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The Artemis II crew, fresh from a record‑breaking lunar flyby, received an unexpected call from former President Donald Trump on Monday night. Facilitated by NASA administrator and Trump ally Jared Isaacman, the 12‑minute conversation was punctuated by long silences, anecdotes about Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, and the president’s claim that he had "saved NASA" from closure. Trump’s assertion sparked eyebrows among the astronauts, who had just set a new milestone as the farthest‑traveled humans from Earth. The president recounted a decision he allegedly faced in his first term: whether to revive or shut down the agency. "We’ve spent what we had to do," he said, implying the agency’s survival rested on his judgment. While Trump has publicly championed the Artemis program, his administration has repeatedly pursued deep cuts to NASA’s overall budget. In early 2025, the White House proposed a 24% reduction—bringing the budget down to $18.8 billion, the lowest level in a decade. Experts warned such cuts would constitute "extinction‑level" reductions to critical science programs. Congress, in a rare bipartisan move, rejected the proposed slashing and approved a near‑full budget of $24.4 billion in January. Yet, on 3 April 2026—just two days after Artemis II launched on the first crewed mission beyond low‑Earth orbit in over 50 years—Trump unveiled his FY 2027 budget request, again proposing a steep cut of 23% to NASA’s funding. Democratic leaders denounced the proposal as "morally bankrupt," while Isaacman issued a statement supporting the president’s fiscal stance, urging NASA staff to "leave the politics for the politicians and remain focused on the mission." During the call, Trump praised the crew’s "incredible journey into the stars" and claimed their mission had "inspired the entire world." He reiterated America’s ambition to lead space exploration, promising a permanent lunar base and eventual crewed missions to Mars. The conversation also featured a brief exchange with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who highlighted the United States’ "intentional decision" to lead by example and collaborate with allies like Canada. Trump responded by recalling conversations with Gretzky, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and other Canadian friends, emphasizing national pride. After a minute of awkward silence, Isaacman returned for a "comm‑check," and Trump reiterated his stories about Canadian contacts. The Artemis II commander, Reid Wiseman, acknowledged the president’s remarks with a polite, "Yes, Mr. President, we heard that." Trump concluded by extending an invitation to the four astronauts for an Oval Office reception following their scheduled splashdown in the Pacific on Friday. "I’ll ask Jared to bring you over, and I’ll ask for your autograph, because you deserve that," he said, adding he would "find the time" to salute the crew on behalf of the American people. Pilot Victor Glover responded enthusiastically, "When you want us, we will be there," and thanked the president for what he called a "really special" call. He highlighted the mission’s significance, noting it was made possible by both the American and Canadian peoples.

NASA's Artemis II astronauts have described the powerful emotions they felt while soaring over the moon, capturing breathtaking images of impact craters, cracks, and ridges. The crew, who worked in pairs at the Orion capsule windows, took photographs of the Earth rising from behind the moon, a solar eclipse, and parts of the 590-mile-wide Orientale impact basin. The astronauts, including Christina Koch, the first woman to fly around the moon, reported feeling overwhelmed by the lunar landscape. Koch said she had an intense emotional moment when observing the moon's surface, which she couldn't replicate. Fellow astronaut Victor Glover, the first black man to travel beyond low Earth orbit, also shared his moving experience, describing the terrain as 'amazing'. The Artemis II mission broke the record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth, reaching a distance of 252,756 miles. The crew came within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface at their closest approach. The mission's return leg is expected to end in a splashdown near the coast of San Diego on Friday evening. The Orion spacecraft will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at over 20,000mph, causing its heat shield to reach temperatures above 1,600C. To minimize risks, the capsule will come in at a steeper angle, reducing the time the heat shield spends at critical temperatures.

The Artemis II mission has achieved a remarkable feat, with the crew flying further from Earth than any human before them, reaching a distance of 406,778km (252,760 miles) from Earth. This historic moment broke a 56-year-old record set by the Apollo 13 mission.During their six-hour lunar flyby, the crew captured unprecedented views of the moon's far side, providing a human perspective on features previously only known through robotic photographs. The astronauts used high-powered Nikon cameras and their iPhones to document the lunar surface, with plans to return with thousands of pictures, including images of the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites.The mission also included an emotional moment when the crew honored the legacy of past astronauts. They began the day with a wake-up message from Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander, who recorded the message two months before his death. Lovell welcomed the crew to 'my old neighborhood' and encouraged them to enjoy the view.In a touching gesture, the astronauts named two fresh lunar craters. They proposed the names Integrity for their capsule and Carroll, in honor of Commander Reid Wiseman's late wife who passed away from cancer in 2020. Wiseman, a former fighter pilot, has been raising their two daughters on his own since then. The names will be passed along to the International Astronomical Union for official designation.The mission's free-return lunar trajectory took advantage of gravity from the Earth and moon, reducing the need for fuel. This figure-of-eight path will put the astronauts on course for home once they emerge from behind the moon. As they passed across the far side of the moon, the capsule experienced a 40-minute communications blackout, a routine occurrence during the Apollo missions.Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen challenged future generations to make sure the record broken by Artemis II is not long-lived. The crew's achievements and emotional moments highlight the significance of this mission in the history of space exploration.

