Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called an emergency defence council meeting on Sunday after powerful explosives were found near a pipeline in Serbia that carries Russian gas to the country. The incident prompted political scrutiny in Hungary at a sensitive time days before a national election, with Orban’s party trailing in opinion polls. Orban said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a close ally, had informed him by phone about the discovery outside the town of Kanjiza, near Hungary’s border with Serbia. “Our units found an explosive of devastating power,” Vucic said in a post on Instagram. “I told PM Orban that we would keep him updated on the investigation.” Officials in Budapest and Belgrade did not respond to requests for comment about the incident, which comes before pivotal elections on April 12 in Hungary where nationalist Orban is fighting to hold onto his more than 16-year grip on power. A former Hungarian intelligence official told Reuters there had been discussions in Hungarian security circles over the past days about a precise plan for a “false-flag” operation impacting the pipeline in Serbia as part of an effort to influence the Hungarian vote. Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party also raised doubts about the incident, saying it appeared aimed at boosting Orban’s electoral prospects. “Several people have publicly indicated that something will ‘accidentally’ happen at the gas pipeline in Serbia at Easter, a week before the Hungarian elections. And so it happened,” Magyar said in a statement. PIVOTAL ELECTIONS In a Facebook post after the defence council meeting, Orban suggested the incident related to an attempt to blow up the pipeline, which transports Russian gas through the Balkans to Central and Eastern Europe. “According to information that we have….there was an act of sabotage prepared,” Orban said after the meeting, adding that both countries have strengthened the protection of the pipeline. Without directly blaming Ukraine for the incident in Serbia, Orban said “Ukraine has been for years trying to cut off Europe from Russian energy.” “The Russian section of TurkStream is also under continuous military attack. Ukraine’s efforts pose a life-threatening danger to Hungary,” he added. The head of Serbia’s Military Intelligence Agency, Djuro Jusic, said the explosives found on a section of pipeline linked to the Turkstream system, which carries Russian gas to Turkey and then to Central Europe, were produced in the United States. “We had information that a person from a migrant community, with military training, will carry out a diversion on the gas infrastructure,” he told reporters in Belgrade. He did not give further details, but said authorities in Serbia were searching for that person. Orban in February scaled up security around energy infrastructure in the country by dispatching troops after what he said were plans by Ukraine to disrupt the Hungarian energy system – charges Kyiv denied. Ukraine’s foreign ministry strongly rejected what it said were attempts to link Kyiv to the explosives. “Ukraine has nothing to do with this,” foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on X. “Most probably, a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow’s heavy interference in Hungarian elections.” Budapest has also been in a dispute with Ukraine over a halt in oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. Orban’s Fidesz party has sought to associate opposition leader Peter Magyar with Brussels and Ukraine, suggesting that voting for his Tisza party means voting for tanks and war. Hungary is an outlier in the European Union for maintaining ties with Moscow, which voiced support for Hungary over Sunday’s incident and suggested that Ukraine was responsible. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also blamed Ukraine, writing on Facebook that “in the past few days and weeks, the Ukrainians organised an oil blockade against us, and then tried to put us under a total energy blockade … And now we have today’s incident.” (Reporting by Krisztina Than; Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels and Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Helen Popper, William Maclean, Christina Fincher)

Four days into the Artemis II space mission, the crew captured a stunning photo of the far side of the moon. The image, which features the Orientale Basin, “marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes,” according to NASA. History in the making In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. pic.twitter.com/iqjod6gqgz — NASA (@NASA) April 5, 2026 The photo of the moon was released just days after the crew of the Artemis II — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — shared spectacular images of Earth. These two images were taken by @astro_reid only minutes apart. The stark difference is the result of camera settings. In the first, a longer shutter speed let in much more light from Earth, while the shorter shutter speed in the second emphasizes our planet’s nighttime glow. pic.twitter.com/4H5gFymlcl — NASA (@NASA) April 3, 2026 While Artemis II will not touch down on the lunar surface, the mission lays the groundwork for more launches. Artemis III is scheduled to launch in 2027 and will test “rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.” Artemis IV is scheduled to launch in 2028, and will finally bring mankind back to the surface of the moon after more than 50 years. “Artemis II is a test flight, and the test has just begun. The team that built this vehicle, repaired it, and prepared it for flight has given our crew the machine they need to go prove what it can do,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon’s surface with confidence. We are one mission into a long campaign, and the work ahead of us is greater than the work behind us.” NASA’s long-term plan is to create a permanent American presence on the moon by building bases. Additionally, by the end of 2028, NASA is scheduled to launch the unmanned “Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, the first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft,” to Mars.

Former CENTCOM Commander and retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie praised the efficiency of the American military’s rescue operation to retrieve a downed weapon systems operator (WSO) after his plane went down in Iran. McKenzie spoke with CBS News anchor Ed O’Keefe on “Face the Nation,” where he said it was important to note that U.S. military forces had been able to get to him first — even though the Iranian regime had offered a reward to anyone who could help them locate him before the United States was able to pull off a rescue mission. WATCH: The mission to rescue the missing U.S. airman In Iran was “executed pretty effectively,” former CENTCOM commander Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie says. “It takes a year to build an aircraft and it takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind.”… pic.twitter.com/rZZy9OA0Us — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 5, 2026 “So, it took just under 48 hours to find the missing weapon systems officer,” O’Keefe began, noting that the area where the plane had gone down was very remote and the terrain was uneven. “What’s your assessment of how the search and rescue operation went?” McKenzie said that there were “two lessons” that he would take from the way the rescue operations had played out: “First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly, it’s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory, we have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them.” “It’s a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women,” he added, saying that the plan had been “executed pretty effectively” as far as he could see. Acknowledging the planes that were lost in pursuit of the rescue mission, McKenzie argued that the man on the ground would always take precedence: “It takes a year to build an aircraft and it takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind. You take the aircraft trade any day in a situation like this.” The second lesson, according to McKenzie, was one for Iran – that the people might not be as eager to help the regime as they had hoped. Even after a reward was offered for help in locating the missing American airman, the Iranian regime was unable to prevent the rescue mission from ending in success. “You can’t be happy with that if you’re a senior leader in Tehran this morning,” he said.

Louisiana police have charged a man with impaired driving after his car slammed into a crowd during a community parade on Saturday, injuring several people, some critically. Louisiana State Police said they arrested Todd Landry, 57, and charged him with driving while impaired, 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring and careless operation following the incident in New Iberia, Louisiana. He is also accused of having an open container with an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. The incident occurred during a Lao New Year celebration, the Louisiana State Police said in a statement. “Multiple pedestrians” were struck by the vehicle as Landry drove it, police said. Earlier, the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office said at least 15 people had been injured. Landry showed signs of impairment, and a breath sample showed he had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.137%, police said. The legal BAC limit for drivers in most U.S. states is 0.08%. Reuters could not determine if Landry had a lawyer. Acadian Ambulance posted on social media that it transported 13 people to the hospital. Two of them were airlifted, the ambulance service wrote on X. Organizers of the Louisiana Lao New Year Festival said on Facebook they were cancelling Saturday evening’s music concerts, as well as alcohol sales. “We are profoundly saddened by the news of the incident near the festival grounds,” the organizers said on Facebook. “We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time.” The three-day festival held every Easter weekend includes live music, parades and other activities celebrating the Lao New Year. (Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Sergio Non, Matthew Lewis and Kevin Buckland)

British police arrested a fourth person in connection with an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances, with the detention happening at a London court where three males already charged in the case were appearing, prosecutors said on Saturday. Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of torching four ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola on March 23 while they were parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident at the time as a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.” The SITE Intelligence ​website has said an Iran-aligned multinational militant collective called Islamic ​Movement of ⁠the People of the Right Hand had claimed responsibility for the incident. It said the group had been behind similar fires in Europe. Counter-terrorism officers are heading the investigation in Britain, but as yet the incident is not being treated as terrorism. A prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service said police believe four people were involved in carrying out the attack itself, with a fourth individual being arrested on Saturday morning as part of an ongoing investigation. The Metropolitan Police said the fourth suspect was a 19-year-old man who had been arrested by officers at the court while attending the hearing, after officers recognised him as being linked to the attack. He was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and taken into custody. Three men have been charged with arson with intent to damage property and being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. Two are British nationals, while the third holds dual British‑Pakistani citizenship. All three were remanded in custody, with the 17‑year‑old ordered to be held in youth detention accommodation. Hatzola is a not-for-profit volunteer emergency service that works alongside Britain’s National Health Service and primarily serves the Orthodox Jewish community. The London Fire Brigade said explosions from cylinders on the vehicles shattered nearby windows, but no one was injured. Attacks on Jewish people and Jewish targets have risen in Britain since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, according to police and community groups. (Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Joe Bavier and Toby Chopra)