🌍 Half of Afghan Women Leave Home Once or Twice a Month — UN
Half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month as Taliban-imposed restrictions severely curtail freedom of movement and public life, U.N. Women reported Wednesday.
The data was released as the Taliban approach the fifth anniversary of their return to power. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to ban girls from secondary education and women from attending university, according to the U.N. agency.
🇨🇳 China's Economic Reformer Zhu Rongji Dies at 97
Zhu Rongji, the former Chinese premier credited with modernising China's economy, has died at the age of 97.
Zhu served as premier from 1998 to 2003, leading a sweeping overhaul of state-owned enterprises, cracking down on corruption, and playing a central role in securing China's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001. His reforms helped transform China from a struggling post-Soviet-era holdout into an emerging global superpower.
Born in 1928 in Changsha, Hunan province, he graduated from Tsinghua University before rising through the party ranks to become one of the most consequential economic architects of modern China.
🗳 Flanagan Defeats Craig in Minnesota Democratic Senate Primary
Progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has won the Democratic Senate primary in Minnesota, defeating Rep. Angie Craig and five other candidates for the party's nomination, according to projections by NBC News and Decision Desk HQ.
Flanagan secured the nod for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. She will now advance to the general election, where she is set to face a former NFL player as the Republican nominee.
The result marks another primary victory for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over centrist challengers.
🇨🇳 China Detains 8,200 in Ten Days in Crime Crackdown
Chinese police have dismantled more than 1,000 gangs and detained approximately 8,200 suspects just ten days into a year-long national campaign against organised crime.
The Ministry of Public Security said the crackdown targets crimes that have shifted into "more covert" forms, spreading rapidly online. Authorities highlighted "new types of crimes" including online predatory lending, soft-violence debt collection, coerced consumption and online harassment as primary targets.
The campaign was announced by China's top security official and is set to run for a full year, signalling a broad, sustained law enforcement push across the country.
💻 Musk plans $16.8B "Terafab" chip factory in Texas
SpaceX and Tesla are planning a chip manufacturing facility called Terafab in Grimes County, Texas, with a projected cost of $16.8 billion. The facility would span over 100 million square feet — roughly five times the size of the world's current largest building.