With the commencement of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, India's political opposition has launched sharp criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Opposition leaders argue that the emergence of their rival nation as an international mediator highlights failures in India's diplomatic strategy and diminishes its global standing.
The Artemis II mission astronauts have successfully concluded humanity's first journey to the Moon in more than 50 years with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. This historic event set new records, including observations of the lunar far side, a total solar eclipse, and a celestial display of planets, notably showcasing Earth's radiance against the infinite darkness of space.
The Orion spacecraft has successfully concluded the historic Artemis 2 mission, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen—returned to Earth in good health after traveling a record distance of 406,771 kilometers from our planet. This marks the first crewed flight to the Moon since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, representing a significant milestone in space exploration amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Djibouti's long-serving President Ismail Omar Guelleh has claimed a landslide victory in the country's latest elections, securing his sixth consecutive term in the Horn of Africa nation. According to official results published by Djibouti's state-run news agency, Guelleh secured 97.81 percent of the votes cast on Friday, while his sole opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, earned just 2.19 percent. Voter turnout was 80.4 percent, with roughly 256,000 people registered to vote out of a population of approximately one million.
Iran's Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Muhammad Ali Iskandari, declared a significant victory for his country during a 14-day truce. He stated that the United States and Israel failed to achieve their goals of fragmenting Iran and igniting a civil war, while Tehran secured an important success.
High-level talks between the United States and Iran, aimed at ending a six-week war, commenced on Saturday in Islamabad. The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner. The Iranian team, headed by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, arrived in Pakistan on Friday.
Hungary's parliamentary elections on April 12 have become among the most contentious and scandal-plagued in the country's history since the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989. Opposition leader Péter Magyar, a 42-year-old lawyer and former diplomat who heads the center-right Tisza party, is acting as if he has already won the vote and is overseeing a transfer of power. He has been outlining the new government's top domestic and foreign policy priorities, stating he wants to reach out even to those who do not vote for him, reflecting a growing confidence within the opposition camp.
US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, effectively blockaded by Iran and roiling global energy supplies, will reopen "fairly soon," with or without Tehran's assistance. Trump, speaking ahead of peace talks between US and Iranian officials in Pakistan, claimed the US would "open up the Gulf" and that other countries were ready to "help out," but conceded it "won't be easy." His remarks come amid ongoing disruptions to maritime traffic in the critical chokepoint.
The four-member crew of NASA's Artemis II mission has successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, following a 10-day lunar voyage that marks the first crewed mission to the moon in over half a century. US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, returned aboard the Orion spacecraft named Integrity.
If a photograph is taken of US Vice President JD Vance standing next to Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Islamabad this weekend, it will mark the highest-level face-to-face talks between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution severed their strategic ties. This moment, though unlikely to ease the deeply hostile relationship, would signal a mutual desire to end a war that is sending shocks worldwide, avoid riskier escalation, and turn to diplomacy to broker a deal. However, the path forward is fraught with challenges, as the shaky two-week ceasefire has been contested and broken since its announcement, with Iran keeping everyone guessing until the last minute and Israel insisting on no ceasefire in Lebanon.
Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has announced it will raise tariffs on imports from neighboring Ecuador from 30% to 100%. The move, confirmed on Friday, matches the rate Ecuador set a day earlier, marking a significant escalation in the trade and diplomatic dispute between the two South American nations. This tit-for-tat action underscores deepening tensions that threaten regional economic stability.
NASA's Artemis II mission crew has safely splashed down on Earth, completing a landmark mission that carried humans around the Moon and back for the first time in over 50 years. The crew successfully executed a parachute landing in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, following a high-speed re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. Recovery teams were stationed off the coast of California, ready to retrieve the astronauts upon their arrival at 5:07 PM Pacific Time (00:07 GMT).