Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes can spill into deadly violence in South Africa. Minibus taxis are the most popular form of transport and violence is common between rival groups vying for dominance on profitable routes. On 21 July gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers’ association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others. They had attended a colleague’s funeral, and were returning to Johannesburg when the ambush occurred. In May South African media reported the deaths of ten people, in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town. In April four taxi drivers were shot dead in the war between two rival Johannesburg taxi associations. Those killings were sparked by the murder of one driver the previous week. Pray for common sense to prevail and end the tit-for-tat murders.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index revealed that North Korea has the most human slaves in the world. Research showed it keeps over 2.6 million people in modern day slavery - that is, one in every ten citizens is forced to work under slavery conditions. A UN Commission of Inquiry has observed that violations of human rights in North Korea are not mere excesses of the state, they are an essential component of the political system. Eritrea, described as ‘a repressive regime that abuses its conscription system to hold its citizens in forced labour for decades’, has the second highest prevalence of modern slavery. The others in the top ten are Burundi, the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Mauritania, South Sudan, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Iran. Most of these nations have conflict, displacement, and a lack of physical security. However, the conditions in North Korea, Eritrea, and Burundi stand out because slavery is state-imposed.

Pakistan’s election results are in doubt, with the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League (PML) rejecting the result amid widespread allegations of ballot rigging in favour of Imran Khan’s PTI party. With most of the votes counted, Khan’s party is in the lead, but the results have not yet been confirmed. The election was marred by violence, with 31 killed by a bomb at one polling station. The PML leader said his party’s polling agents had been evicted from dozens of stations by security officials before a final tally, so they were unable to monitor potential tampering. In fact almost every party except the PTI said their polling agents had been excluded from polling stations. For the first time ever, no Christian candidates were picked by the mainstream parties for the national assembly, so Christians will be bereft of a voice whoever wins. Khan said he will not change the blasphemy laws, rather he will ensure they are enforced. The blasphemy law is a discrimination tool for persecuting Christians.

The USA has the greatest inequalities, highest mortality rate, most regressive taxes, and largest public subsidies for bankers and billionaires of any developed capitalist country. According to the IRS, billionaire tax evasion amounts to $458 billion dollars in lost public revenues annually. Corporations sheltered over $2.5 trillion dollars in overseas tax havens and they paid no taxes. Bankers earned billions in profits from mortgage foreclosures of working class households through ‘favourable’ legal rulings. Over 20 million individuals lost their properties due to illegal or fraudulent debts. Silicon Valley’s billionaires pay manual and service workers poverty level wages. Class inequalities are reinforced by ethnic divisions. White, Chinese and Indian multi-millionaires exploit Afro-American, Latin American, Vietnamese and Filipino workers. Inequalities are a result of low wages, based on big profits, financial swindles, multi-trillion dollar public handouts and multi-billion-dollar tax evasion.