In Focus by The Hindu

On June 5, India overtook Russia in the number of cumulative cases. Among nations with a high case load, infections continue to double in less than 20 days only in India. We discuss this trend and some other points in this episode.

Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu.

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While nations across the world struggle to contain the fallout of the human toll and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts such as Dr. Ashish Jha have been at the forefront of research and public policy guidance to public and private institutions dealing with the crisis. He shared insights into epidemiological basis of the pandemic and what policy solutions hold out hope for the future in India. Guest: Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu

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On the night of June 30, Hong Kong began implementing a new sweeping national security law that threatens to end many of the freedoms and rights that distinguished Hong Kong from the mainland under the “one country, two systems” model followed since the 1997 handover to China. What is the mood on the ground in Hong Kong since the passage of the new law, and what lies in store for Hong Kong in the future? Guest: Austin Ramzy, Hong Kong–based journalist Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for ‘In Focus by The Hindu’. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected]

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Much of the coverage of the Galwan valley confrontation between Chinese and Indian troops, and the months-long border standoff preceding it, has been reported in Indian media as a belligerent action by China. It’s interesting to note, however, that top Chinese strategic affairs commentators see it as quite the opposite — a steady build-up of hostile action by India since the 2017 Doklam standoff. How did that event change Chinese thought on India and how is it reflected now? In conversation with The Hindu’s National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, Suhasini Haidar, Professor Hemant Adlakha, a professor at JNU’s Centre for Chinese and South Asian studies who closely follows commentaries in the Mandarin language, decodes the messaging coming out of China. Find the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected]

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While the development of a COVID-19 vaccine has been widely reported to take 12-18 months, the ICMR is looking to launch an innoculation for public health use by August 15. Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy discusses the feasibility and implications.

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On June 30, the third round of Corps Commander–level talks between India and China was held, aimed at defusing the more-than-two-months-long tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). While much of the attention has been focussed on Galwan Valley, where a clash on June 15 marked the worst violence since 1967, a tense stand-off remains under way at Pangong Tso (lake), where China has erected structures and remains present between Finger 4 and Finger 8 areas on India’s side of the LAC. What is the situation currently at Pangong Tso? What are the prospects of a resolution? What is behind the tensions there, and what is the way forward for restoring the status quo and maintaining peace on the LAC?

Guest: Colonel S. Dinny (retd.), former commanding officer of an infantry battalion at Pangong Tso (2015-2017)

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On June 22 the White House made a proclamation restricting the issuance of non-immigrant work visas across the board, which U.S. President Donald Trump said was to clamp down on American jobs going to foreign workers. The broadest impact may be felt on skilled workers abroad seeking the H-1B visa – in large part granted to Indian nationals each year. Given the additional significance of this proclamation issued less than five months before the next presidential election, can it truly shore up the precarious U.S. economy, or is it a campaign play to improve Mr. Trump’s odds of victory in November?

Guest: Sheela Murthy, founder of the Murthy Law Firm specialising in immigration cases and based out of Maryland, U.S.

Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu

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The consensus on disengagement reached between the Indian and Chinese Corps Commanders on June 22 is yet to be implemented, and at present it’s very much a wait-and-watch game for both sides, according to a senior defence source. Meanwhile, satellite images and reports indicate a massive build-up and construction by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, in Galwan Valley, as well as in the Depsang Plains.

This is a story with many angles, and a lot of mixed messaging — the situation along the LAC, the diplomatic relationship, and the Chinese narrative about its claims on the Galwan Valley. Helping us understand just how serious the problem is right now and the sort of time frame it may play out in are National Editor Suhasini Haidar and former China Correspondent Ananth Krishnan.

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The June 15 clash in Galwan Valley, which claimed 20 Indian soldiers in the worst violence since 1967, has brought India-China relations into uncharted waters. Where do the two countries go from here? Has there been a collapse of the mechanisms carefully built to keep the peace on the border? What is the way forward for disengagement? How will India's China policy change after the Galwan tussle?

Guest: Gautam Bambawale, former Indian Ambassador to China and Pakistan.

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While we know that children are less at risk of contracting COVID-19 and will experience less severe symptoms if infected, there have been rare cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome reported in some parts of the world.

In the midst of the pandemic, the foremost question on parents’ minds is how to keep their children safe. And will it be safe for them to resume attending school once they reopen?

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