast majority of those arrested did not engage in any acts of vandalism, they now face charges of felony rioting, which carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison and a $25,000 fine. While all criminal charges have been dropped against the journalists, medics and legal observers among those arrested, 214 people face the possibility of long prison sentences for allegedly participating in the anti-Trump protest.

It cannot be ruled out that the vandalism was a provocation by the police themselves to justify the mass arrest of protesters and a further crackdown on democratic rights. It is well known that black bloc anarchist groups, whose members conceal their identities by wearing masks, are often riddled with police agents. The Washington Post reported in April that court documents revealed that police agents had infiltrated and participated in logistical meetings in the period before the January 20 protest.

Regardless of the political motivations of those involved in the protest, the DoJ’s wide-ranging investigation is aimed at suppressing popular opposition to the Trump administration’s anti-democratic policies and blocking left-wing political organization on the Internet.

The ruling class is well aware of the power of the Internet for facilitating protests from below, and even revolutions, such as the 2011 Egyptian and Tunisian revolts which overthrew long-time dictators Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. While social media services like Twitter have been promoted by the State Department as a means of destabilizing and overthrowing regimes which stand in the way of American imperialist interests, the ruling class fears the implications at home.

This is not the first attack on Internet dissenters by the Trump administration, but may be the first one to be aired in court. A Customs and Border Patrol warrant in March demanded identifying information for a Twitter account that published anonymous postings from individuals within the government critical of Trump’s policies. A public outcry and lawsuit led to the dropping of the warrant only weeks later.

Massive governmental intrusions into the daily lives and political activities of the population have become a defining feature of contemporary life in the United States. The erosion of constitutional guarantees has developed hand in hand with the need of the ruling class to suppress any signs of opposition from the working class.

While the Trump administration and the Republican congressional leadership attack democratic rights in a crude and brazen manner, the attack on fundamental democratic rights has long occupied both parties of the American ruling class.

No honest appraisal of the Trump administration’s attitude towards privacy is possible without reference to the vast expansion of domestic and international electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency under the Obama administration.

The DoJ under Obama brought Espionage Act charges against more people for leaking to the media than any other administration. Among those convicted or charged under Obama are Chelsea Manning (sentenced to 35 years in military prison), John Kiriakou (sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison) and Edward Snowden (exiled in Russia).

Since the election of Trump last year, the Democratic Party and allied media such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have been clamoring for Internet censorship of news and analysis that challenges the official narrative of the government on questions of war and domestic politics, on the grounds that all such material is “fake news” and “conspiracy theories.”

The Democrats’ unsubstantiated claims that Vladimir Putin and the Russian government used the Internet to influence the 2016 presidential election has been used to justify a widespread crackdown on a broad range of alternative media outlets. They have thereby created the pretext for Google to blacklist leading socialist and progressive media outlets, the World Socialist Web Site in particular.

The Trump administration’s effort to obtain information on those who accessed the DisruptJ20 website is an indication of the further crackdown on political dissent and attack on democratic rights which is being prepared at the highest levels of the state.

India-Afghanistan Relations: Innovating Continuity

Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy

Bilateral relations between India and Afghanistan have been characterised by ‘friendly engagement’ and underscored by positive public perception in both countries; this has continued after the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government took office in May 2014. Even then, emerging realities in and related to Afghanistan necessitate innovative action from both countries in at least three key sectors:

• Political
• Economy and developmental partnership
• Security

Political
Overall, over the past three years, political relations between India and Afghanistan have witnessed more flow than the perceived ebb. Both countries held national elections in 2014. The new dispensation in India treaded cautiously during the Afghan presidential election and also during the initial months of incumbent Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s presidency. The commonly held perception at that time was that this caution was due to President Ghani’s overtures to China and Pakistan. However, India demonstrated strategic patience and gauged developments; it continued with its developmental assistance and engagement in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, as President Ghani's disenchantment with the establishment in Pakistan grew, he began investing relatively more effort towards strengthening Afghanistan’s relations with India. Since May 2014, several high-level visits have taken place between the Indian and Afghan governments, including those of India’s vice president, prime minister, external affairs minister, national security adviser (NSA), and minister of law and justice; and Afghanistan’s former president, incumbent president, chief executive officer (CEO), NSA, deputy foreign minister, and army chief. Recently, the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan met Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIG), soon after the latter signed a peace deal with the Afghan government. This was the first such interaction between the two sides, and given that Hekmatyar, who is now politically vocal and active in Afghanistan, has enjoyed the patronage of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) throughout his years as a terrorist, the meeting demonstrates New Delhi's constructive approach towards the Afghan peace process. Moreover, it can also be viewed as part of India's broader efforts to play a greater, more proactive and responsible role in the overall regional stability and cooperation.

