THE HINDU EDITORIAL: MAY 13, 2019 -

THE HINDU EDITORIAL: MAY 13, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – May 13, 2018, is one of the must-read section for the competitive exams like SBI PO 2019, SBI CLERK 2019, LIC AAO 2019, FCI Prelims 2019 & CWC 2019 and other banking Exams. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension, Cloze Test or Error Detection in the forthcoming exams. So gear up your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.

Deal in danger: on Iran and the nuclear deal

Time is running out for European signatories to the nuclear pact to address Iran’s concerns

Iran’s decision to reduce its commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which sought to curtail its nuclear capabilities, is more of a warning than a move to break the nuclear deal. Iran has been under economic and political pressure since President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal a year ago. The U.S. has since amped up its anti-Iran rhetoric and reimposed sanctions. While President Hassan Rouhani clinched the agreement in 2015 despite opposition from hardliners, his promise was that it would help lift sanctions, providing relief to Iran’s economy. But the economic benefits did not last even three years, weakening Mr. Rouhani’s position in Iran’s complex power dynamics. With the U.S. having ended the sanctions-waiver it had given to certain countries, including India, on purchasing Iranian oil, from the first week of May, the Iranian economy has come under more pressure. It is in this context that Mr. Rouhani announced the suspension of some of the restrictions in the deal.

Iran will immediately stop shipping out excess enriched uranium and heavy water. Mr. Rouhani has given 60 days to other signatories to find solutions to shield Iran’s banking and oil sectors from U.S. sanctions. In theory, excess enriched uranium and heavy water allow Iran to expand its nuclear programme, but it hasn’t announced any such plan. The big threat is that it will resume higher levels of enrichment to build weapons unless its grievances are addressed in 60 days. Iran’s response may appear to be calibrated. It hasn’t quit the deal as the U.S. did. And its concerns are genuine as it is being punished even as it is compliant with the terms of the agreement. But Iran’s move to put the remaining signatories on notice could be the start of the formal unravelling of the deal. European countries have been working on a mechanism, which is still in the initial stages, that allows Europe to trade with Iran through a barter system avoiding the dollar and circumventing sanctions. But it hasn’t covered oil trade, the mainstay of Iran’s economy. If Europe doesn’t do enough in 60 days and Iran sticks to its threat, the deal will collapse, giving more reason to the U.S. to escalate hostilities. It has, among other things, deployed an aircraft carrier and a bomber squad to the Gulf. A practical alternative would be for Iran to end this brinkmanship and deepen cooperation with other signatories instead of breaking the deal. Europe, on its part, should stand firmly up to the U.S.’s unilateral threats and pressure, and come up with ways to help Iran. A collapse of the deal would not only exacerbate the Iran nuclear crisis but also set a bad precedent in international diplomacy.

Vocabulary

sought

Meaning: attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).

Tamil Meaning: முயன்று

Synonyms: try to obtain, pursue, go after, strive for

Example Sentence: “the new regime sought his extradition”

curtail

Meaning: reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on.

Tamil Meaning: சுருக்கு / குறை

Synonyms: Reduce, cut, cut down, cut back, decrease

Antonyms: Increase, Lengthen

Example Sentence: “civil liberties were further curtailed”

amped up

Meaning: to increase the power or force of (something)

rhetoric

Meaning: language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect, but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.

Tamil Meaning: வாக்கு வன்மை

Synonyms: bombast, loftiness, turgidity, grandiloquence

Antonyms: Quiet, Conciseness

Example Sentence: “there is a good deal of rhetoric in this field”

reimposed

Meaning: impose (something, especially a law or regulation) again after a lapse.

