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Study shows over 5 billion would die of starvation in nuclear war

A new study has found that over 5 billion would die from starvation in the event of a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia.
That’s the worst-case scenario in a Nature Food study published on Monday (August 15) that examined the indirect death toll caused as soot from burning cities and forests entered the atmosphere, The Hill reported.
According to a statement accompanying the study, the Rutgers University team arrived at that death toll by estimating how much global crop yields would suffer as the drifting clouds blocked out the sunlight that feeds plants that feed people.
First, researchers estimated the quantities of ash that would be thrown up by nuclear wars of varying size, as major cities in India, Pakistan, the United States or Russia burned.
Then they loaded that into a U.S. government-sponsored climate forecasting tool to track how that ash would move around the globe — and where and how much it would impact food production.

In the event of a U.S.-Russia nuclear war, the model found that the planet’s wind patterns would bring circling clouds of smoke and particulates to the skies above major food exporters like the U.S., China, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Crashing crop yields in those countries would trigger a cascade of escalating consequences that would draw the rest of the world into the crisis. With harvests collapsing, so would food exports — spreading famine across Africa and the Middle East that depend on imported food for survival.
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Under that scenario, three-quarters of people on Earth would be starving within two years after the missiles stopped falling — and that would only be the beginning.
By three or four years after the nuclear exchange, global crop, animal and fishing yields would have dropped by 90 percent — spreading famine, disruption and collapse further, and triggering other feedback loops.
Much of the details of the extent to which crops would fail under such an exchange remains unclear, co-author Lili Xia of Rutgers said.
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Xia added: “For instance, the ozone layer would be destroyed by the heating of the stratosphere, producing more ultraviolet radiation at the surface, and we need to understand that impact on food supplies."
Such a war would need to reach the scale of a full-scale exchange between superpowers to spread famine far beyond the blast zone.
Even in the most limited nuclear war the team examined — a localized nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan — global food production dived by 7 percent from soot and ash from the explosions entering the atmosphere.
That number is far smaller than the crop failures the model found for the U.S.-Russia case study. But it’s also bigger than any disturbance to world food supplies since the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization started tracking them.
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Such a disruption would detonate against a world already facing the prospect of falling crop yields from climate change.
A NASA NASA study last year — also in Nature Food — found that corn yields would begin to fall by 2030, suggesting that “major breadbasket regions” would begin to face the risks from human-caused climate change “sooner than previously anticipated.”
The conclusion of the new research was clear: that nuclear war would “obliterate global food systems,” co-author Alan Robock said in a statement.
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“If nuclear weapons exist, they can be used, and the world has come close to nuclear war several times,” Robock said. “Banning nuclear weapons is the only long-term solution.”
He pointed to the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has been ratified by 66 nations but none of the nine nuclear states.
He siad: “Our work makes clear that it is time for those nine states to listen to science and the rest of the world and sign this treaty."
Source: thehill
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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