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India Today
15 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Nuclear weapons and warhead budgets: What the top 9 atomic powers really spend
In 2024, the nine nuclear-armed states spent over $100 billion -- roughly Rs 8.3 lakhcrore -- on weapons that can destroy cities, at a rate of $190,151 per minute (Rs 1.64 crore per minute), as per ICAN's Hidden Costs Report. That's more than many governments spend on entire health or education systems, and a sharp 11% rise compared to the previous countdown isn't just about warhead totals -- it's about how much money flows into ready-to-fire missiles, submarines and bombers. Each country's nuclear line item gets measured against real, reported figures on healthcare or schooling. The result: a stark look at priorities in a world armed to the teeth:1. NORTH KOREA50 warheads These include mostly boosted-fission devices. Delivery includes Hwasong-series ICBMs with 10,000km range, plus submarine-launched ballistic roughly $630 million (~Rs 5,230crore) spent in 2024, this dwarfs UNESCO's report that showed they spent only $320million in 2023 on basic education, leaving village schools underresourced.2. ISRAEL90 warheadsThese include tactical bombs and cruise-missile capable nukes, likely air-launched. Nuclear outlay hit $1.1 billion (Rs 9,130crore) in nuclear expenses is only around 4% of Israel's national health budget ($25 billion), the health budget is debated and allocated to improve services like hospitals and clinics, while the nuclear budget is kept secret.3. PAKISTANadvertisement170 warheadsPakistan's arsenal includes gun-type and boosted-fission bombs, plus short-range Shaheen and Ghauri missiles with nuclear capability. The nuclear budget of $1.1 billion (~ Rs 9,130crore) makes up about 10% of Pakistan's defence spending. Budget documents show primary schooling receives a similar sum, yet dozens of rural schools still lack electricity and books.4. INDIA172 warheadsThese include fission bombs and MIRV-ready, solid-fuel Agni series missiles (Agni-5 range up to 5,000km). In 2024, nuclear costs hit Rs 21,400crore (~$2.6billion).India's 2023-24 budget shows primary education spending at ~Rs 63,000crore -- three times higher --but digital classrooms and basic facilities remain a challenge in the world's largest-populated nation.5. UNITED KINGDOM225 warheadsBritain deploys warheads on Vanguard submarines; each Dreadnought-class SSBN will carry up to 40 Trident missiles. Nuclear forces cost about 10.4 billion (Rs 86,300crore) in Health Service (NHS) figures for cancer services show an 8 billion (Rs 66,400crore) annual budget, slightly less than the nuclear bill. 6. FRANCE290 warheadsFrance maintains both air-launched ASMP-A missiles and SLBMs aboard Triomphant submarines. In 2024, nuclear budget grew to 6.4 billion (~ Rs 55,000crore).advertisementBy comparison, total public spending on health was 180 billion, yet ICU bed capacity remains a concern.7. CHINA600 warheadsChina's arsenal includes DF-41 ICBMs, JL-3 SLBMs, and advancing MIRV tech. Spending reached $12.5 billion (~Rs 1.04Lakhcrore) in nearly matches China's central budget for poverty relief (around $12billion), a programme lifting millions from rural hardship.8. RUSSIA5,459 warheadsRussia fields SS-19, SS-27, Sarmat ICBMs, Borei-class subs, and Tu-160 bombers with long-range nukes. Nuclear spending hit $8.1 billion (~Rs 67,000crore).Federal health data from 2023 shows overall health spending ~ $15 billion, almost double the nuclear expenses, but doctors still earn low wages and clinics are often understaffed.9. UNITED STATES5,177 warheads (1,770 deployed)US nuclear arsenal comprises Minuteman III ICBMs, Columbia-class submarines, B-2 and B-52 bombers, plus tactical low-yield nukes. It spent $56.8 billion (Rs 4.72Lakhcrore) in 2024, more than all other nuclear-armed states put comparison, the US federal education budget in 2024 was $77 billion, surprisingly larger than it's massive nuclear expenses, yet classrooms still face teacher US is also planning a sweeping modernisation of its entire nuclear arsenal between 2024 and 2034, with projected costs reaching $946billion (~Rs 78Lakhcrore).advertisement----These figures reveal a grim reality: billions funnel into nuclear forces each year, draining money from schools, hospitals and health a country spends more on a submarine missile than stays in its health service, we face a choice -- not just between bombs and budgets, but between defence and human Watch
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Britain's vital green spaces are in grave danger unless we act now
