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Condoms users to pay extra 30% as top producer increases price as Iran-US war continues
The world’s largest condom manufacturer, Karex Bhd, has announced plans to increase prices by between 20 and 30 per cent, citing ongoing supply chain disruptions linked to the Iran conflict.
Chief executive Goh Miah Kiat said the company may raise prices further if disruptions persist, as rising costs for raw materials and logistics continue to strain operations.
“The situation is definitely very fragile, prices are expensive … We have no choice but to transfer the costs right now to the customers,” he said. Karex produces more than five billion condoms annually and supplies major brands such as Durex and Trojan, as well as public health systems including the National Health Service in UK and global programmes run by the United Nations.
The company is also experiencing a surge in demand, with usage rising by about 30 per cent this year. Goh attributed this to reduced global stockpiles, worsened by cuts in foreign aid funding, particularly from the US Agency for International Development.
Supply chain challenges have intensified since the escalation of the Iran conflict in late February, affecting access to key materials such as synthetic rubber, nitrile, aluminium foil and silicone oil, all essential for condom production.
Shipping delays have compounded the issue, with delivery times to markets in Europe and the United States increasing from about one month to nearly two months.
“We’re seeing a lot more condoms actually sitting on vessels that have not arrived at their destination but are highly required,” Goh said, noting that shortages are especially severe in developing countries where supply chains are slower.
Karex said it currently has sufficient materials for the next few months and is working to increase production to meet demand, but warned that prolonged disruption could continue to impact availability and pricing globally.
A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside a high-profile journalists’ dinner attended by President Donald Trump, his wife Melania and multiple senior U.S. leaders on Saturday night, April 25, 2026, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody. The president and his wife were uninjured and were hustled away.
Guests went diving under tables as the scene unfolded and some reported hearing shots outside the vast subterranean ballroom in the Washington Hilton where the event was being held.
One law enforcement official said a gunman had opened fire. A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, several sources told The Associated Press.
The shooting suspect — described by Trump as a “sick person” — was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told the AP.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”
There was no immediate indication of any other involvement, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had ”no reason” to believe anyone else was involved. Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.
“There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public at this time,” Bowser said at a separate news conference.
All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration on a night when the nation is at war with Iran.
It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity — including the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local firefighter.
“Today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” the president said. But he also said, “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.”
US President Donald Trump said Saturday a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner would not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident was unlikely linked to the conflict.
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters in a briefing at the White House after the shocking security incident.
Trump had earlier said, however, that “you never know” if it could be linked to the Iran war, and said investigators were working on the motive of the shooter whom he described as a “lone wolf.”
The US leader earlier Saturday canceled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran, after being unimpressed with Tehran’s negotiating position following nearly two months of war.
The Edo State Police Command Saturday said it has rescued nine victims abducted from two separate incidents during a recent kidnapping incident along the Benin–Lagos Expressway.
A statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, noted that the rescue follows recent attacks along the busy highway, including a reported assault on a GUO Transport bus.
It said the immediate and massive deployment of tactical teams, intelligence assets, aerial surveillance, and other operational resources by the Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, to the affected corridor, led to the operation’s success.
“The sustained rescue efforts, coordinated bush-combing operations, and strategic domination of the area exerted pressure on the kidnappers ultimately leading to the safe rescue of all victims. They have since received medical evaluation and treatment, and reunited with their families”, the statement read.
Four of the kidnapped victims who were abducted earlier this month and held in captivity within the Imiegba forest in Agenebode have been rescued.
“They have likewise received medical attention and are safe, making a total of nine kidnapped victims rescued.
“The Edo State Police Command wishes to reassure the public, particularly commuters and residents, that security deployment along the Benin–Lagos Expressway and adjoining communities has been significantly strengthened”, the statement said, adding that
Tactical, intelligence, and operational assets have been fully activated across the axis, and the deployments will remain in place until the route is completely safe and secure for all road users.
The Command said it is also intensifying efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.
‘We are confident that all those involved will be tracked down and brought to justice in the shortest possible time”.
Trump, wife escape as gunman opens fire during dinner with press men
Trump boasts says, shooting won’t stop him from Iran war
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