After 9 years, a kidnapped girl was reunited with her family in Mumbai

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August 7, 2022

kidnapped girl in mumbai — image: agency

A girl, kidnapped almost nine years ago from the Gilbert area of Mumbai’s Andheri, was reunited with her family on Friday in Mumbai.

D N Nagar police have arrested one of the accused and sent him to custody till August 10.

The police registered a first information report (FIR) against the accused couple Harry D’Souza and his wife Soni under sections 363 (kidnapping), 365 (intent for abduction), 368 (wrongful confinement ), 370 ( trafficking) and 374 (unlawfully compelling a person for labour) of the Indian Penal Code.

“She was finally reunited with the family on Friday. The man who had kidnapped her was arrested. Surprisingly, the kidnappers, and her original family, lived in the vicinity,” said the police.

The girl- Pooja Gaud was kidnapped by a Mumbai-based couple on January 22, 2013, when she was going to school following which her family, as well as the police, had launched a frantic search for her.

Pooja was kidnapped when she was going to school with her elder brother.

The police said that the couple, residents of Juhu Gully, did not have a child and kidnapped Pooja. When the parents got alerted about the incident, they registered a missing person’s report at D N Nagar Police Station.

The police then launched a search for the girl and distributed posters carrying her photographs in the area.

After kidnapping Pooja, both Harry and Soni took her to Goa and sent her to the boarding school. It has been reported that when the kidnapper got their own baby, they started to torture Pooja and after some time, they came back to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, 35-year-old domestic helper Pramila Devendra, who worked in suburban Juhu, came across Pooja, who was also working in the same area.

“During their conversation, Pooja once told her that she had been kidnapped and was being harassed by her family members who were not her original parents. Pramila then searched on the internet about registered missing reports and came across the stories and articles about Pooja, following which she called Rafeeq, a neighbour of Pooja. Pramila also informed the D N Nagar police station about the case,” the police official said.

Police came into action and police interrogated Harry D’Souza and his wife, with whom Pooja had been staying for the last nine years.

On Friday, the girl was reunited with her family members- her mother Poonam and 19-year-old brother Rohit.

Inspector Khurde said that their reunion was a very emotional moment for us as we were able to reunite the missing girl with her family.

Taiwan President appeals for International support as china continues to hold military drills near Taiwan’s coast

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ANI

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August 7, 2022

china taiwan flag — Representative Image

As China continue to hold military drills near Taiwan’s coast after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taipei, President Tsai Ing-wen has appealed for international support for the island nation and halted the escalation of the regional security situation.

In a tweet on Saturday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said that the country’s government and military are closely monitoring the situation.

“Our government and military are closely monitoring China’s military exercises and information warfare operations, ready to respond as necessary. I call on the international community to support democratic Taiwan and halt any escalation of the regional security situation,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted.

Multiple Chinese planes and ships were detected around Taiwan Strait and some of them have crossed the median line, said the defence ministry on Saturday.

“Multiple PLA craft were detected around Taiwan Strait, some have crossed the median line. Possible simulated attack against HVA. #ROCArmedForces have utilized alert broadcast, aircraft in CAP, patrolling naval vessels, and land-based missile systems in response to this situation,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence tweeted today.

China has been increasing its military activities after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Tuesday.

Notably, a top official who led the missile development team of the self-governed island country was found dead in a hotel room, according to media report.

The official, Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of Taiwan defence ministry’s research and development unit was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room, according to agencies.

The 57-year-old deputy chief of the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) was on a business trip to Pingtung in Southern Taiwan in of Pingtung, according to agencies, which said the cause of his death is being investigated.

Since her tour in the island nation, China has been conducting the largest-ever military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, including launching live missiles it claims as part of its sovereign territory.

Odisha is all set to welcome Home Minister Amit Shah for his first visit after the Home Minister’s post

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ANI

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August 7, 2022

Amit Shah, Home Minister — Image: Agencies

Preparations are in full swing in Odisha to welcome Home Minister Amit Shah who will reach Bhubaneswar on Sunday night.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are bedecked with posters, banners and placards of Shah, who will visit the state for the first time after becoming the home minister.

Shah’s programmes will start with a visit to the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar on the last Monday of ‘Shravana’.

He will then go to Cuttack to visit Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birthplace in Odia bazaar. He will also lead a roadshow from Odia Bazar to the Indoor Stadium where he will attend the 75th anniversary of Odia daily ‘Prajatantra’, founded by former chief minister Harekrushna Mahatab.

The newspaper’s anniversary programme will also be attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and BJD workers have also planned to give him a big reception when he reaches the area, setting the stage for a face-off. Shah will then return to Cuttack and hold a meeting of the state BJP’s core committee at its headquarters, they said.

Later, he will launch the Odisha edition of ‘Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery’, a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s completion of 20 years in office — from becoming the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001. He will leave Odisha on Monday night. “There is a lot of enthusiasm among the party workers in the state,” state BJP president Samir Mohanty said, adding that Shah will be welcomed by party workers at different places when he travels from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack on Monday.

Several cultural troops have been hired to perform for welcoming Shah, who is credited with the BJP’s growth in Odisha. Shah had last visited the state during the 2019 elections when he addressed a public meeting in Bhubaneswar.

The ruling BJD of the state and opposition Congress are also keeping a close watch on Shah’s visit, which comes amid actions by CBI and ED in the state.

The ED has so far attached properties of three former BJD leaders in chit fund cases, while CBI arrested some people in connection with the Paradip Port irregularities.

Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati claimed that Shah’s visit will trigger “fear psychosis” among the BJD leaders.

He, however, said that it has nothing to do with the Congress because it does not have “traders” as leaders. Senior BJD MLA Sasibhusan Behera said Shah’s visit will have no impact on his party.

“His visit may encourage the BJP workers, but that does not mean that the BJD will get panicked,” he said. With an eye on 2024, when the Odisha assembly will go to the polls along with the Lok Sabha, BJP has appointed a new leader of opposition in the state, Jaynarayan Mishra, who has declared that his party is working for a “BJD-mukt Odisha”.

CWG 2022: More medals for India in athletics, boxing, cricket, hockey and TT

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ANI

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August 7, 2022

cwg 2022 — Representative image by Agencies

Motivated by its performance on Day 9 resulting in earning 14 medals, India on Day 10 of the ongoing Commonwealth Games aims to earn a number of medals in various sporting events like cricket, boxing, table tennis and athletics.

India has won 40 medals so far, which includes 13 gold, 11 silver and 16 bronze medals. The Indian wrestling contingent captured every medal that was there to grab.

Ravi Dahiya, Naveen, Deepak Nehra, Pooja Gehlot, Pooja Sihag and Vinesh Phogat won all the medals on the second and final day of the wrestling competition.

The combat sport of boxing also saw Indians sealing some medals. Sagar Ahlawat, Nitu Ghangas and boxing champion Nikhat Zareen confirmed either a silver or a gold for India, while Jasmine Lamboria (bronze), Muhammad Hussamuddin (bronze), Rohit Tokas (bronze) walked away with medals.

Indian women’s cricket team also made history in its first outing and confirmed a medal for the nation by qualifying for the finals of the cricket tournament after defeating England in a thriller by 4 runs.

Good news also came from the hockey field as Indian men’s team reached the finals, confirming a medal.

Para Table Tennis players Bhavina Patel (gold), Sonalben Patel (bronze) also won medals.

Indian athletics contingent gave the nations two reasons to rejoice, as Priyanka Goswami captured silver in women’s 10000 m race walk and Avinash Sable also got a silver in men’s 3000 m steeplechase.

The Indian lawn bowls men’s team also captured a silver in the four-man team final. Progress was also made in racquet sports like table tennis and badminton.

Here is the day ten schedule of the games. India has a chance to confirm or win many medals today.

Commonwealth Games 2022 Schedule Day 10 Timings:

01:30 PM: New Zealand vs India – Women’s Bronze Medal Match (Hockey)

2:20 PM: PV Sindhu vs Jia Min Yeo (Singapore) – Women’s Singles Semi-Finals (Badminton)

02:45 PM: Abdulla Aboobacker, Eldhose Paul, Praveen Chithravel – Men’s Triple Long Jump Final (Athletics)

03:00 PM: Nitu Ghanghas vs Demie-Jade Resztan (England) – Women’s 45-48 KG Gold Medal Match (Boxing)

03:10 PM: Jia Heng Teh (Singapore) vs Lakshya Sen – Men’s Singles Semi-Finals (Badminton)

