Table of Contents
The Hindu Editorial Analysis
We understand the significance of reading The Hindu newspaper for enhancing reading skills, improving comprehension of passages, staying informed about current events, enhancing essay writing, and more, especially for banking aspirants who need to focus on editorials for vocabulary building. This article will explore today’s editorial points, along with practice questions and key vocabulary.
Iran Carries Out Fresh Strikes Against Israel and the United States
- Iran launched a new round of attacks on Thursday targeting Israel, American military bases, and several other countries in the region. These attacks happened while Israel and the United States were also continuing heavy attacks on Iran for the sixth day in a row.
- Bahrain reported that an Iranian missile hit a government-run oil refinery. Officials said that a fire broke out after the strike, but it was later brought under control and the refinery continued its operations.
- The conflict is becoming more serious every day and is now affecting 14 more countries in West Asia and nearby regions.
- On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching drone attacks against it. However, Iranian officials denied carrying out any such attack.
- A day earlier, the United States said that it had sunk an Iranian frigate in waters near Sri Lanka.
- At the same time, Israel gave a large evacuation warning to people living in the southern suburbs of Beirut as fighting became more intense with Hezbollah, a militant group supported by Iran.
- United Nations peacekeeping forces reported that ground fighting had taken place in southern Lebanon. They also said that additional Israeli troops had crossed the border into the area.
- Throughout the conflict, the United States and Israel have carried out many air strikes across Iran, targeting military bases, important leaders, and parts of Iran’s nuclear programme.
- Leaders in Israel and the United States have also suggested that removing the current government of Iran might be one of their goals.
- According to officials from the countries involved, the war has caused the deaths of at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 people in Lebanon, and around a dozen people in Israel. In addition, six American soldiers have also been killed.
- An Iranian religious cleric speaking on state television called for the shedding of the blood of Israel and Donald Trump.
- A statement issued by Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli included this call for violence. This is unusual because an Ayatollah is a very senior religious leader in Shia Islam. Iran has dozens of clerics who hold this rank.
- Israel reported several incoming missile attacks, and air-raid sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said that it responded by launching strikes against Iran’s ballistic missile launch sites.
- Several Gulf countries also reported attacks.
- In Abu Dhabi, a drone was intercepted near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts United States forces, and falling debris injured six people.
- Qatar temporarily evacuated residents living near the United States Embassy in Doha as a safety step. Later, it confirmed that a missile attack had targeted the city.
- Saudi Arabia announced that it destroyed a drone in one of its provinces located along the border with Jordan.
- The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, accused Iran of committing “a groundless act of terror and aggression.” This accusation came after a drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan on Thursday.
Sri Lanka Evacuates Crew from a Second Iranian Ship Near Its Territorial Waters
- Sri Lanka is evacuating 208 crew members from an Iranian naval ship called IRINS Bushehr, which became stranded close to Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. This announcement was made on Thursday by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
- This development happened a day after a United States submarine torpedoed another Iranian warship near Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The attack killed at least 84 sailors and expanded the West Asia conflict into the Indian Ocean region.
- The Sri Lankan Navy will take the rescued crew members to Colombo Port, while the damaged ship will be moved to the eastern harbour of Trincomalee.
- President Dissanayake said in a televised address on Thursday night that Sri Lanka’s decision was purely based on humanitarian reasons, with the main aim of saving lives after the ship reported an engine malfunction.
- He said that no person deserves to die in the ongoing war and that every human life is important.
- He also repeated that Sri Lanka follows a neutral foreign policy. He said the country is “hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,” because the conflict in West Asia could seriously affect the global economy and people’s livelihoods.
- After the United States and Israel attacked Iran the previous week, Sri Lanka asked all sides to show restraint and work toward reducing tensions.
- The Sri Lankan government has not yet responded to the U.S. claim made on Wednesday that an American submarine attacked the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena.
- The presence of another Iranian ship near Sri Lankan waters became a topic of concern in Parliament during a debate on Thursday.
- During the debate, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa raised concerns about regional security and said that a second Iranian ship was located close to Colombo Port.
