Operation Peace Spring
Turkey has launched a military operation called Operation Peace Spring against the Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG) in Northeast Syria just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.
- The YPG was the USA’s ally in the war against the Islamic state.
Kurds
- The Kurds are one of the indigenous peoplesin the current south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia.
- They form a distinctive community, united through race, Sunni Muslims culture and language, even though they have no standard dialect.In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland – generally referred to as “Kurdistan”.
Ganges River Dolphin
The annual Ganges river Dolphin census was undertaken by the World Wide Fund for Nature- India in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department along about 250 km. long riverine stretch of Upper Ganga river basin between Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary and Narora Ramsar site.
Ganga River Dolphin (Platanista Gangetica)
- The Ganges river dolphin is found in parts of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
- The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal and is popularly known as ‘Susu’.
Protection Status
- IUCN Status: Endangered
- It is listed on CITES Appendix-I.
- It is classified under Schedule 1, Wildlife (Protection) Act, and 1972 providing absolute protection as offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties.
- Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district is India’s only sanctuary for its national aquatic animal.