03:10 PM: Tze Yong Ng (Malaysia) vs Kidambi Srikanth – Men’s Singles Semi-Finals (Badminton)

03:15 PM: Amit Panghal vs Kiaran Macdonald (England) – Men’s 48-51 KG Gold Medal Match (Boxing)

03:35 PM: Sreeja Akula vs Yangzi Liu (Australia) – Women’s Singles Bronze Medal Match (Table Tennis)

03:50 PM: Amit Khatri, Sandeep Kumar – Men’s 10,000m Race Walk Final (Athletics)

04:05 PM: Shilpa Rani, Annu Rani – Women’s Javelin Throw Final (Athletics)

05:20 PM: India – Women’s 4x100m Relay Final (Athletics)

06:15 PM: Drinkhall Paul / Pitchford Liam (England) vs Achanta Sharath Kamal / Sathiyan Gnanasekaran – Men’s Doubles Gold Medal Match (Table Tennis)

07:00 PM: Nikhat Zareen vs Carly McNaul (Nothern Ireland) – Women’s 48-50 KG Gold Medal Match (Boxing)

09:30 PM: India vs Australia / New Zealand – Women’s T20 Gold Medal Match (Cricket)

10:30 PM: Pallikal Karthik Dipika / Ghosal Sourav vs Lobban Donna / Pilley Cameron (Australia) // Waters Alison / Waller Adrian (England) – Mixed Doubles Bronze Medal Match (Squash)

00:10 AM (Aug 8): DP Manu, Rohit Yadav – Men’s Javelin Throw Final (Athletics)

00:15 AM (Aug 8): Choong Javen / Lyne Karen (Malaysia) vs Achanta Sharath Kamal / Sreeja Akula – Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Match (Table Tennis)

01:00 AM (Aug 8): India – Men’s 4x400m Relay Final (Athletics) –

Confirmed events with timings not declared yet are – Paul Drinkhall (England) vs Achanta Sharath Kamal – Men’s Singles Semi-Finals (Table Tennis) Liam Pitchford (England) vs Sathiyan Gnanasekaran – Men’s Singles Semi-Finals (Table Tennis)

Events if players qualify and with timings not declared yet are – Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty vs Dias Sachin / Goonethilleka Buwaneka (Sri Lanka) // Chan Peng Soon / Tan Kian Meng (Malaysia) – Men’s Doubles Semi-Finals (Badminton) Jolly Treesa / Gayatri Gopichand vs Tan Koong Le Pearly / Thinnah Muralitharan (Malaysia) // Jin Yujia / Wong Jia Ying Crystal (Singapore) – Women’s Doubles Semi-Finals (Badminton) Mohammad Hussamuddin vs Jude Gallagher (England) / Keoma-Ali Al-Ahmadieh (Canada) – Men’s 54-57 KG Gold Medal Match (Boxing) Sagar Ahlawat vs Leuila Mau’U (New Zealand) / Delicious Orie (England) – Men’s Over 92 KG Gold Medal Match.

India’s active cases have gone up to 1,34,933 while total tally is 4,41,45,732

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PTI

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August 7, 2022

With 18,738 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases has risen to 4,41,45,732 while the active cases have increased to 1,34,933, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,26,689 with 40 fatalities which includes eight deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.50 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 140 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.02 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 4.63 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,34,84,110, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry, 206.21 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year.

The new fatalities include nine from Maharashtra, four each from Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, three from Manipur, two from Madhya Pradesh and one each from Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab and Tripura.

RBI has maintained its consistency in the recent monetary policy

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ANI

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August 7, 2022

The Reserve Bank of India has maintained consistency in the recent monetary policy statement by focusing on the “withdrawal of accommodation” as its stance to contain inflation, said industry body FICCI.

“The Central Bank has delivered the third consecutive increase in the policy rate today – increasing the benchmark repo rate by a total of 140 bps since May this year. Inflation has been over the comfort range of the Central Bank, however, the recent moderation in global commodity prices should hopefully offer some respite going ahead,” Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI said in a statement hours after RBI’s monetary policy statement.

The medium-term growth drivers for India are very much intact and recovery is expected to find firmer ground by the latter part of this financial year, Mehta said.

“We further hope as inflation ebbs, RBI will dynamically manage its monetary policy stance and continue to support growth impulses in the economy,” added Mehta.

For the record, the monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India has unanimously decided to raise the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent in order to contain the persistently high inflation.

