In Focus by The Hindu

Tensions are rising in northern Syria along the border with Turkey – an area that is already facing a grave humanitarian crisis following a decade-long civil war. Now Turkey, which has already carried out four on-ground offensives in Syria since 2016, has announced that it could launch another big military operation against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF is largely made up of Kurdish People Protection Units, known as the YPG, and Turkey believes YPG to be behind a major bomb blast in Istanbul on November 13. The SDF and the YPG have denied any involvement.So, what is driving Turkey’s militaristic policy in Syria? Can Russia and the US, both of which have a military presence in Syria, stop Turkey from staging another offensive? What are the implications for the security of prisons in Syria where thousands of Islamic State fighters are locked up?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when it feels like we’ve gotten over the coronavirus pandemic, another infectious disease has been making the rounds: measles. Over the past few months, several States in India, notably Maharashtra and Kerala, have seen outbreaks of hundreds of cases of measles and several deaths of children. As of December 12, Maharashtra recorded 991 confirmed cases of measles, and tragically, 19 deaths, as per a news report. States such as Gujarat, Jharkhand, Bihar and Haryana too, have recorded an uptick in cases.Measles is a highly infectious viral respiratory illness. Transmission is similar to COVID-19’s transmission: airborne and through respiratory droplets and close personal contact. In mild cases, the infected individual gets a rash and fever, but the disease can be fatal. Two doses of the vaccine, which are included in the country’s universal immunisation programme, provide a very high level of protection, making it one of the vaccine preventable diseases. But since it extremely infectious and spreads rapidly, a large section – about 95% of the population -- needs to be immunised in order to keep outbreaks at bay, experts believe.Vaccine coverage however, was hit by the pandemic in India in 2020 and 2021 when routine healthcare services were disrupted. Last month, the World Health Organisation declared measles to be an “imminent threat to every region of the world.” The WHO said, globally, a record number of nearly 40 million children had missed at least one dose of the measles vaccine in 2021.Another aspect that has raised concerns is the infection being seen in babies younger than nine months – the first dose of the vaccine is given to infants between 9 and 12 months – leading experts to consider whether the first dose should be given earlier.The Centre stepped into action last month, directing States and Union Territories to consider administering an additional dose to all children of 9 months to 5 years in vulnerable areas, identify cases and conduct outbreak response immunisation, as per news reports.So what happened to our immunisation coverage during the pandemic? How much do we have to do to catch up with our vaccinations? Is vaccine hesitancy an issue and how can it be tackled? How well is India set to eliminate measles by 2023 as per our goal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Centre is planning to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It proposes to make more than 60 amendments to this law through an amendment Bill, titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022. This Bill, prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, is expected to be introduced in Parliament either in the ongoing Winter session or the Budget session.Among the proposed changes is the inclusion of bestiality as a crime, the recognition of ‘five freedoms’ for animals, and a new category of ‘gruesome cruelty’ which would carry enhanced penalties. What are the various amendments, their implications, and how effective are they?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spectrum for 5G services was auctioned out by India earlier this year. The pattern followed pretty much what was standard for the rest of the world that had preceded us. And, like in the rest of the world, our own aviation administration has also raised concerns about potential interference between 5G services and the functioning of altimeters in aircraft. Altimeters in planes help in landing of plans and use telecom spectrum for this purpose. Is there cause for concern or are authorities only being extra cautious in suspending 5G services in and around airports for now? If a resolution is even possible, how far away is it?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005, and it gives citizens access to the records of central and state governments. This act gives people the power to question the government, making it a key part of maintaining a healthy democracy. But the act isn’t as foolproof as it seems. When it works, the act is a powerful tool, that can uncover major issues in areas that fall under the government. But with issues like vacancies in information commissions, a reluctance to be transparent and delays with appeals and complaints, the Act’s power seems to be getting weaker. In this episode, The Hindu speaks with journalists and RTI experts about these issues, and how it is affecting the law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the government’s Department of Consumer Affairs brought out norms that e-commerce websites must adhere to for customer reviews. Fake reviews that prop up products tend to lure customers into purchasing them in the belief that others have had a good experience.What other aspects do these standards cover? Are all of the norms mandatory? Anything else the government ought to have done? To share his perspectives with us today, we have Mihir Mahajan, Adjunct Fellow at the Takshashila Institution in Bengaluru. He teaches topics in technology policy such as competition policy, intellectual property and algorithm audits. His prior work includes research on online reputation systems to understand how consumers use reviews and the economic impact of having a good online reputation.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 4 is World Wildlife Conservation Day, and on this occasion, The Hindu brings you a special episode of InFocus aimed at raising public awareness about the importance of wildlife protection and the issues around it.More than 100 species of plants and animals in India currently figure in the ‘Red List’ of endangered species put out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN. Many more are vulnerable. What exactly are the threats facing wildlife in India? How do we deal with them? At a more fundamental level, do we really appreciate why we should care about wildlife?We explore the various challenges around conservation with two remarkable individuals who have in common a strong passion for wildlife.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's World Wildlife Conservation Day this Sunday, December 4 and so, perhaps an apt time to discuss one of the first animals most people think about in the context of our country: our lions. Speaking of big cats however, there's another one now in the picture -- the eight African cheetahs that were brought in from Namibia to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in September to much excitement. Asiatic cheetahs that once roamed over large tracts of India, were declared extinct in our country in 1952 -- their capture over the centuries, hunting for sport, and their killing for bounties all contributed to their extinction. Their last surviving population is in Iran today. Project Cheetah under which the animals from Namibia were brought to India, aims, it says, to "re-establish the ecosystem function role of the cheetah in representative areas of its former range” and to restore open forests and savannah systems. As of the end of November, all eight cheetahs have been released from their quarantine zone into a larger enclosure within the national park, as per news reports.But while the cheetahs establish themselves in their new homes, experts have voiced concerns both over the aims and advisability of bringing the cheetahs into India, and over the larger question of what happened to the original plan of housing our lions at the Kuno National Park. In 2013, the Supreme Court of India, in an order had stated that the protection of Asiatic lions was a top priority and that they must be provided with a second home - the lions were supposed to go to Kuno National Park where the cheetahs now are. Our lions are, at present, found only in the Gir region of Gujarat, and as such, possibly vulnerable to threats - there have been instances of disease outbreaks amongst them for example.So what happened to the lion translocation plan? How will the cheetahs help with the ecology of our country? How have conservation projects of endangered species progressed in our country? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last ten years, Indian banks have written off loans worth about ₹10 lakh crore. This helped the banks reduce their NPAs by 50%. But tellingly, they were able to recover only 13% of the loans written off – a very poor rate that raises many questions, for it is generally not easy to get a loan from a bank, and banks have many options for recovering loans.Another interesting aspect of the write-offs is that the bulk of the NPAs were from big corporate borrowers, with the NPA rates among smaller borrowers such as microenterprises being much lower. So, why do banks write off big ticket loans? Why is the recovery rate so poor? And how does the combination of massive write-offs and poor recovery rate affect taxpayers?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests against draconian Covid restrictions have rocked several Chinese cities since the death of 10 persons in an apartment building fire in Urumqi on November 24. These protests come a month after Communist party strongman Xi Jinping took office for an unprecedented third term as the country’s president.Embarrassing as it is for the Chinese leadership, the protests appear to reflect popular anger at the party’s “zero covid” policy at a time when the rest of the world has moved on from the pandemic.So, what do these protests signal? Can we expect a massive crackdown on the protesters? Do the protests point to the failings of an increasingly centralized party leadership that doesn’t listen to the people at large?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices