Explainer

Explainer

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Joe Skipper

How Nasa's Artemis II moon mission will unfold

Artemis II is designed to pave the way for future missions aimed at returning astronauts to the lunar surface later this decade

Women sit at a home, which was damaged by a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 30, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes?

Adopting a formula-based price adjustment mechanism for petroleum products will reduce the need for subsidies, however, this may in turn create more hardship for the poor. Photo: Reuters

Why govt chose not to hike fuel price for April?

Houthi-mobilized fighters ride atop a car in Sanaa, Yemen September 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Who are Yemen's Houthis and why are they attacking Red Sea shipping?

US President Donald Trump looks on, befrore departing for Florida from the South Lawn, at the White House in Washington, DC, US, January 16, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Why Trump backtracked on his Iran threat

Photo: UNB

Why gold prices have remained steady despite the war on Iran

A man walks through debris lying in a ward of a drug users rehabilitation hospital destroyed in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 17, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Yunus Yawar

From sponsor to enemy: What's behind Pakistan's attack on Afghan Taliban?

An aerial view shows Kuwait City on 16 March 2020. Photo: Reuters/Stephanie McGehee

How the US and Israels' with Iran is affecting daily life in Kuwait

A missile is launched during an air defence drill in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on January 12, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

What is China’s BeiDou system and why analysts say Iran may be using it

A satellite image shows an oil terminal on Kharg Island, Iran, on 25 February 2026. File Photo: Planet Labs PBC/Reuters

Why Kharg Island matters in the Middle East and global oil markets

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Why is it so easy for Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz?

Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran, Iran, on 12 November 2025. File Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters

Iran's 'Decentralised Mosaic Defence': A strategy for military resilience

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader?