BIG Wrap

(Al Jazeera Media Network) One person has been killed by projectile fragments after United States-Israeli strikes targeted a location close to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency, citing confirmation from Iranian authorities, said in a statement on X that there was “no increase in radiation levels” after Saturday’s attack. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed the Bushehr facility had been “bombed” four times since the war erupted on February...

(BBC News) The Australian government has encouraged people to go ahead with their Easter travel plans, despite fuel shortages at hundreds of petrol stations across the country. "Easter is a very special time of faith and family," energy minister Chris Bowen said on Saturday, adding: "Go take a break – but get no more fuel than you need." Fuel prices in Australia have soared since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran and the effective...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Iranian forces have said they struck down two fighter jets belonging to the United States military, one over the southwest part of the country and another around the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Friday that air defences completely destroyed one F-15 jet. Later in the day, the Iranian military said it targeted an A-10 US aircraft that crashed into the Gulf. The...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) NASA has successfully launched the Artemis II mission, marking the first crewed mission to the moon’s vicinity since the Apollo program ended in 1972. The 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off at 6:35 pm ET (22:35 GMT) on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending the Orion crew capsule on a 10-day journey. While Artemis II will not land on the moon, it will fly a “free-return” trajectory that swings around it to prove the...

(BBC News) A mass robotaxi outage in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused at least 100 self-driving cars to stop mid-traffic, sparking renewed debate around the safety of driverless vehicles. Local police said initial findings suggested a "system malfunction" caused multiple vehicles to stop in the middle of the road on Tuesday. Videos on social media have documented the outage, with one appearing to show it resulting in a highway collision, although police said no injuries had been reported...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Burundi’s army says that at least 13 civilians have been killed and 57 others were wounded when ammunition exploded due to an electrical short circuit at a military base in the economic capital Bujumbura. “Houses were damaged in various neighbourhoods as well as private vehicles. Military equipment and facilities burned and were destroyed,” army spokesperson General Gaspard Baratuza said in a statement on Wednesday. The army did not specify if any soldiers...

(BBC News) The US Supreme Court has ruled against a law in Colorado that bans so-called conversion therapy for lesbian, gay and transgender people. It sided 8-1 with a therapist from Colorado Springs who argued that the state's restrictions violated her free speech rights guaranteed under the US Constitution's First Amendment. Conversion therapy aims to encourage lesbian, gay and transgender people to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. The justices ruled that lower courts had "erred...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari has said Iran had crossed “many red lines” during its ongoing attacks on neighbouring countries and stressed the need for de-escalation as the US-Israel war with Iran continues with no clear end in sight. During a news conference on Tuesday, al-Ansari said Iranian attacks on Qatar were having a “catastrophic effect on the relationship between the two countries.” The spokesperson called on all parties to the war to...

(BBC News) A Russian tanker carrying oil to Cuba has entered the waters off the Communist-run island, Russian news agencies report. The oil shipment – the first to reach Cuba since January – comes hours after US President Donald Trump said that he had no problem with countries, including Russia, sending supplies to the island. Trump's remark appeared to signal a loosening of a de facto oil blockade his administration had imposed on Cuba since January. Cuba...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of limited ground operations in Iran, potentially including raids on Kharg Island and coastal sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to United States officials quoted by The Washington Post newspaper. The plans, which fall short of a full invasion, could involve raids by special operations and conventional infantry troops, the Post reported on Saturday, exposing US personnel to Iranian drones and missiles, ground fire, and improvised...