Today’s hike takes the repo rate above pre-pandemic levels of 5.15 per cent. The three-day monetary policy committee meeting commenced on Wednesday.

Raising interest typically suppresses demand in the economy, thereby helping inflation to decline.

In line with the global trend of monetary policy tightening to cool off inflation, the RBI has so far hiked the key repo rates — the rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks — by 140 basis points.

The MPC reiterated that retail inflation is projected to remain above the upper tolerance level of 6 per cent through the first three quarters of 2022-23.

Inflation projections are retained at 6.7 per cent in 2022-23, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the outcomes of the monetary policy.

In India, retail inflation has been over the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance band of 6 per cent for the sixth consecutive month in a row in June. Retail inflation was at 7.01 per cent in June.

ISRO launches its new SSLV-D1 rocket from Sriharikota

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ANI

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August 7, 2022

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday launched its first new rocket the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D1) carrying Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02) and a studentmade satellite-AzaadiSAT from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

To mark the country’s celebrations of “Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the SSLV, co-passenger satellite called “AzaadiSAT” comprising 75 payloads built by 750 students from 75 rural government schools across India was launched on Sunday.

Girls who designed Satelite also witnessed the SSLV-D1 launch. The general public also witnessed the launch from the viewing gallery of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.

Speaking to ANI, Shreya a student from St Francis Girls High School, Telangana said, “Three groups from our school have participated in this SSLV launch. I am very glad that we got this opportunity. We really worked hard on it and today we will witness the launch of the AzaadiSAT satellite.”

Founder and CEO, science and tech incubator Space Kidz India, Dr Srimathy Kesan said this launch is to mark the 75th year of independence and to bring the focus that girls should be encouraged. The ground testing of the newly developed solid booster stage (SS1) for the new launch vehicle of ISRO i.e.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) was carried out on March 14 2022 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota at 1205 hrs. All the propulsion parameters during the test are found satisfactory and closely matching with the predictions.

SS1 motor is a three-segmented solid propulsion stage incorporating many new technologies and innovative processes which include a bond-free joint between the segments, high power electromechanical actuator with digital control electronics, optimized ignitor and simultaneous propellant casting of all segments, which have been successfully validated in the ground test.

The successful test of the solid booster stage has given sufficient confidence to proceed with the first developmental flight of SSLV (SSLV-D1) which is scheduled for May 2022. The remaining stages of SSLV i.e. SS2 & SS3 stages have successfully undergone necessary ground tests and are ready for integration.

Jagdeep Dhankhar elected India’s new Vice President

By

Web Team

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August 6, 2022

Former Bengal Governer Jagdeep Dhanklar elected new Vice President of India. He got 528 votes against opposition candidate Margaret Alva who got 182 votes.

Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh, who was the presiding officer for the 16th Vice Presidential election, said that of the 780 MPs eligible to cast votes, 725 MPs cast their vote. Fifteen votes were found invalid and 710 votes were valid.

The polling to elect the new vice president began at 10 am today and concluded at 5 pm. The counting of votes began after 6 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first leaders to cast his vote. Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and BJP president JP Nadda also cast their votes.

Dr Manmohan Singh arrived in a wheelchair to cast his vote. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also cast his vote besides other MPs. The next Vice-President of the country will take the oath of office on August 11, a day after the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends.

Defence Minister allows changes in the Navy’s $7 billion submarine tender

By

ANI

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August 6, 2022

Clearing roadblocks for taking forward the $7 billion deal for building six new submarines for the Indian Navy, the Defence Ministry has given its approval for amendments in the ongoing tender that would allow the project to move forward.

Along with the approvals taken in terms and conditions for the programme, the Indian Navy has given a commitment to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) that the next line of submarines would be designed in India and would be cleared for exports too.

“The approvals for amendments to the ongoing tender were given in a high-level defence ministry meeting held recently. These would allow the tender to move forward for indigenous submarine construction,” government sources told in a media report.

The qualitative requirements of the programme have not been changed and would continue to remain so in future, the sources clarified. As per sources, the Defence Ministry had received a proposal for the removal of the clause for “joint and severe liability” from the tender.

The Defence Ministry had also taken “proper and detailed” legal advice before finalising the changes to the tender. As per the defence acquisition procedure in India, for any changes to be made in the ongoing tenders, approval has to be taken from the Defence Ministry only.

