2 min readApr 30, 2026 06:40 AM IST
First published on: Apr 30, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

The Soviet Union turned to the West for help in putting out a blaze at a stricken nuclear power plant after a cloud of radiation from a leak reached Nordic countries 1,600 km away. As Moscow was reported to have sought advice from both Sweden and West Germany, an expert in Bonn’s nuclear power industry said the request indicated that the nuclear core of a reactor had probably melted. The fire was believed to be still raging at the Chernobyl light water plant, 50 km north of Kiev in the Ukraine.

Question of safety

The nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power plant in the Ukraine in the Soviet Union has once again highlighted the need to re-examine the question of setting up of nuclear power stations as the most favoured route for energy. While reports say that the radiation cloud is moving towards Finland, Denmark and Sweden, the intensity of it even 150 miles away from the plant location will affect thousands, according to several experts on radiation.

Declaration of ‘Khalistan’

The five-member Panthic committee publicly declared the beginning of the Sikhs’ “battle” for the creation of “Khalistan”. The declaration was made by the committee’s members from a room in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. They told a press conference that the dream of “Khalistan” would now be translated into reality.

PM for more education funds

The Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, indicated that he would push the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance to find more funds for education in the Seventh Five-Year Plan. Addressing the specially convened two-day meeting of the National Development Council (NDC), Prime Minister Gandhi hinted that the government would have a second look at the subsidy extended to higher and professional education.