World

NASA's Artemis II mission has set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. On Monday at 15:58 GMT, the four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft surpassed the previous record of 400,171 km (248,655 miles), which was established by the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970. The mission, which is currently orbiting the far side of the Moon, is expected to reach its maximum distance of approximately 406,788 km (252,760 miles) from Earth by 23:07 GMT, marking a significant milestone in space exploration.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has assessed that North Korea is weakening its long-standing partnership with Iran in an apparent bid to forge a new diplomatic relationship with the United States. According to lawmaker Park Sun-won, who attended a closed-door NIS briefing, there have been no signs of weapons or supplies being sent from North Korea to Tehran since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February.

▪️ US President Donald Trump has rejected a peace initiative proposed by Iranian authorities and threatened to destroy the country’s infrastructure unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz within four days. Trump stated that his final deadline – Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM Washington time (00:00 GMT) – is “highly unlikely” to be postponed, adding, “They’ve had plenty of time.”

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint handling 25% of global maritime oil trade, has been plunged into crisis following strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran in late February and Tehran's subsequent closure of the strait. Brent crude prices have surged to nearly $120 per barrel, forcing Gulf producers to cut output, while alternative pipeline routes can only move 5-6 million barrels per day, exacerbating global economic strains and highlighting the fragility of energy supply chains.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) stated on Monday that it now considers the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be his political successor. NIS Director Lee Jong Seok, in a parliamentary briefing, emphasized that "this is not a judgment based on mere circumstantial evidence, but on intelligence information," marking a sharper stance from the agency in tracking succession signals from Pyongyang. This assessment reflects ongoing concerns about leadership stability in the isolated state.

The four astronauts of the Artemis mission, while being the farthest from home, have maintained a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. The calm words from the NASA team provided the crew with a comforting link to Earth, but that link is on the verge of being lost as they pass behind the Moon.

A staff member of the World Health Organization (WHO), Majdi Aslan, 54, was killed on Monday in Gaza when the Israeli army fired on a WHO vehicle. According to sources, including an Al Jazeera correspondent, the incident occurred in eastern Khan Younis on Salah al-Din Street, where Israeli forces shot "indiscriminately" at people and vehicles. Aslan, the driver, was shot in the head and later pronounced dead at Al-Aqsa Hospital, while a WHO doctor and several other Palestinians were injured.

The Iranian government has sent an official response via Pakistan to a ceasefire proposal from the United States, presenting a 10-point peace plan. Tehran's key condition is a rejection of a temporary truce in favor of achieving a final peace and complete cessation of the war. Iranian leadership views this approach as necessary for a sustainable settlement.

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark ultimatum to the Iranian government: the Strait of Hormuz must be fully reopened by 8:00 PM Eastern Time in the United States on Tuesday, April 7 (midnight GMT on Wednesday, April 8), or the country's major power plants and bridges will be destroyed. This threat echoes an earlier ultimatum from March 21, in which Trump warned he would attack Iran's largest power plant first if the strait was not opened within 48 hours.

Ukrainian military officials reported carrying out a drone strike on the Russian missile carrier "Admiral Makarov" and a drilling rig at the port of Novorossiysk. Ukraine's drone forces commander Robert Brovdi stated on Monday that the attack targeted Russia's largest oil exporting outlet on the Black Sea. Ukraine has intensified its assaults on Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt export revenues that allegedly fund Moscow's war efforts.

Mahmoud Shamiya walks to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea every day just to pass the time. He is among Gaza’s tens of thousands of young people who have no work as the economy collapsed during Israel’s devastating war. Shamiya graduated from Al-Aqsa University with a degree in basic education three years ago, dreaming of becoming a teacher and a role model for children. Today, his daily routine consists of fetching water, scavenging for firewood, and surviving in a tent. "The occupation and this war came and destroyed all the landmarks of education in Gaza," Shamiya said. "Today, we have become aimless, jobless, and hopeless. We live a deadly routine."

A 53-year-old asthmatic resident of St Petersburg, identified only as Konstantin for security reasons, has been sporadically smelling the odour of burning crude oil, fuel, and chemicals over the past two weeks due to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's two largest oil terminals on the Baltic Sea. The Ust-Luga and Primorsk terminals, located 165 km and 133 km from St Petersburg respectively, handle two-fifths of Moscow's seaborne oil exports and nearly 2% of global oil supply, according to the International Energy Agency.