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WORLD NEWS Saturday 23 January 2021
First-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons enters into force

By EDITH M. LEDERER chemical and biological
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — weapons and land mines.
The first-ever treaty to ban U.N. Secretary-General An-
nuclear weapons entered tonio Guterres said the trea-
into force on Friday, hailed ty demonstrated support
as a historic step to rid the for multilateral approaches
world of its deadliest weap- to nuclear disarmament.
ons but strongly opposed "Nuclear weapons pose
by the world's nuclear- growing dangers and the
armed nations. world needs urgent action
The Treaty on the Prohibition to ensure their elimination
of Nuclear Weapons is now and prevent the cata-
part of international law, strophic human and envi-
culminating a decades- ronmental consequences
long campaign aimed at any use would cause," he
preventing a repetition of said in a video message.
the U.S. atomic bombings "The elimination of nuclear
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki weapons remains the high-
at the end of World War II. est disarmament priority of
But getting all nations to the United Nations."
ratify the treaty requiring But not for the nuclear
them to never own such powers.
weapons seems daunting, As the treaty was ap-
if not impossible, in the cur- Participants deflate balloons in hope of neutralizing and demolishing nuclear warheads, during a proaching the 50 ratifica-
rent global climate. memorial gathering at Peace Park in Nagasaki, southern Japan Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. tions needed to trigger its
When the treaty was ap- Associated Press entry into force, the Trump
proved by the U.N. Gen- administration wrote a let-
eral Assembly in July 2017, and possession of nuclear The treaty received its 50th acquire, possess or stock- ter to countries that signed
more than 120 approved it. weapons, but the govern- ratification on Oct. 24, trig- pile nuclear weapons or it saying they made "a
But none of the nine coun- ment has said pursuing a gering a 90-day period be- other nuclear explosive strategic error" and urging
tries known or believed to treaty ban is not realistic fore its entry into force on devices." It also bans any them to rescind their ratifi-
possess nuclear weapons with nuclear and non-nu- Jan. 22. transfer or use of nuclear cation.
— the United States, Rus- clear states so sharply di- As of Thursday, Fihn told The weapons or nuclear ex- The letter said the treaty
sia, Britain, China, France, vided over it. Associated Press that 61 plosive devices — and the "turns back the clock on
India, Pakistan, North Korea Nonetheless, Beatrice Fihn, countries had ratified the threat to use such weapons verification and disarma-
and Israel — supported it executive director of the treaty, with another ratifi- — and requires parties to ment" and would endan-
and neither did the 30-na- International Campaign cation possible on Friday, promote the treaty to other ger the half-century-old
tion NATO alliance. to Abolish Nuclear Weap- and "from Friday, nuclear countries. Nuclear Nonproliferation
Japan, the world's only ons, the 2017 Nobel Peace weapons will be banned Fihn said the treaty is "really, Treaty, considered the cor-
country to suffer nuclear at- Prize-winning coalition by international law" in all really significant" because nerstone of nonprolifera-
tacks, also does not support whose work helped spear- those countries. it will now be a key legal tion efforts.
the treaty, even though head the treaty, called it The treaty requires that all instrument, along with the Fihn countered at the time
the aged survivors of the "a really big day for inter- ratifying countries "never Geneva Conventions on that a ban could not under-
bombings in 1945 strongly national law, for the United under any circumstances conduct toward civilians mine nonproliferation since
push for it to do so. Japan Nations and for survivors of ... develop, test, produce, and soldiers during war and it was "the end goal of the
on its own renounces use Hiroshima and Nagasaki." manufacture, otherwise the conventions banning Nonproliferation Treaty."q

Talks between Indian farmers, government reach stalemate

By ASHOK SHARMA protests in years. organizing a massive trac-
Associated Press The farmers' organizations tor rally in New Delhi during
NEW DELHI (AP) — Talks be- announced Thursday that Republic Day celebrations
tween leaders of protesting they would not accept next Tuesday.
farmers and the Indian gov- anything other than the re- Shiv Kumar Kakkar, a farm-
ernment ended abruptly in peal of the three laws. er leader, complained that
a stalemate Friday when No date was set for anoth- police have been issuing
the agriculture minister said er round of talks between threats to the farmers to
he had nothing more to of- the government and pro- call off their protest.
fer than an 18-month sus- test leaders. Tomar told re- Farmers say the legislation
pension of contentious ag- porters that he is ready to passed by Parliament in
ricultural reform laws. meet again if they decide September will lead to the
Agriculture Minister Naren- to accept the government cartelization and commer-
dra Singh Tomar asked the proposal. cialization of agriculture,
farmers to reconsider their Tens of thousands of farm- make farmers vulnerable to
rejection of a government ers have been blocking key corporate greed and dev- Indian Farmers listen to their leader as they continue to block
highway leading to Delhi in protest against new farm laws, at
offer two days ago to set highways connecting the astate their earnings. Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.
up a committee to look capital with the country's The government insists Associated Press
into their concerns about north for nearly two months the laws will benefit farm-
the laws, which have trig- and have threatened to ers and boost production It has repeatedly ruled out tion but says it could make
gered the biggest farmers' intensify their protest by through private investment. withdrawing the legisla- some amendments.q