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China temporarily bans helium exports as US-Iran tensions flare again

China announced on Friday a temporary ban on helium exports, effective immediately, as renewed military conflict in the Middle East threatens to trigger fresh shortages of the gas, which is critical for semiconductor manufacturing. Earlier this year, the US-Israeli war on Iran caused helium shortages, disrupting companies worldwide, including in China, where the artificial intelligence industry increasingly relies on domestically produced chips to train and run AI models. Helium is essential for heat management during semiconductor production. The export ban is the latest example of Beijing seeking to prevent domestic shortages of critical materials by restricting overseas shipments. China has previously imposed similar export curbs on fuel, fertilisers and sulphuric acid. China is also seeking to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity and reduce the industry's reliance on advanced Nvidia chips that are subject to US export controls. China re-exports helium ...
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One million women lose aid access due to funding cuts, UN Women says

At least one million women and girls have lost access to life-saving support within the last year due to global donor aid cuts, a new United Nations report on Friday found. Nearly nine in 10 women’s organisations can no longer meet the needs on the ground despite a large increase in demand since January last year, following the steepest drop in aid funding on record, the UN Women report found. The Trump administration slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance this year, while other major international donors have also reduced aid budgets due to fiscal pressures and increased defence spending. The United States had previously been the world's largest aid donor. Read: Pakistan seeks end to wartime sexual violence Some 120 million women and girls require humanitarian assistance and protection worldwide. However, 40% of the 855 women's organisations surveyed in countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti are at risk of shutting down temporarily or permanently within the next year due to a shortage of funds, the report found. The majority of organisations surveyed said they can no longer meet current levels of need, with 60% saying they are reaching fewer women and girls than they did before January 2025, despite a surge in demand for their services. The reduction is creating critical gaps in humanitarian coverage, the report said, as these organisations are sometimes the only actors able to reach women and girls in need. “Every dollar withdrawn from women’s organisations is a dollar withdrawn from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, displaced mothers, girls forced from school, and communities struggling to survive," said Sofia Calltorp, UN Women Chief of Humanitarian Action. Read More: Violence against women 65% of women-led organisations say their staff are working without pay to keep services running, while half have introduced waiting lists or are having to turn away women and girls. More than three-quarters say they've cut staff roles. As cases of conflict-related sexual violence doubled last year, 62% of organisations say that safe spaces are no longer available or have been reduced due to cuts, and there has also been a reduction in gender-based violence case management services. UN Women said the financing cuts were part of a broader gender backlash, with one-fifth of organisations suspending work advancing women’s leadership and gender equality.

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
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Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

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Arab countries, Pakistan likely to observe Eid on same day

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