In the run-up to the state assembly election in Assam, India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is employing a strategy that combines Hindu nationalism with welfare schemes to woo voters.The party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been accused of pursuing a hardline Hindu supremacist agenda in Assam, coupled with a xenophobic campaign targeting the state's Muslim population, which constitutes 34% of Assam's 31 million people.At a recent election rally in Morigaon district, BJP leaders highlighted the welfare schemes launched by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's government, including a direct benefit transfer scheme called Orunodoi, which provides financial aid to women. Nitin Nabin, the BJP's national president, claimed these schemes benefited the Assamese people, especially women.The BJP's strategy in Assam has been described as a 'cocktail of Hindutva and welfarism' by Akhil Ranjan Dutta, a political science professor at Assam's Gauhati University. 'The BJP is experimenting with a brand of Hindutva by co-opting Indigenous armed struggle and cultural nationalism, while solidifying Hindu identity and othering the Bengali Muslims.'The party's election promises have heightened anxiety among Bengali-speaking Muslims, who fear more crackdowns on their community, including a proposal to implement a Uniform Civil Code, which critics say will override Muslim personal laws.Opposition parties and analysts argue that the BJP is mainly milking two cash transfer schemes – Orunodoi and Udyamita – to influence voters in this election. Economist Joydeep Baruah estimates that at least 10 to 15% of the scheme's four million women beneficiaries could vote for the BJP.The BJP's tactics have been criticized by opposition parties and human rights groups, who accuse the party of vote buying and polarizing the electorate along communal lines.

Pakistan has put forward a two-phase plan to bring an end to the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, and to reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz. This initiative has been shared with both Iran and the United States, and is currently being considered by both sides.According to sources, Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has acknowledged Pakistan's diplomatic efforts. The plan, tentatively referred to as the 'Islamabad Accord', involves an immediate ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with 15 to 20 days allocated to finalize a broader settlement.The proposed agreement would include Iranian commitments not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets. However, Tehran has responded by stating that it will not reopen the strait as part of a temporary ceasefire, and has expressed skepticism about the proposal.The US has not yet responded to Pakistan's plan, while Iran has rejected a 15-point plan put forward by the US last month, describing it as 'illogical'. The conflict has resulted in significant human suffering, with over 2,000 people killed in Iran since the war began on February 28.The situation remains volatile, with Trump threatening 'hell' on Tehran if a deal is not reached by the end of Tuesday. The international community is closely watching the developments, as the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical artery for global fuel supplies, with over 20 percent of the world's oil and gas passing through the waterway.

Emergency responders have mobilized across affected Iranian neighborhoods, searching for survivors after a series of strikes struck residential homes. The operation underscores the immediate humanitarian effort to locate and assist those trapped or injured in the damaged dwellings. Authorities continue to assess the extent of the damage while prioritizing the safety and recovery of the local population.

In a recent security operation in the city of Hebron, Israeli soldiers resorted to tear‑gas deployment against a group of Palestinian youths. The incident, reported by Al Jazeera on April 6, 2026, adds to a series of confrontations that have marked the volatile environment of the West Bank. The use of crowd‑control agents during the raid highlights the heightened tension between Israeli security forces and the local Palestinian population. While the exact trigger for the deployment was not detailed, the episode reflects broader patterns of friction that have persisted throughout the region. Human‑rights observers often note that tear‑gas usage can exacerbate community grievances, potentially leading to further unrest. In the context of Hebron—a city with a long history of clashes—such incidents can have ripple effects on both local stability and the broader diplomatic landscape. International stakeholders continue to monitor the situation closely, emphasizing the need for restraint and dialogue to prevent escalation. The latest episode serves as a reminder of the fragile security dynamics that shape daily life in the contested territories.

