Author: Karakhanian Suren

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has expressed support for the United States’ decision to suspend strikes on Iran, but said the two-week truce will not extend to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon.

In a statement on X on Wednesday, Netanyahu said Israel backed US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world”.

But the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, he said.

Netanyahu’s statement comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the US, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere,” according to Al Jazeera.

Sharif said the move was “effective immediately”.

Lebanon was drawn into the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

The Cypriot parliament observed a moment of silence during the opening of its plenary session in honor of the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.

Armenian Ambassador to Cyprus, Inna Torgmonyan, participated in the session, the embassy said.

The plenary session was opened with a special address by President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, followed by the observance of the moment of silence. Member of the House of Representatives Vartkes Mahdessian, representing the Armenian community, delivered the main speech.

The NASA Artemis II mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side.

After the lunar observation period concluded, the Artemis II crew was congratulated by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, in a live conversation that aired as part of NASA’s continuing live coverage of the mission.

They also spoke with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and answered questions from social media.

The momentous day began at 1:56 p.m. EDT as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, set the record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human, surpassing Apollo 13’s distance of 248,655 miles, NASA said in a press release.

During a planned 40-minute loss of signal as Orion passed behind the Moon, the spacecraft and its crew made their closest approach at 7:00 p.m., flying at about 4,067 miles above the surface. Two minutes later, the crew reached the mission’s maximum distance from Earth at 252,756 miles, setting a new record for human spaceflight.

As they flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time. They also noted differences in color, brightness and texture, which provide clues that help scientists understand the composition and history of the lunar surface. The crew witnessed an “Earthset” — the moment Earth dropped below the lunar horizon — as Orion traveled behind the Moon and an “Earthrise” as the spacecraft emerged from the opposite edge of the Moon.

As the lunar observation period ended, the crew witnessed a nearly hour-long solar eclipse as the spacecraft, the Moon and the Sun aligned. With a view of a mostly darkened Moon, the crew analyzed the solar corona — the Sun’s outermost atmosphere — as it appeared around the Moon’s edge.

During the eclipse, the crew had an opportunity to look for some rarely seen phenomena that are only visible on an unlit portion of the Moon. They reported six light flashes created by meteoroids impacting the lunar surface while traveling many thousands of miles per hour.

“On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home. Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world. Congratulations to this incredible crew and the entire NASA team, our international and commercial partners, but this mission isn’t over until they’re under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on X.

The price of diesel at gas stations in Bulgaria has increased by 37% since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, while the price of petrol has risen by 18.7%, according to data published on Sunday on the National Revenue Agency’s website.

The average price of diesel in the country reached EUR 1.74 as of Saturday, April 4, representing a 37% increase compared to February 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran.

During the same five-week period, the average retail price of A95 petrol increased by 18.7% to EUR 1.46 per liter, according to NRA data.

The NRA publishes daily updates on its website with current average retail fuel prices, as well as monthly statistical data on the changes in diesel and A95 gasoline prices. To calculate the average prices, information is used from fiscal receipts issued at fuel sales, which the NRA receives from traders.

On February 28, the average price of A95 petrol in Bulgaria was EUR 1.23 per liter, and diesel fuel was EUR 1.27 per liter.

Following the start of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran at the end of February and the subsequent Iranian retaliatory strikes against countries in the region, crude oil prices surged sharply, leading to an increase in fuel prices worldwide. Many countries implemented measures to counter rising energy costs.

In Bulgaria, the caretaker government of Prime Minister Andrey Gurov approved a compensation scheme, under which end consumers of A95 petrol and diesel can receive a monthly compensation of EUR 20 if, over three consecutive days, the price per liter of A95 or diesel reaches or exceeds EUR 1.60. The average diesel price reached EUR 1.60 per liter for three consecutive days on March 24, triggering the measure.

The compensation is available to all individuals who, in 2025, received an average monthly income of EUR 652.41 or less, which is twice the poverty line for that period, or an average monthly gross income for 2024 of EUR 537.88 or less, also twice the poverty line for 2024.

Labor Minister Hasan Ademov said on Sunday that around 50,900 applications have been submitted for the additional EUR 20 compensation for the rise in fuel prices. Additional applications are expected through the Ministry of e-Government, which means the total number of submitted applications will likely exceed 60,000, Ademov added.

(This information is published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA).

The Armenian and Georgian foreign ministries held political consultations in Tbilisi.

The meeting was co-chaired by Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan and Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia.

According to a readout from the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the sides discussed top-level and senior-level reciprocal visits between the two countries, as well as efforts to develop strategic partnership relations and effective cooperation across all sectors.

They reviewed issues related to bilateral cooperation in the economic, energy, transport, trade and investment, tourism, scientific and educational, and cultural fields, as well as collaboration within the framework of international organizations.

Regional security issues were also addressed.