Artemis II crew to return home as Nasa lays out steps for safe splashdown

• US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8, 2026, ending 38 days of intense conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran involving major military exchanges. • Iran maintained leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route, while the US pushed Iran to negotiations based on Tehran's 10-point framework against Washington's 15-point demands on nuclear activity and regional influence. • Israel rejected parts of the ceasefire scope and continued operations in Lebanon, prompting Iran to warn of withdrawal if attacks persist, highlighting the truce's precarious nature amid high regional tensions.

• Pakistan has positioned itself as a primary mediator between the United States and Iran following the recent Middle East war, leading efforts to end hostilities after Trump's threats prompted a White House reversal. • Peace talks are set to begin in Pakistan on April 10, welcomed by India, as the two-week ceasefire takes hold amid reshaping West Asian strategic landscape. • China supports Pakistan's role, having jointly submitted a five-point truce plan with Islamabad to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before escalation.

Independent MP elected to the seat of Stafford in Brisbane’s northern suburbs in 2020 and disendorsed by Labor in 2025Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Queensland state politician has been found dead at his home.Jimmy Sullivan, 44, was the independent MP for the Queensland electorate of Stafford in Brisbane’s north. Continue reading...

Melissa Chiu, 54, director of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, led the institution for 12 years A museum director at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington has announced that she is leaving to take over at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.Melissa Chiu has been director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the National Mall for 12 years. In an interview on Thursday, she insisted that her departure is not related to Donald Trump’s efforts to interfere with the Smithsonian. Continue reading...

Closure comes weeks after former Australian of the Year and advocate for abuse survivors says she lost speaking engagements because of a ‘smear campaign’ against herFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChild sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame’s foundation has announced it is closing, citing challenges with long-term funding.The former Australian of the Year set up the foundation in 2021 – the year she carried the national honour for her advocacy for abuse survivors and for law reform. Continue reading...

Paul Friedman grants New York Times’s motion to force implementation of earlier ruling that gutted restrictive new policyA federal judge on Thursday ruled that the Pentagon has not complied with an order last month that undid much of a restrictive new press pass policy implemented by the Department of Defense, and ordered the return of credentials to seven New York Times reporters.The newspaper, which sued the Trump administration in December, had urged the judge to compel implementation of his 20 March ruling after the Pentagon responded to the judge’s determination by creating a new press access policy, which the newspaper called an “end-run” around the judge’s ruling. The Pentagon had also announced the closure of the work space known as “correspondents’ corridor”. Continue reading...

The first lady unleashed a barrage of denials – and put one of her husband’s biggest political liabilities back on the agendaUS politics – live updatesVideo: Melania Trump says she ‘never’ had relationship with EpsteinWhen Donald Trump launched a seemingly random war against Iran, there was a whiff of suspicion of a Wag the Dog ploy to divert attention from how badly the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was going.So when Trump’s wife Melania made a mysterious appearance at the White House on Thursday to put Epstein front and centre again, was it an elaborate ruse to divert attention from how badly the Iran war is going? Continue reading...

Suspects allegedly bought 14 hospice companies and used stolen identities to fraudulently bill state health planSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxCalifornia authorities have filed felony charges against 21 people, who they say orchestrated a hospice fraud scheme that cost the state $267m, the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced on Thursday.The suspects allegedly bought personal identifying information for non-California residents from the dark web and used the stolen identities to enroll in Medi-Cal, a state program that gives low-income residents free or low-cost health care. Continue reading...

The Bronx born rapper and DJ helped introduce hip-hop to the mainstream and was also accused of child sexual abuseThe American rapper and DJ Afrika Bambaataa has died aged 67. The musician died in Philadelphia at around 3am local time due to complications from cancer, TMZ reported.The Hip-Hop Alliance, a group headed by musician Kurtis Blow, wrote: “Today, we acknowledge the transition of a foundational architect of hip-hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa. As the founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa helped shape the early identity of hip-hop as a global movement rooted in peace, unity, love, and having fun. Continue reading...

Prime minister touches down and says two countries ‘strategically aligned’. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA search for a fisherman who disappeared in waters off Coffs Harbour has been suspended, police said last night.Emergency services were called to Emerald Beach, Coffs Harbour, on Monday following reports that a 32-year-old man had been washed off rocks while fishing.There’s been substantial damage in the Gulf and that will have consequences for a period of at least months ahead. Continue reading...

Do No Harm activist group alleges ‘racial discrimination’ in program designed to support under-served communitiesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxConservative campaigners are targeting a decades-old federal scholarship program designed to provide Native Hawaiian students with funding to pursue healthcare careers and place practitioners in the state’s most medically under-served communities.Do No Harm, a Virginia-based advocacy group for healthcare clinicians “focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice”, filed its federal lawsuit challenging the US health department’s Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program (NHHSP) last week. Continue reading...