Monday, 6 April 2026 marks the most consequential day for human spaceflight in over half a century, as NASA’s Artemis II mission prepares to eclipse the Apollo 13 distance record.At 13:56 EDT (17:56 GMT) the Orion spacecraft will pass the 400,171 km (248,655 mi) mark set by Apollo 13, and by 19:07 EDT (23:07 GMT) it is slated to reach a maximum of 406,773 km (252,760 mi) from Earth – roughly 6,600 km farther than any human has ever traveled.The Artemis programme is NASA’s multi‑decade effort to return people to the Moon, establish a sustainable presence there, and use the lunar foothold as a springboard to Mars. The initiative currently comprises five missions (Artemis I‑V).Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight launched on 16 November 2022, spent 25 days orbiting Earth and validating Orion’s performance, paving the way for the crewed flight.Artemis II lifted off from Kennedy Space Centre on 1 April 2026 at 18:35 EDT (22:35 GMT) with a four‑astronaut crew for a ten‑day deep‑space test.Crew members:Reid Wiseman (50), commander – veteran ISS commander and test pilot.Victor Glover (49), pilot – first Black astronaut assigned to a lunar mission; previously flew on SpaceX Crew‑1.Christina Koch (47), mission specialist – holds the record for longest single women’s spaceflight (328 days) and has extensive EVA experience.Jeremy Hansen (50), mission specialist – Canada’s first astronaut to travel to the Moon, former fighter pilot.The crew will manually pilot Orion at key phases, verify life‑support, propulsion, power, thermal control, navigation and proximity‑operations systems, and rehearse critical procedures such as course corrections, long‑range communications, re‑entry and splashdown.Scientific work will include lunar observations, human‑health experiments, and extensive photography. On 2 April, Commander Wiseman captured a striking “Hello, World” image of Earth from Orion, showing upside‑down continents, vivid auroras, city lights across Africa, Europe and South America, and a faint zodiacal glow.Nutrition for the ten‑day flight comes from a fixed menu of 189 shelf‑stable items – tortillas, nuts, beef brisket, macaroni‑and‑cheese, cookies, chocolate, and rehydratable drinks – all prepared without a refrigerator, using a water dispenser and a small heater to keep crumbs from floating in microgravity.NASA plans the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at about 20:07 EDT on 10 April 2026. Recovery helicopters will retrieve the crew for medical checks aboard the USS John P Murtha before they return to Johnson Space Center in Houston.The Moon lies an average 384,400 km (238,855 mi) from Earth – roughly ten Earth‑equator circumferences. Its diameter is about one‑third that of Earth; if Earth were a basketball, the Moon would be a tennis ball. Surface temperatures swing from –173 °C (–180 °F) at night to 127 °C (260 °F) in daylight, and gravity is only one‑sixth of Earth’s, so a 60 kg person would feel the weight of a 10 kg mass.Between 1961 and 1972 NASA’s Apollo programme conducted 33 missions (11 crewed, 22 uncrewed), achieving six successful lunar landings. The last humans to walk on the Moon were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt on 14 December 1972 (Apollo 17).Other nations have also left their mark: the Soviet Luna 9 (1966) delivered the first soft‑landing images, China’s Chang’e 4 (2019) explored the far side, and India’s Chandrayaan‑3 (2023) achieved the first soft landing near the lunar south pole – a region rich in permanently shadowed craters that may hold water ice.Looking ahead, Artemis III (targeted for 2027) will test integrated operations in low Earth orbit with commercial landers, Artemis IV (early 2028) aims for the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 at the south pole, and Artemis V (late 2028) will begin construction of a lunar base.

Majdi Aslan, a 54‑year‑old WHO driver, was killed on Monday when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle carrying World Health Organization staff in eastern Khan Younis. Several other passengers, including a WHO doctor, sustained injuries.The incident occurred near the so‑called yellow line on Salah al‑Din Street, an area that has seen near‑daily Israeli strikes since a fragile ceasefire was brokered in October. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 700 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed wave of violence.According to Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, Israeli forces fired indiscriminately at people and vehicles traveling along the road. A civilian commercial vehicle was followed by a car transporting WHO personnel; the WHO driver was hit in the head and later pronounced dead at Al‑Aqsa Hospital, while roughly seven others were wounded.WHO did not immediately confirm the victim’s employment but issued a statement saying a “critical security incident” had occurred and that medical evacuations from Gaza via the Rafah crossing were suspended with immediate effect. The organization has been coordinating limited patient transfers through Rafah since the crossing reopened earlier this year.The suspension comes as Israel continues to restrict humanitarian aid entry and has repeatedly closed the Rafah crossing, especially as the broader U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran draws international focus. The halt threatens the already strained access to life‑saving treatment for thousands of injured Palestinians.Elsewhere on Monday, a Palestinian man with special needs was killed by Israeli soldiers in southern Khan Younis, a drone strike in Gaza City claimed a 36‑year‑old civilian, and two more Palestinians died in drone attacks on the Yarmouk and Shujayea neighborhoods. Hospital sources say eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes outside areas under Israeli control since Sunday.