Tamil Meaning: மீண்டும் சுமத்த

Synonyms: Bring Back, Build Up, Improve, Modernize

Antonyms: Damage, Decline, Destroy, Harm

Example Sentence: “price controls were reimposed on fifty-three basic foods”

clinched

Meaning: confirm or settle (a contract or bargain) / confirm the winning or achievement of (a match, competition, or victory)

Tamil Meaning:

Synonyms: secure, settle, conclude, close, pull off, bring off

Antonyms: lose

Example Sentence: “a salesman eager to clinch a deal”

restrictions

Meaning: a limiting condition or measure, especially a legal one.

Tamil Meaning: கட்டுப்பாடு / தடை

Synonyms: Reduction, limitation, diminution, curtailment, cutback

Antonyms: Liberation, Permission, Advantage

Example Sentence: “planning restrictions on commercial development”

excess

Meaning: an amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable.

Tamil Meaning: அதிகப்படியான / மிகுதி

Synonyms: Surplus, surfeit, overabundance, superabundance

Antonyms: Dearth, lack

Example Sentence: “are you suffering from an excess of stress in your life?”

enriched

Meaning: improve or enhance the quality or value of.

Tamil Meaning: வளப்படுத்த / தனவானாக்கு

Synonyms: enhance, make richer, improve, add to, augment

Antonyms: spoil, devalue, impoverish

Example Sentence: “her exposure to museums enriched her life in France”

Escalate

Meaning: increase rapidly / make or become more intense or serious.

Tamil Meaning: அதிகரிக்கும் / அதிகமாக்கு

Synonyms: Grow, develop, mushroom, increase

Antonyms: Shrink

Example Sentence: “The disturbance escalated into a full-scale riot”

Enrichment

Meaning: the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something.

Tamil Meaning: செறிவூட்டல்

Synonyms: Enhancement, Embellishment

Antonyms: Injury

Example Sentence: “enrichment of the soil for more plant growth”

grievances

Meaning: a real or imagined cause for complaint, especially unfair treatment.

Tamil Meaning: குறைகளை / மனத்தாங்கல்

Synonyms: Injustice, unjust act, wrong, injury

Antonyms: Commendation

Example Sentence: “a website which enabled staff to air their grievances”

calibrated

Meaning: adjust (experimental results) to take external factors into account or to allow comparison with other data.

Tamil Meaning: அளவீடு

Synonyms: Adjust, Assess, Average

Antonyms: Disorder, Guess, Neglect

Example Sentence: “the radiocarbon results would need to be calibrated to convert them to calendar ages”

compliant

Meaning: disposed to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree; acquiescent.

Tamil Meaning: compliant

Synonyms: acquiescent, amenable, biddable, tractable

Antonyms: Recalcitrant, bloody-minded

Example Sentence: “a compliant labour force”

unravelling

Meaning: investigate and solve or explain (something complicated or puzzling).

Tamil Meaning: அவிழ்

Synonyms: solve, resolve, work out, clear up, puzzle out

Antonyms: complicate

Example Sentence: “they were attempting to unravel the cause of death”

circumventing

Meaning: overcome (a problem or difficulty), typically in a clever and surreptitious way.

Tamil Meaning: மீறும் / தந்திரமாக வெல்

Synonyms: Avoid, get round, find a way round, evade

Antonyms: Aid, Assist, Encourage

Example Sentence: “I found it quite easy to circumvent security”

deployed

Meaning: bring into effective action.

Tamil Meaning: விரிவுறுத்து

Synonyms: use, utilize, employ, make use of, avail oneself of

Antonyms: Conclude, Conceal, End

Example Sentence: “small states can often deploy resources more freely”

brinkmanship

Meaning: the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.

Tamil Meaning: போரில் ஈடுபடா இராஜதந்திரம்

Example Sentence: “in any game of brinkmanship, it is possible that one side will collapse suddenly”

unilateral

Meaning: (of an action or decision) performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of another or the others.

Tamil Meaning: ஒருதலைப்பட்சமான / ஒன்றுபடுத்து

Synonyms: One Sided, Independent

Antonyms: Bilateral, Many-Sided

Example Sentence: “unilateral nuclear disarmament”