Farmer protests: Cracks emerge

Some farmer groups and leaders expressed their willingness to step back from the ‘full repeal’ stance. One leader said he was open to holding separate talks, and focus solely on the minimum support price—and was promptly sacked. The Hindu has more on this angle. 

Meanwhile, the government said this to the Indian Express:

“Sources said back-channel talks were on with leaders of some of the unions in the group of 32. ‘Some leaders are willing to understand the need for arriving at a middle path. Not having discussed possible exit options, they are stuck with their maximalist position. But a solution may be in the offing,’ the source said without elaborating.”

Both agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and a major platform of farm unions signalled their willingness to resume talks.Tomar met a delegation of farmers from five states who pledged their support for the laws, and said that a meeting will “definitely happen”. 

Also this: The government isn’t waiting on the farmers to accept its concessions—and is already moving ahead to turn them into law. Business Standard has that story.

Complaining on the sidelines: Reliance Jio which has written a letter to telecom authorities claiming its competitors are taking unfair advantage of the protests:

“We submit that Airtel and VIL (Vodafone Idea Ltd) remain unabated in pursuing this vicious and divisive campaign through its employees, agents and retailers. They are inciting the public by making preposterous claims that migrating Jio mobile subscribers to their networks would be an act of support to the farmers’ protests.”

Related good read: Andy Mukherjee argues that a new farm law on minimum support price could resolve the logjam.

Some relief in ‘love jihad’ case

Muskan Jahan was separated from her husband Rashid when they tried to register their marriage in Uttar Pradesh. Rashid was thrown in jail, and reports emerged that Muskan suffered a miscarriage in the shelter home where she had been housed. The good news: She has not lost her baby, and a magistrate has now allowed her to return home to her in-laws. The bad news: Her husband and his brother are still in jail. Point to note: Muskan is not a minor. And both the marriage and the conversion took place before the new law was introduced. (Indian Express)

Russian hackers target US government

Hackers nicknamed APT29 or Cozy Bear have broken into the Treasury and Commerce departments—along with a number of other U.S. government agencies. And this has been going on for months! These are the same people who hacked into the White House and State Department servers under Obama—and lent a helping hand to Trump’s election bid in 2016. One source told the Washington Post, “This is looking very, very bad.”

Google’s cutting edge India project

Google has been working on using light beams to bring internet connectivity to remote areas—where it is difficult or impossible to lay cables. And one of the pilot projects is in Andhra Pradesh. It’s now in talks with Jio and Airtel to move it forward to other parts of the country. Also: if successful, ‘Project Taara’ will offer an internet speed of 20GB per second—which is way faster than the Airtel router in our home. Inc42 explains how it works.

Meanwhile, Ola moves on: Everyone’s making the pandemic pivot. Ola’s plan: investing Rs 24 billion to set up a factory to make electric scooters. It plans to sell these scooters both in India and in overseas markets. Mint has more.

The great pandemic: A quick update

• IIT Madras has shut down its campus after a big spike in Covid cases. Over 700 students are being tested—while 104 have already tested positive, including 16 canteen workers and 87 students. The state government has now ordered colleges to shut their canteens, and order their food in.
• Singapore is now the first Asian country to approve the Pfizer vaccine.
• New research shows that “misguided antibodies” may be the cause for severe cases: "The scientists compared immune responses in patients and uninfected people and discovered scores of aberrant antibodies in the former. These blocked antiviral defences, wiped out helpful immune cells, and attacked the body on multiple fronts, from the brain, blood vessels and liver to connective tissue and the gastrointestinal tract."
• Another study found that people who rely on social media as their primary news source are also more likely to believe misinformation about the pandemic. Also: Why everyone must sign up for splainer… lol!

Three bits of climate change news

One: Yes, we know the oceans are polluted with plastic. But a recent review finds that some plastic objects are far more lethal than others. The worst of the lot: Bags and flexible packaging—which kill whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds. The quote that ought to stay with us all: “Death from eating any of these items is not a quick one and it is not likely to be painless.It’s a pretty awful way to die.” (The Guardian)

Two: Japan Airlines is asking passengers to voluntarily skip an inflight meal to combat food waste. You can now choose ‘no meal’ as one of your meal options when you check in. (CNN)

Three: Greta Thunberg got into an unlikely disagreement with New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. The trigger: Ardern’s government pushed a climate emergency declaration in Parliament—which sounds like a good thing. But Thunberg dismissed it as insufficient: “In other words, the government has just committed to reducing less than 1 percent of the country’s emissions by 2025.” The Guardian has the whole back-and-forth that followed.

Superheroes in scrubs!

Pandas are covered in shit

Why do pandas cover themselves with mounds and mounds of horse manure? Back in 2007, Chinese researchers first noticed that this adorable animal had a peculiar taste in body care:

“Drawn to the irresistible stink of the droppings—the fresher the better—the bears would first take a careful whiff, then initiate a gentle rubbing with a cheek. They would next immerse themselves in an unbridled full-body tussle in the dung, before meticulously slathering themselves with their paws to ensure all their exposed bits were covered.”

This was deeply puzzling and unusual behaviour. Now, after a decade of research, Chinese researchers finally have an anticlimactic answer: certain compounds in horse shit helps them keep warm in freezing temperatures. Do you care? Maybe not. But here’s an excellent clip of fur-warming activity.

In related poop news: New research reveals that honeybees in Vietnam coat the entrance of their hives with feces of various animals to repel giant hornets. Shit, it’s a useful thing.

In other bizarre news: A Paris gallery has unveiled a collection of 75 ‘upskirting’ photos taken by an anonymous (now deceased) photographer—who took 800 such images without the women’s knowledge or consent. To be clear: the women’s legs are crossed so… In any case, it has sparked a big debate over whether these photos (which aren’t very good) are actually art. (The Independent)