EU’s Age Verification App to Protect Children Online

Context: The European Commission has introduced a prototype age verification app to protect children from harmful online content, sparking debate over adult privacy and implementation challenges.

• The prototype app is designed to work on the same technical specifications as the European Digital Identity Wallet (eID), expected by 2026.

About European Commission’s Age Verification Initiative

• Aim: To prevent children from accessing unsafe or explicit content online while maintaining adult privacy.
• It was announced under the Digital Services Act (DSA), alongside guidelines for the protection of minors on digital platforms.

European Digital Identity Wallet

• The EU Digital Identity Wallet is a secure mobile app being developed by the European Union to allow citizens and residents to store and share their official digital documents and identity in a convenient and trustworthy way.

What Is the Digital Services Act (DSA)?

• The DSA is a comprehensive regulation targeting online platforms that offer goods, services, or content to users in the EU.
• It applies to platforms like social media, e-commerce, and cloud services, requiring them to remove illegal content such as:Hate speech, Terrorism-related material, Child abuse content, Promotions of illegal goods

Mangal Pandey

Context: PM Modi paid tribute to Mangal Pandey, calling him a symbol of courage and patriotism on his 198th Birth anniversary on July 19, 2025.

About Mangal Pandey

• Mangal Pandey is widely regarded as the hero of the First War of Indian Independence in 1857.
• He played a pioneering role in sparking the revolt against British colonial rule through his defiance at Barrackpore.

Early Years

• Mangal Pandey was born on July 19, 1827, in Nagwa village, Ballia district, in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
• In 1849, he joined the British East India Company’s army as a sepoy in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry.

Role in the 1857 Revolt

• Pandey rebelled against the British for introducing Enfield rifle cartridges allegedly greased with cow and pig fat, offending Hindu and Muslim religious sentiments.
  
• On March 29, 1857, he attacked British officers at the Barrackpore cantonment, marking one of the first acts of defiance.
  • He was arrested, court-martialled, and executed by hanging on April 8, 1857.
• His actions triggered widespread mutinies and inspired the mass uprising known as the Sepoy Mutiny or India’s First War of Independence.
• His sacrifice contributed to the eventual transfer of power from the East India Company to the British Crown through the Government of India Act, 1858.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Context: Recently , Ukraine was formally welcomed as the 125th State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

About the International Criminal Court (ICC)

• Introduction: The ICC is the world’s first permanent international court established to prosecute individuals for the gravest crimes of concern to humanity.
• Establishment: The ICC was established by the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998 and came into force on July 1, 2002.
• Membership: As of July 2025, the ICC has 125 State Parties.
  • Palestine became the 123rd member (2015) and Malaysia became 124th State party (2019).
  • India, Israel, the US, Russia and China are not parties to the Rome Statute.
• Working Language:The working languages of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are English and French.
  • While the ICC has six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), only English and French are used for day-to-day operations and proceedings.
• Structure
  • The ICC includes a Presidency, Chambers (Judges), Office of the Prosecutor, Registry, and other bodies like the Trust Fund for Victims and Detention Centre.
  • The Assembly of States Parties (ASP), comprising one representative from each member state, exercises legislative and managerial oversight.
• Jurisdiction of the ICC
  • Core Crimes: The ICC can prosecute four major crimes: Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes, and the Crime of Aggression.
  • Territorial and Personal Jurisdiction: The Court can try crimes committed on the territory of a State Party or by nationals of a State Party.
    • It also has jurisdiction over crimes referred to by the UN Security Council, even if they involve non-State Parties.
  • Complementarity Principle: The ICC acts only when national judicial systems are unwilling or unable to genuinely prosecute the crimes.

AdFalciVax

Context: ICMR announced the development of a novel indigenous malaria vaccine, AdFalciVax, aiming to support India’s malaria elimination goals under the Make in India initiative.

About AdFalciVax

• Dual-Stage Vaccine Design: AdFalciVax is a recombinant multistage malaria vaccine targeting both the pre-erythrocytic and sexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite.
  • This two-pronged approach is expected to prevent infection and interrupt transmission by mosquito vectors.
• Indigenous Production:  The vaccine is being developed by ICMR in collaboration with RMRC Bhubaneswar, NIMR, and DBT-NII,
• Derived from: They used Lactococcus lactis, a safe, food-grade bacterium, as the expression platform.
• Promising Preclinical Results:Preclinical studies of AdFalciVax have demonstrated broad immune protection, lower chances of immune evasion, and potential long-term immunity.
  • It has also shown thermal stability, remaining effective at room temperature for over nine months.
• Development and Licensing Plans: Although AdFalciVax is still in early development and not approved for clinical use, ICMR plans to license the technology non-exclusively for further development and commercialization, under its IP policy guidelines.

Typhoon Wipha

Context: Hong Kong gave its highest storm warning as Typhoon Wipha hit with strong winds over 167 km/h, bringing heavy rain and causing over 200 flight cancellations across the city.

About Typhoon Wipha

• Formed in the Philippine Sea on July 16, 2025.
• It became a Tropical Storm on July 19, passing Northern Luzon.
• Upgraded to Typhoon (Category 1) on July 20, with winds ~120 km/h.
• Made landfall in Taishan, Guangdong (China) on July 20, then weakened moving towards Vietnam.

About Typhoon

• Refers: A typhoon is a type of tropical cyclone—a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that forms over warm tropical or subtropical waters and features a closed low-level circulation.
• Classification: It is classified as a severe tropical cyclone, but the terminology varies by region:
  • Typhoon: Used in the Northwest Pacific Ocean (e.g., affecting East and Southeast Asia).
  • Hurricane: Used in the North Atlantic, central, and eastern North Pacific.
  • Tropical Cyclone: Commonly used in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
    • Despite the different names, all these terms describe the same weather phenomenon—a powerful storm system fueled by the energy of warm ocean waters.

• Favourable Conditions for the Formation of Tropical Cyclone
  • Large sea surface with temperature> 27° C;
  • Presence of the Coriolis force;
  • Small variations in the vertical wind speed;
  • A pre-existing weak low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation and  
  • Upper divergence above the sea level system.
  • In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclones do not originate because of low sea surface temperatures.

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