- Replying to this issue, Cabinet spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told Parliament that the ship was in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near the maritime boundary, not inside the country’s territorial waters.
- He also said that the government is fully aware of the situation. He added that President Dissanayake, who is also the Defence Minister, along with the Security Council, is working to resolve the situation in a way that reduces loss of life and protects regional peace.
Indian HPV Vaccine Being Tested for Single-Dose Rollout
- A change made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the recommended number of doses for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine, along with the availability of free vaccine doses, may have delayed the inclusion of an Indian-made HPV vaccine in the national immunisation programme.
- This delay happened even though the Health Ministry had promised in 2023 to prepare the Indian vaccine for inclusion in the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). This information comes from publicly available documents.
- On February 28, Narendra Modi launched a campaign in Ajmer, Rajasthan, to vaccinate 1.15 crore 14-year-old girls with Gardasil-4. This vaccine was developed by the company Merck and has been available in India since 2009.
- Gardasil-4 is considered one of the most well-tested HPV vaccines and is already included in the vaccination programmes of many countries.
- However, the use of Gardasil-4 has delayed the introduction of Cervavac, which is an HPV vaccine developed in India.
- After Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials showed that Cervavac worked almost as effectively as Gardasil, it was officially launched in September 2022.
- At that time, Science Minister Jitendra Singh described Cervavac as an example of cooperation between the government and the private sector to create an affordable vaccine.
- Reports in January 2023 said that the Health Ministry planned to issue a global tender for 16.02 crore doses of HPV vaccine. This was part of preparations for a vaccination programme planned to begin in 2026.
- The minutes of a July 2023 meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) — which is India’s main advisory body on vaccination — said that the Indian-made HPV vaccine Cervavac could be introduced into the UIP as a two-dose vaccine.
- During the same meeting, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that approval for introducing the vaccine had already been given, and that the Ministry was working on including it in the UIP.
- However, the expected global tender for HPV vaccine doses was never issued.
- The reason Cervavac is not yet part of the Universal Immunisation Programme is because of an ongoing study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- This study is testing whether a single dose of Cervavac can create enough protective antibodies and maintain immunity, when compared with a single dose of the Gardasil vaccine.
- According to K. Arora, a member of NTAGI, the results of this study are expected only in the year 2027.
- Until early 2022, the World Health Organization recommended two doses of the HPV vaccine for girls aged between 9 and 15 years, to ensure strong antibody protection.
- However, because many countries were slow in introducing the vaccine, and global HPV vaccination coverage remained low, and there was a risk of missing the target of 90% vaccination coverage by 2030, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) of WHO recommended in March 2022 that countries could adopt either a two-dose or even a single-dose vaccination schedule.
Important Questions
- Which countries continued heavy strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive day?
- Which Iranian cleric issued a statement calling for the shedding of the blood of Israel and Donald Trump?
- How many crew members from the Iranian naval ship IRINS Bushehr are being evacuated by the Sri Lankan Navy near Sri Lanka’s territorial waters?
- To which eastern harbour will the damaged Iranian naval vessel IRINS Bushehr be redirected after evacuation by the Sri Lankan authorities?
- Which HPV vaccine developed by Merck was used in the campaign launched by Narendra Modi in Ajmer, Rajasthan to vaccinate 1.15 crore 14-year-old girls?
- Which organisation in India is conducting the study to test whether a single dose of the HPV vaccine Cervavac can produce sufficient protective antibodies?
Important Vocabulary
- Frigate – A type of warship used by a navy.
- Evacuation – The act of moving people away from a dangerous place.
- Ballistic – Related to missiles that travel a long distance before hitting a target.
- Aggression – Hostile or violent behaviour towards another country.
- Stranded – Stuck somewhere and unable to move.
- Torpedoed – Attacked with an underwater missile fired from a submarine.
- Humanitarian – Related to helping people and saving lives.
- Territorial – Relating to the official sea or land area of a country.
- Immunisation – The process of protecting people from diseases through vaccines.
- Quadrivalent – A vaccine that protects against four different strains of a virus.
- Antibodies – Proteins produced by the body to fight infections.
- Regimen – A fixed plan or schedule for medical treatment.
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