The overarching theme of Indo-Afghan political relations over the past three years has been that of camaraderie and productive exchanges. To build on this and ensure continuity, it would be useful to diversify engagements/cooperation to multiple levels and formats.

Economy and Developmental Partnership
Since 2001, India has spent US$ 2 billion on development assistance in Afghanistan. The past three years have seen continuity on this front. The previous government in New Delhi initiated numerous infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including the construction of Route 606, the new Afghan parliament complex and the Salma Dam (officially, the Afghan-India Friendship Dam); the establishment of the Afghan National Agricultural Sciences and Technology University (ANASTU); and investments in small development projects and skill-building-related initiatives.

After taking charge in 2014, the Modi government ensured completion of key pending projects such as that of the parliament and Salma Dam – both of which Prime Minister (PM) Modi jointly inaugurated with President Ghani during his visits to Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Visas for Afghan businesspersons and tourists were further liberalised; 500 scholarships were announced for the children of the martyrs of Afghan security forces; restoration of the Stor Palace was completed. In 2016, India pledged an additional US $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan. To overcome the obstacle of land contiguity posed by Pakistan, the India-Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor became become operational in June 2017, which has shipped agricultural produce, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment etc.. Additionally, India has steadily been working with regional countries on developing landlocked Afghanistan's connectivity to facilitate trade and movement of goods. In 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed the Trilateral Agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor (the Chabahar Agreement) and by September 2017, India will begin shipping 35,000 containers of wheat to Afghanistan via Iran's Chabahar port.

At present, bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan stands at US$ 700 million. New Delhi's economic relations with Kabul have been overshadowed by the development partnership, which is characterised in part by the view that sustainable development in Afghanistan requires long-term investment in the country. Economic relations will eventually have to evolve into one where the trade and investment component is bigger in proportion than the aid money India spends in Afghanistan so that both countries can benefit. Currently, all sectors of the Afghan economy need a sustainable boost. These matters could be partially addressed by developing a conducive environment (for instance, ease of doing business on issues such as formalities and joint ventures) and encouraging businesses and educational institutions (both small and big) from India and elsewhere to expand their footprint into Afghanistan.

The telecom sector is a potent area of cooperation given India's efforts in this sector in Afghanistan since 2001 and especially now given the NDA government’s Digital India initiative. Three months after India launched the South Asian Satellite, the Afghan Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology has reportedly requested India to launch a special satellite exclusively for its use. Cooperation in the textile sector too has potential. India's textile market is expected to touch US$ 250 billion by 2019, and Afghanistan is looking to revive its textile sector. A visit by Ms Smriti Irani - India's union cabinet minister of textiles as well as minister of information and broadcasting – who is popular in Afghanistan as a television actor - would be an excellent step in public diplomacy and useful to kick off cooperation on this front.

Security
Bilateral engagement in security-related issues has seen continuity and some enhancement. Although India is hesitant to supply lethal weapons to Afghanistan, it delivered three unarmed Cheetal helicopters and four refurbished Mi-25 assault helicopters to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) in April 2015 and December 2016, respectively. In 2016 and 2017, New Delhi participated in multiple Russia-led regional multilateral meetings aimed at addressing the security situation in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood, in addition to participating in other ongoing initiatives. Meanwhile, the new administration in the US may be considering different ideas regarding Indian participation in resolving the security situation in Afghanistan. India, too, is evaluating its options.

To that end, it might be useful for India to develop a framework of engagement that envisions human security in the broader ambit of security cooperation. Periodic consultations and exchanges could be held on short and long-term issues and involve Afghan local leaders, civil society members, police personnel and professionals from medical, telecom, education sectors. India enjoys tremendous goodwill in Afghanistan and New Delhi must try to find innovative and varied ways to enhance it, especially in the public diplomacy area. Cost-efficient methods could be explored for this purpose. Simple initiatives like visits by Indian cinema and television stars (even to promote their movies) could provide a sense of normalcy in the prevailing tense circumstances.

India can certainly 'afford' to be more proactive in Afghanistan, but proactiveness can be practised smartly. India should demonstrate confidence strategically and also continue to engage with Afghanistan in its unassuming style. 

Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA) Fully-funded PhD Scholarships for International Students 2018

Application Deadline: for August 2018 intake is 1st January 2018

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: International Students

To be taken at (country): National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore

Eligible Field of Study: PhD in Science, Engineering and Research

About Scholarship: The Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA) is a collaboration between the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to offer PhD training to be carried out in English at your chosen lab at A*STAR Research Institutes, NUS or NTU. Students will be supervised by distinguished and world-renowned researchers in these labs. Upon successful completion, students will be conferred a PhD degree by either NUS or NTU.

