SINGAPORE — Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday as a US-imposed deadline loomed for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or be “taken out”, with US President Donald Trump threatening to order attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants.

Brent crude futures rose $1.44, or 1.3%, to $111.21 a barrel by 0700 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $2.32, or 2.1%, at $114.73.

Mr. Trump has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it fails to comply with his deadline of 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) to reopen the strait, through which about a fifth of global oil supply is normally shipped, if a deal is not reached.

Responding to a US proposal through mediator Pakistan, Tehran rejected a ceasefire and said a permanent end to the war was necessary, and pushed back against pressure to reopen the strait.

Iran’s rejection of the US ceasefire proposal has kept tensions elevated and left diplomacy hanging by a thread, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

“Oil is holding its gains because the battlefield risk is no longer theoretical. Attacks on energy and shipping assets continue, and traders fear that even if the war ends, damage to infrastructure could sideline barrels for months, not days,” she said.

Exports from several Gulf producers have already collapsed due to restricted flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian forces effectively shut the strait after US and Israeli attacks began on February 28.

“Clock-watching is now playing almost as big a role in oil markets as the fundamentals themselves in the run-up to Trump’s ultimatum deadline,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

“The potential for a ceasefire deal offers some counterweight and could spark a relief move lower if it gains traction, but persistent supply worries from the Hormuz chokepoint and damaged energy facilities are keeping the floor under prices.”

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but in significantly watered-down form after veto-wielding China opposed authorizing force, diplomats said.

Attacks in the region continued with explosions heard in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and surrounding countryside on Tuesday that were caused by the Israeli interception of Iranian missiles, Syrian state TV reported.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched towards its Eastern Region, with debris falling near energy facilities.

The conflict has squeezed global crude supply, sending spot premiums for US WTI crude surging to record highs as Asian and European refiners scramble to secure replacement supplies amid disrupted Middle Eastern flows.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco raised the official selling price of its Arab Light crude to Asia for May delivery, setting a record premium of $19.50 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average.

Adding to supply concerns, Russia on Monday said Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal on the Black Sea, which handles 1.5% of global oil supply. Russia reported damage to loading infrastructure and storage tanks.

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to lift oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day in May, though the increase will be largely notional as key members cannot boost production because strait closures are curbing exports. — Reuters

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI — Taiwan’s opposition leader arrived in China on Tuesday for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with President Xi Jinping, as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te reiterated he was open for talks but the island had the right to chart its own course.

Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, is travelling at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, and as the opposition-dominated parliament stalls a government plan for $40 billion in extra defense spending.

Speaking to reporters at her party’s headquarters in Taipei before going to the airport, Ms. Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace” but admitted some people felt uneasy about her trip.

“If you truly love Taiwan, you will seize even the slightest chance, every possible opportunity, to keep Taiwan from being ravaged by war,” she said.

“So I would rather believe that all Taiwanese people hope this trip will succeed, because we can transform the most dangerous place in the world into the safest place in the world.”

Ms. Cheng arrived at Shanghai’s downtown Hongqiao airport under tightened security and was met by Song Tao, head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.

Accompanied by Mr. Song, she then took a train to Nanjing, home to the mausoleum of party founder Sun Yat-sen who overthrew the last imperial government and founded the Republic of China in 1912.

The two “chatted cordially like friends” on the train, with Ms. Cheng saying her trip was “especially rare and precious”, the KMT said in a statement.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, refuses to speak to President Lai, saying he is a “separatist”.

Speaking in Taipei on Tuesday at a memorial ceremony for late democracy advocate Nylon Cheng, Mr. Lai reiterated his desire for equal talks with China.

“Equality and dignity are extremely important: Taiwan is not a part of the People’s Republic of China and has the right to pursue a way of life that values democracy, freedom, and human rights,” he said.

CHINESE WARSHIPS
Late on Monday, Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard, posted a picture on her Facebook account of current Chinese warship deployments around the island – two off the east coast, and one each to the north, northwest and southwest.

“When you depart, you are doing so from within what they see as the ‘Taiwan cage’,” Ms. Kuan told reporters at parliament on Tuesday, referring to how China’s military has termed Taiwan’s planned T-Dome air defense system and talking about Ms. Cheng’s trip.

Speaking separately at parliament, Taiwan’s top official in charge of China policy, Mainland Affairs Council minister Chiu Chui-cheng, said Beijing should engage with Taiwan’s democratically elected and legitimate government.

“We call on Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, when facing the Communist Party authorities in person, to demand that they immediately stop their compounded pressure against Taiwan, including military aircraft and naval harassment,” he added.

Ms. Cheng is going to China a month before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled summit with Mr. Xi in Beijing.

While Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi could strike goodwill agreements in Beijing on trade in agriculture and aircraft parts, they are also expected to discuss areas of deep tension such as Taiwan, where little progress is expected.

In a February call, Mr. Xi told Mr. Trump that the US “must carefully handle arms sales to Taiwan”.

