Stockholm: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its relentless efforts to advocate for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Formed in 1956, Nihon Hidankyo is the largest and most influential organization of atomic bomb survivors in Japan. The group has worked tirelessly to raise global awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, sharing the personal stories of Hibakusha – survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in August 1945. These witness testimonies have helped establish the international “nuclear taboo,” stigmatizing the use of nuclear arms as morally unacceptable.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee praised Nihon Hidankyo for its continued efforts in advancing global opposition to nuclear weapons. "The Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable," the Committee stated.

With next year marking 80 years since the bombings, the Nobel Committee warned that the threat of nuclear weapons remains significant, despite the passing decades.

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ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.