Type: PhD, Research

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

• The scholarship is open to all international students
• Excellent academic results to be in the top 20% of your cohort
• Graduate with a passion for research and excellent academic results
• Good skills in written and spoken English
• Good reports from two academic referees

Number of Scholarships: up to 240

Value of Scholarship

• Attractive monthly stipend over 4 years of PhD studies, which can support you comfortably. The stipend amount is SGD 24,000 annually, to be increased to SGD 30,000 after passing Qualifying Examination.
• Full support for tuition fees for 4 years of PhD studies.
• One-time SGD 1,000 Settling-in Allowance
• One-time Airfare Grant of SGD 1,500

Duration of Scholarship: For the duration of the programme

How to Apply: Hard copies of the following supporting documents must be submitted to the SINGA Office:

Compulsory:

• A copy of your Identity Card or Passport
• Certified true copies of university transcript(s), one in English translation and the other in the original language
• Certified true copies of degree scroll(s) or a letter or certification from the university on your candidature if your degree scroll has not yet been conferred.
• Two Academic Referees’ Recommendation
• Two recent passport-sized photographs

Not compulsory but good to include (if any):

• A certified true copy of TOEFL / IELTS results
• A certified true copy of SAT I & II / GRE / GATE results
• Certified true copies of awards / prizes and certificates
• List of publications
• List of patents filed

If you need more Information about this scholarship, kindly visit the Scholarship Webpage

Sponsors: Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

Important Notes: Only short-listed candidates will be notified within 10 weeks from the application closing date.

Community Solar Innovation Awards for Entrepreneurs and Not-for-Profit Organizations in Developing Countries 2017

Application Deadline: 23rd August 2017

Eligible Countries: Developing Countries

\About the Award: The UN Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, were adopted in September 2015 by 193 countries to end extreme poverty, tackle inequality and injustice, and safeguard our planet. To achieve the 17 goals over the next 15 years, governments, the private sector and civil society must all play their part.

Recognizing that the opportunities for enterprises to impact sustainable development vary across industries, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals call for collaboration – Global Goal 17. The Community Solar Innovation Awards represent a visionary partnership across business sectors to lift people out of energy poverty and support community.

The Community Solar Innovation Awards 2017 recognizes and supports outstanding eco-inclusive businesses and not-for-profit organizations in developing countries that use solar energy or technologies to benefit lives in poor communities.

Type: Contest

Eligibility: Submissions should come from eligible non-OECD or non-European Union member states.

a) Demonstrate entrepreneurship and innovation

b) Application of solar technology in a productive way

c) Have the intention and potential to become financially sustainable

d) Be locally-driven or locally-led

e) Deliver social, environmental and economic benefits

f) Main activities and origin in non-OECD country and non-EU member state

g) Entrants cannot be accepted who are sanctioned parties or from sanctioned countries prohibited by the laws of the United Kingdom, the United States, or other applicable jurisdictions.

Submissions which do not meet ALL of the eligibility criteria will be disqualified by the Judges.

Selection Criteria: Judges will be looking for businesses which are locally-led and significantly help the lives of women and girls, particularly those which focus on gender equality or female empowerment.

Number of Awards: 10

Value of Award: The ten winners of the Hogan Lovells Community Solar Innovation Awards will each receive a package of tailored support consisting of:

Peer-to-Peer networking session: each winner will be invited to attend a peer-to-session to be held in South Africa, where they will be able to meet others facing similar challenges and learn from their experiences to grow their own business.

Capacity Building: one-on-one support and mentorship providing each winner with individual assistance with their business and financial plans.

Legal Advice: law firm Hogan Lovells will provide up to USD30,000-worth of legal advice for each winner*.

*Please see Terms & Conditions

Profiling: a high-level awards ceremony in South Africa, as well as additional marketing and promotional activities by SEED, Barefoot, and Hogan Lovells.

Replication Support: Each winner will receive support from SEED to replicate their business model in other regions around the world.

Financing: Hogan Lovells will provide USD10,000 to one overall winner to cover the organization’s most pressing needs. The details to be agreed in a support plan between the winner and the firm.

Timeline of Program:

• Stage 1: Submission of the application form – before 16 August 2017, 23:59 CET
• Stage 2: Selection of shortlisted applicants – end of September 2017
• Stage 3: Submission of Additional information – mid-October 2017
• Stage 4: Winner Selection – December 2017
• Stage 5: Award Ceremony – March 2018

How to Apply: There are two ways to apply for the Community Solar Innovation Awards 2017. Interested applicants should choose one, then apply.

It is necessary to read all of the eligibility requirements and application instructions before applying.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers:  Hogan Lovells