This is the first trip by a KMT leader to China in a decade, though China has yet to confirm whether Mr. Xi will definitely meet Ms. Cheng, who will be in Beijing from Thursday.

The KMT-led republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. — Reuters

HANOI — Vietnam’s lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously elected Communist Party Secretary General To Lam as the country’s state president for the next five years, making him the most powerful Vietnamese leader in decades.

The widely anticipated move marks a break from Vietnam’s traditional collective leadership system, consolidating authority in one figure in ways analysts say could tilt the one‑party state toward greater authoritarianism, while also enabling faster decision making, similar to its neighbor China.

The parliament said on its website that all 495 deputies present at Tuesday’s National Assembly session endorsed the Communist Party’s nomination, while five lawmakers were absent. Officials have said the nominations for top state leadership posts were finalized in a meeting in late March.

The former head of public security now has a double mandate to rule the country for the next five years, after he secured a second term as general secretary in January.

In another largely expected move later on Tuesday, the parliament also unanimously elected Le Minh Hung as the country’s new prime minister.

LAM PLEDGES NEW GROWTH MODEL
After the vote, Mr. Lam told deputies in a televised address that it was an honor to hold both posts and pledged “a new growth model with science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as the primary driving forces”.

He said his top priorities were to maintain stability, promote rapid and sustainable national development and improve “all aspects of people’s lives”.

“Concentrating greater power in To Lam’s hands could pose risks to Vietnam’s political system, such as increased authoritarianism,” said Le Hong Hiep, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

However, such consolidation “could enable Vietnam to formulate and implement policies more quickly and effectively,” supporting growth, he said.

The combination of the two roles “will shift Vietnam’s domestic politics to a new normal where most of the old assumptions about Vietnam’s politics, including those about collective leadership, are no longer valid,” said Alexander Vuving of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in the United States.

Mr. Lam held both posts for a period of a few months following the death in 2024 of the late party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Even after relinquishing the state presidency in favor of army general Luong Cuong, Mr. Lam often acted as if he had retained the role, traveling extensively and representing the country in meetings with foreign leaders.

REFORMIST, BACKS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSFl
In his first stint as party chief, 68-year-old Mr. Lam launched sweeping economic reforms designed to make Vietnam more competitive, which drew both praise and criticism.

Mr. Lam wants to pursue double-digit growth through a new development model that is less reliant on low-cost manufacturing, long the backbone of Vietnam’s export-driven boom led by foreign multinationals.

His moves have at times unsettled the administration and businesses, but he has shown a pragmatic flexibility in executing them.

He has supported the expansion of private conglomerates, but before his reappointment, also issued a directive emphasizing the leading role of state-owned enterprises in a bid to reassure party traditionalists.

Foreign investors have often praised political stability and see Mr. Lam as a pro‑business leader. However, his backing of national champions and push for breakneck growth have raised concerns among some about favoritism, corruption risks, asset bubbles and waste.

In foreign policy, Mf. Lam has maintained Vietnam’s “Bamboo Diplomacy” and sought to balance relations with major powers while expanding international partnerships.

“Lam’s double-hat would not signal any changes in Vietnam’s foreign policy, even if there are concerns that Vietnam is concentrating more power in a single individual,” said Khang Vu, a visiting scholar at Boston College.

FORMER CENTRAL BANK HEAD BECOMES PM
Newly-elected prime minister Mr. Hung, 55, served as central bank governor from 2016 to 2020, becoming the youngest person to hold the post.

He replaces Pham Minh Chinh, 67, who presided over a fast-expanding economy during his five-year term, and was one of Vietnam’s most visible leaders, both at home and abroad, thanks to frequent overseas trips and participation in international summits.

Mr. Hung has kept a low profile in his roles at the party and the central bank.

Though not formally trained as an economist, Mr. Hung’s nomination is seen by some officials as an attempt to inject economic expertise into the top layers of the administration, which has been dominated by politicians with security backgrounds.

In his post-election address to lawmakers, Mr. Hung pledged to pursue sustainable growth and do his best to meet the party’s ambitious annual economic growth goal of at least 10% through to 2030.

He has no personal background in security, but his family is closely linked to the ministry Mr. Lam once led: Mr. Hung’s father was public security minister, and two brothers are generals of security forces. — Reuters

THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but in significantly watered-down form after veto-wielding China opposed authorizing force, diplomats said.

Oil prices have surged since the US and Israel struck Iran at the end of February, unleashing a conflict that has run for more than five weeks and seen Tehran largely close the Strait, a vital energy artery.

Efforts by Bahrain, the current chair of the 15-member Council, to secure a resolution have involved multiple drafts seeking to overcome opposition from China, Russia and others. The latest iteration, seen by Reuters, drops any explicit authorization of the use of force.

Instead the text, “strongly encourages States interested in the use of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate to the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz.”

It says such contributions could include “the escort of merchant and commercial vessels,” and the text also endorses efforts “to deter attempts to close, obstruct or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Diplomats said the watered-down version had a better chance of passing, but it remained unclear if it would succeed. It requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US.