This week, as the Chancellor announces the Government's latest spending review, we are bracing for cuts across the board. In tough times, difficult choices must be made. At such a moment it is important to remember that the numbers in the spreadsheets are not simply economic abstractions, and that some cuts can cost more than they save. World Environment Day is an excellent moment to remember that green spaces are a case in point. They are one of the most powerful and under-appreciated tools for improving public health and fostering social cohesion while sustaining wildlife. The truth is that local parks are delivering huge value and can contribute so much more. Green spaces, parks and playing fields are frontline services for the wellbeing of our communities. They are where we exercise, connect with others, improve our mental health and, crucially, where connect with Nature. At a time of rising isolation and disconnection with the natural world, these places matter more than ever. But they are vanishing. In the last ten years, more than 800 parks and playgrounds have closed across the UK. In many communities, especially those already suffering the effects of inequality, access to safe, high-quality outdoor spaces has become a postcode lottery. Seventy per cent of children in low-income areas don't meet the recommended daily exercise levels. One in five young people now face an actual or probable mental health disorder. We're seeing the consequences in our health service. Lack of physical activity and limited access to nature are directly linked to long-term conditions, ranging from obesity and Type 2 diabetes to anxiety and depression. We are spending a fortune in fixing problems which could in part be prevented at much lower cost. Regular use of parks and green spaces generates over £34 billion in health and wellbeing benefits each year. At a time when the Health Service is under extraordinary pressure, investing in green spaces is not a 'nice to have.' It is a preventive public health policy. But the benefits of green space are not just physical or economic; they are emotional and deeply formative. As someone who has spent my life seeking ways to sustain Nature, I know how critical early experiences are in shaping our relationship with the natural world. My own love of Nature wasn't sparked in some distant wilderness, but in the green areas close to home: wonderful patches of wild 'brownfield' scrub, local fields, and neighbourhood parks. These everyday encounters with Nature weren't spectacular, but they were profound. You can't foster a love of the natural world through screens or textbooks alone. It must be felt, seen, heard. That spark happens outdoors. Every child deserves that spark. Yet today, far too many children grow up without ever hearing birdsong or walking beneath a canopy of trees. Girls, ethnic minorities, and families in deprived communities face the greatest barriers to experiencing the simple, profound benefits of nature. That is not just a social failing. It is a moral one. Green spaces are where future conservationists are born. When children climb trees, build dens, or simply lie on the grass and look up at the sky, they're doing more than playing. They're forming bonds with Nature that can last a lifetime. That sense of care and wonder is what leads people to protect and preserve the wild as they grow up. Our future depends on it. This year marks the centenary of Fields in Trust, a charity that has spent 100 years quietly protecting more than 3,000 green spaces across the UK. It is a remarkable achievement, but there is still so much more to do. Fields in Trust believes that everyone should live close to a protected park. As we face the overlapping challenges of poor public health, rapid urbanisation, and the climate and Nature emergencies, that vision has never been more important. Yet green spaces continue to be at risk, and once lost they are rarely replaced. Parks are places of healing. Places where children run, families connect, and communities thrive. They are one of the few remaining spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds naturally mix. We must reframe access to quality green spaces, including wilder ones, as a right, not a privilege. We stand at a crossroads. If we want to create a future where our world's living systems are restored and thriving, we must begin by protecting Nature on our doorsteps. The next generation of conservationists and environmental stewards won't appear by magic. They will emerge from the children and families who had the chance to explore, love and connect with nature today. Tony Juniper CBE, Environmentalist and Ambassador for Fields In Trust Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Chris Mason: Reeves's spending priorities leave little wiggle room
The words Spending Review may not instantly quicken the heart rate of many, but what we hear from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have an impact on what your life is like in the UK in the coming could be one of the defining moments between now and the next general election, as the government divvies up spending for the health service, defence, schools, the police, prisons, courts and much plenty of words about the government's priorities, we will get a sense of the numbers. And yes, a sense of the winners and can expect ministers to claim that much of what it has done in its first year in office has been about "fixing the foundations".That is code for the tricky stuff: think those big and in many places unpopular tax rises, such as the increase in employers national insurance contributions. There is also a keen awareness that rarely has a new government suffered such a big whack to its popularity so fast. Yes a whopping majority, but just 34% of the vote last summer, and they have gone a long way backwards wonder we can expect the chancellor to claim "this government is renewing Britain" but also acknowledge "I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it".Baked into what we can expect to hear is an emphasis from Reeves of the importance of an illustration of that, the chancellor recently returned from a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada, where she, not yet a year in office, was the second longest serving attendee around the table. It is a volatile the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and others have pointed out, the key decision above all others that we await in the Spending Review is how much money is allocated to the health NHS makes up such a big chunk of day-to-day government spending - about 40% - that how well or otherwise it does shapes everything has long been the case, particularly because it is often also gets a proportionately more generous settlement than on top of that, what has changed more recently as well the government's desire to spend more on defence too and to do so in an era of low growth. 'A song to sing' If we put all these things together, you have an explanation for why other budgets will be as Paul Johnson, the outgoing director of the IFS puts it, "this will be one of the tightest spending reviews in modern times, outside of the austerity period of the early 2010s".For much of the last week, the government has been leaning into the elements of its plan that it feels most comfortable selling: the long term, so-called capital spending on transport and nuclear gets squeezed and by how much is the detail we are waiting MPs have been invited in to see the chancellor and be talked through the aim, as one person put it to me, was to give them "a song to sing", things they can talk about when they are asked what the government is up of Labour MPs I talk to welcome the long-term spending but are also acutely conscious of how bumpy politics feels right now and how important it is they are seen to deliver and deliver quickly."The problem with talk of 'a decade of national renewal' is so much of this stuff is long term and so we could get half way through the decade and then lose the election," one MP in the Treasury are aware of this critique and particularly those who might point to some squeezed day-to-day budgets and claim we are experiencing what they see as has led those around Reeves to declare a "war on graphs" or, as Laura Kuenssberg reported the other day, a desire to point to graphs that help illustrate a key part of their argument in taking on this point out that when you combine day-to-day spending with capital spending, the graph is going up - the opposite of what some might describe as austerity."This is about four trillion pounds of spending," one senior figure tells me. "We reset the foundations. This is stage two: setting things out. Then, we hope for the delivery."Let's political and economic backdrop is perilous: an electorate without much patience, limited economic growth and a wildly unpredictable international landscape, not least President what the government has chosen to prioritise - the NHS and defence - and the rules it has set itself with the aim of projecting economic competence, it leaves the chancellor with little room for manoeuvre.
