NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth from the window of the Orion spacecraft after completing the translunar injection maneuver.

The photograph taken by Reid Wiseman, which depicts the night side of Earth from space, has been published on NASA’s website.

“The image shows two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) as the Earth eclipses the Sun.

This and another image of Earth are the first images photographed by the Artemis II astronauts,” the statement accompanying the photo says.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected president on Friday after breezing through a parliamentary vote, formalising his grip on political power ‌in the war-torn nation five years after he ousted an elected government in a coup, Reuters reports.

On Friday, lawmakers from the dominant Union Solidarity and Development Party and the military’s quota ⁠of appointed armed forces legislators coalesced to back Min Aung Hlaing, with the former commander-in-chief winning the vote by a huge margin.

Despite initially trailing to Nyo Saw, a retired general and the junta’s prime minister, Min Aung Hlaing pulled ahead to win 429 votes to Nyo Saw’s 126.

Min Aung Hlaing’s ascent to the presidency – a position that analysts say he has long sought – followed a major reshuffle in the leadership of Myanmar’s armed forces, which he had led since 2011.

A coup d’état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when democratically elected members of the country’s ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, which then vested power in a military junta. Acting President of Myanmar Myint Swe proclaimed a year-long state of emergency and declared power had been transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. It declared the results of the November 2020 general election invalid and stated its intent to hold a new election at the end of the state of emergency.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has published the draft pre-election program of the Civil Contract party for the 2026 regular elections to the National Assembly.

The draft, published on Pashinyan’s Facebook page, states that the ideological basis of the Civil Contract party’s pre-election program is the ideology of “Real Armenia” and the doctrine of Armenia’s economic and institutional transformation.

The preface notes that opening an era of peaceful development for Armenia and the region is the greatest mission undertaken by the Government before the people after the results of the 2021 snap elections.

In his preface, as Prime Minister, Chairman of the Civil Contract party Board and prime ministerial candidate, Pashinyan, addressing citizens, stated that with their support the party has fulfilled its greatest mission, and peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, opening an era of peaceful development for Armenia.

“In the elections to be held on June 7, together with you, we have a problem to solve: we must stand up for peace, which is new, still vulnerable and in need of our daily care,” Pashinyan said, calling on citizens to go to polling stations and support the Civil Contract party.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan held a meeting on Friday with the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, Khalil Shirgholami.

According to a readout issued by the Parliament’s press service, the meeting discussed issues related to Armenia-Iran relations.

Both sides emphasized the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Deputy Speaker Rubinyan and Ambassador Shirgholami also exchanged views on regional developments.

Olympic champion, two-time silver and bronze medalist, and multiple world and European champion Arthur Aleksanyan will not participate in the upcoming European Wrestling Championships.

According to a report by the Armenian Wrestling Federation’s press service, recent media claims suggesting that Aleksanyan would miss the entire 2026 season are inaccurate.

In an official statement, the federation clarified that the renowned Armenian wrestler will only skip the European Championship for now as he is currently recovering from an injury.

“Over the past few hours, information has been circulating in the media that Olympic, world, and European champion Arthur Aleksanyan will miss the whole of 2026 season. We officially announce that, at this stage, Arthur Aleksanyan will only miss the European Championship, as he is recovering from an injury,” the statement said.

The European Wrestling Championships are scheduled to take place from April 20 to April 26.

Consultations between the foreign ministries of Armenia and Russia were held in Moscow on the current agenda of the two countries’ foreign policy in the African direction.

According to a press release issued by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting was co-chaired by Levon Petrosyan, Acting Head of the Middle East and Africa Department of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, and Tatyana Dovgalenko, Head of the Department for Partnership with Africa at Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

The officials discussed prospects for developing cooperation with African states, the African Union, and other regional organizations, as well as expanding trade and economic relations with African countries and deepening humanitarian cooperation. They also addressed the current situation in Africa and related security issues.

 The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 3 April, USD exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 376.98 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.26 drams to 435.22 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.0178 drams to 4.6982 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.76 drams to 498.86 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 1205 drams to 56230 drams. 

Armenia plans to launch a new support program that will enable large families to purchase or build housing with full state assistance.

The draft measure has been published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on the government’s unified platform for legal acts.

The initiative aims to improve access to housing for large families and enhance their living conditions. According to the draft, only one housing assistance scheme is currently available, under which beneficiaries receive a one-time payment while remaining responsible for loan repayment.

The new program proposes full subsidization, allowing eligible families either to buy a home or build one. Under the proposal, 4 million drams would be allocated per minor child. Families choosing to settle in rural areas would receive an additional 4 million drams, which could be used either to acquire land or build a house.

Preliminary data show that Armenia has 643 families with six or more minor children. Of these, 390 families have six children and 143 have seven, while the remaining families have more.

The program also sets a minimum housing standard of 10 square meters per person. This means a family with six children would require at least 80 square meters of living space and could qualify for around 24 million drams in support.

If all eligible families participate, the program could require up to 31.9 billion drams from the state budget over the next decade.