Bahrain, which has been backed in its efforts by other Gulf Arab states and Washington, issued a draft last Thursday that would have authorized “all defensive means necessary” to protect commercial shipping, but votes on this were postponed on Friday and Saturday.

Bahrain had previously dropped an explicit reference to binding enforcement.

Last Thursday, China opposed a resolution authorizing force, saying this would be “legitimizing the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force, which would inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and lead to serious consequences.”

Iran said on Monday it wanted a lasting end to the war, and pushed back against pressure to reopen the Strait, while US President Donald Trump warned the country could be “taken out” if it did not meet his Tuesday night deadline to reach a deal.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday after speaking to his Russian counterpart that China was willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the Security Council and make efforts to calm the Middle East situation.

Mr. Wang said the fundamental way to resolve the Strait issue was to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible. China is the world’s largest buyer of oil moving through the Strait. — Reuters

HOUSTON — The four astronauts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Artemis II mission flew deeper into space on Monday than any humans before them, as they cruised through a rare flyby of the shadowed far side of the moon that revealed a lunar surface under cosmic bombardment.

The six-hour survey of the normally hidden hemisphere of Earth’s only natural satellite was highlighted by the astronauts’ direct visual observations of “impact flashes” from meteors pelting the darkened and heavily cratered lunar surface.

About two dozen scientists packed a conference room adjacent to mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to record the lunar phenomena witnessed by the Artemis crew in real time as their Orion spacecraft, about the size of an SUV, sailed around the moon roughly a quarter million miles (402,000 kilometers) from Earth.

The six-hour flyby, which swooped to within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface, came six days into a spaceflight marking the world’s first voyage of astronauts to the vicinity of the moon since NASA’s Cold War-era Apollo missions more than half a century ago.

Six of those missions landed two-man teams on the moon between 1969 and 1972 — the only 12 humans ever to walk on its surface.

Artemis, a successor to the Apollo program, aims to repeat that achievement by 2028, ahead of China’s first landing, and to establish a long-term US lunar presence over the next decade, including a moon base to serve as a proving ground for potential future missions to Mars.

While designed as a crewed dress rehearsal for future lunar excursions, Artemis II generated a wealth of new material for lunar scientists to study, including meteor impact flashes recorded during Monday’s flyby that were reminiscent of sparks and streaks of light described by some of Apollo’s astronauts.

The Artemis II crew, riding in their Orion capsule since launching from Florida last week, began their sixth day of spaceflight as they awoke on Monday to a pre-recorded message from the late NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who flew aboard the Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 moon missions.

“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Mr. Lovell, who died last year at age 97. “It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view… good luck and Godspeed.”

Hours later, the crew consisting of US astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, made spaceflight history by venturing farther from Earth than any humans have before, at 252,756 miles.

The previous record, roughly 248,000 miles, was set in 1970 by Apollo 13 after a nearly catastrophic spacecraft malfunction cut short that mission, forcing Mr. Lovell and his two crewmates to use the moon’s gravity to help return them safely to Earth.

NAMING CRATERS
En route to the far side of the moon, the Artemis astronauts spent some time assigning provisional new names to lunar features that previously lacked official designations.

In a radio message to mission control in Houston, Mr. Hansen suggested one crater be dubbed Integrity, after the name given to the crew’s Orion capsule, and that another be named in honor of Mr. Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.

“A number of years ago we started this journey, our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one,” Mr. Hansen said of the mission commander’s late spouse, his voice choking with emotion as he described the position of her lunar namesake. “It’s a bright spot on the Moon, and we would like to call that Carroll.”

Mr. Hansen later said the crew had viewed a number of lunar features that “no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo.”

As Orion hurtled around the moon’s far side, the astronauts photographed a rare moment in which Earth, dwarfed by their record-breaking distance from the planet, set and rose with the lunar horizon as they swung around the moon, a striking celestial reversal of the rising and setting moon typically seen from Earth.

Because the moon rotates at the same speed as it revolves around the Earth, its far side always faces away from our planet and only the Artemis and Apollo astronauts have ever gazed directly on its surface.

RARE DETAILED PHOTOS
Monday’s lunar flyby plunged the crew into darkness and a 40-minute communications blackout as the moon blocked them from NASA’s Deep Space Network, a global array of massive radio communications antennas the agency has been using to talk to the crew.

Following the flyby, US President Donald J. Trump congratulated the four crew members on an audio link from the White House as they appeared on camera by live satellite feed from space.

“Today, you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” Mr. Trump said. “You’ve really inspired the entire world. Really, everybody’s watching.”

Ms. Koch told Mr. Trump that one of her most unforgettable moments of the flyby was “coming back from the far side of the moon and having the first glimpses of planet Earth again.”

Asked by the president how they felt when all communication with Earth was cut off as Orion flew behind the moon, Mr. Glover answered, “I said a little prayer, but then I had to keep rolling.” — Reuters