The global shortage of computer chips that has caused issues for everything from the PlayStation 5 to cars could last for "years", the head of Intel has warned. The issues – caused by an array of problems, from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak to trade wars – mean that semiconductors are in short supply. There is also vastly increased demand, as people buy new devices to work, study and play from home during lockdowns. That has led to the shutdown of vehicle production lines, PlayStation 5s that are nearly impossible to buy, shortages of devices such as microwaves, and a range of other issues from the smallest to largest consumer goods. Since many devices have a computer chip of a kind, the effect has quickly spread across much of the market.

The International Space Station has been hit with a piece of orbital debris, leaving a sizeable hole in its 17 metre-long robotic arm. Experts from the Canadian Space Agency and Nasa found the puncture during a routine inspection of Canadarm2. The arm performs station maintenance, moves supplies – and even astronauts – and performs "cosmic catches" by grappling visiting crafts and bringing them to the ISS. The inspection, which took place on 12 May, found that the puncture came from a piece of space debris that was too small to be tracked – which accounts for rock or dust particles to flecks of paint from satellites, the CSA says. Any object the size of a football or larger can be tracked.