The Hindu
10-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Spike in leptospirosis cases worries Health department in Kerala
Leptospirosis is yet again emerging as the single most disease killing the maximum number of people every year in Kerala. While the pattern has been the same for the past several years, what has been immensely worrying the Health department is the huge jump in leptospirosis cases and mortality in the last three years. Despite the early public health alerts and doxycycline prophylaxis strategy initiated by the department or the PCR testing facilities launched for early confirmation of the disease, leptospirosis continues to be a significant cause of mortality. The disease, which used to spike during the rainy season, is no longer a seasonal one and more cases and deaths are reported even in the dry season too. Since 2022 when the Integrated Disease Surveillance programme began entering the 'probable' cases and deaths due to infectious diseases such as dengue and leptospirosis in the official records that the mortality due to leptospirosis began standing out. In 2022, the State recorded 5,315 probable and confirmed cases of leptospirosis and 290 deaths (both probable and confirmed). The very next year, 5,186 cases and 282 deaths were recorded. In 2024, the number of cases jumped to 5,980 and the deaths to 394. This year too, the picture looks quite alarming, with 1,451 cases and 74 deaths recorded till June 9. Complications Late diagnosis as well as complications and organ damage due to co-infections of dengue-leptospirosis are often cited as the major reasons for the serious loss of lives. However, the lack of intensive care facilities at the secondary level hospitals in districts is pointed out to be another important factor that could be contributing to the high mortality due to leptospirosis. Early diagnosis of leptospirosis, a disease which presents as a high febrile illness, myalgia and headache, may not be easy as it is difficult to distinguish it from dengue or other tropical diseases, just by clinical symptoms alone. However, laboratory diagnosis of leptospirosis is also quite challenging. Current serological tests for antibodies, like ELISA, take at least seven days to give results and this totally eludes diagnosis in the acute phase of the disease. In recent years, the Health department has introduced PCR tests for identifying leptospirosis early. However, these molecular tests are not widely available. Leptospirosis ranges from subclinical or mild illness (anicteric) in 90%-95% cases and it is a small proportion of the cases — about 5%-10% — which can develop into a serious illness, the prognosis of which might be unpredictable. People sometimes present late at the hospital after self-treatment for days together and the deterioration into multi-organ failure and pulmonary involvement can be rapid. These patients who develop serious illness require intensive management, but often this is where the public health system falters. A senior doctor in the Health Service points out that the intensive care units in secondary care level hospitals cannot be run 24 x7 because of acute shortage of nursing staff. Patients thus get referred to medical college hospitals, overcrowding the system. Impossible to eliminate Public health experts point out that leptospirosis is a risk which cannot be eliminated because over 280 serovars of the bacteria are spread out in the environment, the soil around us and these environmental factors are something over which no human controls are possible. Many clinicians maintain that focus has to be back on preventing leptospirosis because there are limits to how early the disease can be diagnosed and how well it can be managed. The Health department has been relying on doxycycline prophylaxis to counter the threat of leptospirosis for years now. Doctors point out that doxycycline has been found to be highly efficient even when one has been exposed to the infectious agent, provided it is consumed as per the guidelines. Yet people tend to ignore the health advisories or do not consume them as per guidelines, officials say. As leptospirosis predominantly seems to affect those in the low-socioeconomic groups and essentially those whose occupation puts them in constant contact with soil and water — dairy farmers, farmers, animal handlers, manual labourers, gardeners — the message that doxycycline prophylaxis can be life-saving should be consistently and repeatedly communicated amongst these high-risk groups.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
A cancer drug available on the NHS could treat an incurable lung disease that plagues more than 30,000 Britons
A cancer drug available on the NHS could treat an incurable lung disease that plagues more than 30,000 Britons, a study claims. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) occurs when scar tissue builds up in the lungs, causing the walls to stiffen and making it difficult to breathe. The condition primarily affects older adults and leads to a persistent cough, fatigue, weight loss and muscle aches. Symptoms rapidly worsen, and its cause is unknown. Though the scarring can be managed by medications such as antifibrotics, average life expectancy once IPF sets in is just three to five years. However, a group of American scientists claim a cancer drug already used by the Health Service can reverse damage caused by the condition. Ipilimumab blocks the CTLA-4 protein – which suppresses the immune system – to allow the body to better recognise and attack diseased cells. The protein has also been proven to contribute towards lung scarring by negating fibroblast cells, which repair damaged tissue. In IPF sufferers, fibroblasts do not function properly. But ipilimumab can also be administered to aid lung-tissue regeneration, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reveals. Mice that received the drug intravenously showed much-improved lung-repair ability and recovered faster than those not on the medication. 'This opens up an entirely new direction for potential treatment of IPF,' says lead author Dr Santu Yadav, assistant professor of medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine. The researchers are hopeful the same 'immune-rejuvenating' approach could also be used to treat Alzheimer's and heart disease.
