• 247 workers were underground.
• 201 brought to surface safely.
• President Xi orders full investigation.

BEIJING: At least eight people have died and dozens are trapped underground after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China, state media reported on Saturday.

The blast occurred at 7:29 pm (1129 GMT) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A total of 247 workers were underground at the time, of whom 201 had been brought to the surface safely as of 6:00 am on Saturday, Xinhua said.

Eight people have been confirmed dead, while 38 remain trapped underground, the agency reported, citing local emergency management authorities.

President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and called for thorough investigations into the incident, Xinhua said.

He “emphasised that all regions and departments must draw lessons from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding workplace safety… and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and catastrophic accidents”.

Rescue efforts were ongoing, Xinhua said.

Xinhua reported earlier that levels of carbon monoxide — a highly toxic, odourless gas — had “exceeded limits” at the mine.

Some of those trapped underground were in “critical condition”, the earlier report said.

Shanxi, one of China’s poorer provinces, is the country’s coal-mining capital.

Mine safety in the country has improved in recent decades, but accidents still occur frequently in an industry where safety protocols are often lax.

China is the world’s top consumer of coal and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, despite installing renewable energy capacity at record speed.

• Experts say repeated failure weakens treaty credibility.
• Campaigners blame nuclear-armed states for blocking progress.
• Treaty remains in force but divisions persist among member states.
  

Talks at the UN to reaffirm nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament goals failed on Friday, according to the leader of the talks, after four weeks of negotiations held amid low expectations.

Vietnam’s Do Hung Viet, the president of the conference, said that “despite our best efforts… it is my understanding that the conference is not in a position to achieve agreement on its substantive work.”

“I do not intend to put the document forward for adoption,” he added.

Negotiators were reviewing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the cornerstone of nuclear weapons control, amid fears of a renewed arms race. Previous reviews in 2015 and 2022 were also unsuccessful.

With expectations low, participants negotiated over a repeatedly reviewed and watered-down text, which they ultimately failed to adopt.

Experts pointed out that even in the absence of a review agreement for the third time in a row, the treaty continues to exist, but with diminished legitimacy.

“The text keeps on becoming less and less anchored in the realities of current conflicts and proliferation risks,” including North Korea and Iran, analyst Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said before the outcome was announced.

The latest version of the text seen by AFP on Friday merely stated that Tehran must “never” develop nuclear weapons.

The paragraph was in brackets, signalling persistent disagreement, despite the removal of the reference to Iran’s “non-compliance” with its obligations that appeared in the first draft.

Also gone were expressions of concern about North Korea’s nuclear programme, or even any mention of the “denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula.

Gone as well was the direct call on the United States and Russia to begin negotiations on a successor to the New START treaty limiting Russian and American arsenals, which expired in February.

The diluted text still covered “the risk of a resumption of nuclear testing by Russia, China and the United States, the growth of arsenals, and attacks on nuclear infrastructure,” Heloise Fayet of the French Institute of International Relations said earlier on Friday.

Exactly why the review failed isn’t yet known.

“The majority of countries are indeed working in good faith for disarmament,” said Seth Shelden of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), commenting on the failure of the talks.

“But the small handful of nuclear-armed states, and certain of their allies, are undermining the NPT, frustrating disarmament efforts, expanding arsenals and provoking proliferation, and pointing the world toward catastrophe,” he added.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the nine nuclear-armed states — Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, 90% of which were in American and Russian hands.

Some countries are modernising their arsenals or even increasing their stockpiles.

The NPT, which entered into force in 1970 and has been signed by almost all states — with notable exceptions including Israel, India, and Pakistan — aims to prevent proliferation, promote complete disarmament and encourage cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

US President Donald Trump on Friday said he won’t be attending the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Junior, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson because he has to stay in Washington for government business.

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Junior, and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, DC, at the White House during this important period of time,” the post continued.

The wedding is taking place this weekend on a small island in the Bahamas, CNN reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the plans. A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr wanted his father to attend, but that it was going to be a “small private affair.”

Trump said then he would try to make the wedding but the timing was bad for him.

“I have a thing called Iran and other things,” Trump said on Thursday.

The Trump administration is currently engaged in diplomatic talks mediated by Pakistan aimed at securing a deal to end the war with Iran the US and Israel began on February 28 which has roiled the global economy.

This is the third time Donald Trump Jr has been engaged. He was previously married to Vanessa, a former model and actress, for 12 years and the couple has five children together. Vanessa filed for a divorce in 2018. He was later engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a US television personality, until they separated in 2024.