The tender for six new submarines named Project 75 India is being processed under the Strategic Partnership policy as per which the boats would be constructed jointly by a foreign vendor in tie up with an Indian firm.

The foreign partner would be known as the collaborator or supporter while the Indian partner would be known as the strategic partner.

As per the proposal considered by the Defence Ministry, the Strategic Partner would be held responsible for its work share whereas earlier this responsibility was also to be taken by the foreign partner. The foreign partner would now be responsible and liable only for its share of work in the project.

There is also a plan for signing a government-to-government contract with the country of the foreign partner selected as the lowest bidder in the programme, the sources said.

The Navy under Project-75 India had planned to involve vendors from France, Russia, Germany, Spain and South Korea to be involved along with Indian shipyards Larsen and Toubro and government-owned Mazagon Dockyards Limited.

However, the stringent requirements mainly related to the need for having a proven Air Independent Propulsion system which allows the submarines to stay underwater for over two weeks at a stretch resulted in the ouster of three of the foreign vendors.

The vendors had argued that at the time of construction of the boats, they would be able to provide required solutions but the Navy insisted that they want a proven and an ‘in service’ solution and not an under development one, sources said.

The Navy, sources said, has made it clear that it would not approve of any changes in the tender which would compromise its qualitative requirements.

At the moment, the Navy is talking to German and South Korean firms while a Spanish shipyard is also expected shortly to give presentations on its capabilities.

The tender would give a major push to make in India in defence as more than 60 per cent of the worth of the project is going to be invested in the Indian industry only.

Hiroshima Day: When “most cruel bomb” killed tens of thousands

By

Vinod Dixit

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August 6, 2022

The first nuclear weapon was used in August 1945, after World War II ended. Hiroshima Day is celebrated on 6th August every year. Did you ever imagine how devastating the day was? This day is considered one of the darkest days in human’s life. Hiroshima Day commemorates the day of August 1945, when an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and a few days later, another fell on the city of Nagasaki.

More than 100,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed instantly and for years afterwards, from horrible burns and radiation sickness. Although nuclear weapons were not used against people after that, the USA conducted tests in the Pacific Ocean which involved nuclear and hydrogen bombs. This Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons and the dangers of nuclear energy.

Today the atomic bombings on the Japanese cities occupy an important places among the most controversial events in the history of humanity. As early as in 1954, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India called upon the nuclear powers to stop the tesljag.of nuclear weapons. U.S.A., U.S.S.R. and U.K., the three nuclear powers of that time a moratorium on nuclear testing during 1958-61. The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion varied from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to the action of radioactive contamination and other post-explosion effects, the total number of victims ranged from 90 to 166 000 people.

Recognizing that there are enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet, most nations signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), agreeing to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and work to eliminate them. The world continues to live in the shadow of nuclear weapons. Nine countries have approximately 24,000 nuclear weapons. According to official Japanese data at the end of March 2009, more than 235,000 people have suffered from the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The number of deaths in total is more than 413,000 people (263,945 in Hiroshima and 149,226 in Nagasaki).

After more than 30 years of nuclear power plants, there is still no sure way to get rid of the contaminated nuclear materials that are produced. Thousands of nuclear weapons remain on alert, ready to be fired at any time. The world nowadays is in danger of nuclear-conflicts.

The Soviet President, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, and the U.S. President, Mr George Bush, signed the historic strategic arms reduction treaty in Moscow in July 1991 in order to reduce their nuclear arsenals by about 30 percent. The signing of the treaty has strengthened the world desire that the mad race for arms should be stopped as early as possible. It is important to forbid the manufacture and purchase of nuclear weapon or the nuclear power states must reduce and eradicate the weapon.

War Countries remain in a constant state of preparation for ar. There is also a danger of nuclear device exploding and annual war erupting because of human or mechanical error. What we need today is world peace and international stability. Unless the countries will follow the policy of disarmament, nothing good can be achieved. Every country wants guarantees of safety and the means of global control for itself. In other words, countries fear that, by giving up their warheads, they will risk to become weaker. The impact caused by the nuclear explosion is frightening. The rigid manner to encourage the reduction of nuclear weapon could be done by an international ban toward nuclear power states.

Today more and more people demand a world without nuclear weapons, and voices are heard. This day has now become a focus for discussions and demonstrations against war and against nuclear weapons.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.