Begins

• Director Denis Villeneuve confirmed production on "Dune: Part Three" has officially begun, with filming taking place in Morocco and Jordan through October 2026. • Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Oscar Isaac are set to return, with newcomers Rebecca Ferguson and Austin Butler joining the expanded cast for the concluding installment. • Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have greenlit a 2027 release date, with Villeneuve stating this final chapter will "definitively conclude Frank Herbert's epic saga."

Hezbollah says it will not abide by agreements that result from the Lebanon-Israel talks in the US; Trump claims Iran wants to make a dealUS starts naval blockade of Iranian ports after deadline passesThe Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the US, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official has said.Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US.Trump said the blockade would be on all Iranian ports along the strait from Monday onward. About 20% of the global oil and gas supply moved through this waterway before the war. Seafarers as well as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received advisories indicating Trump’s blockade would apply to all ship traffic, regardless of the vessel’s flag.Trump claimed that Iran wanted to reach a deal. He insisted the US would not agree to any deal that would permit Iran to have a nuclear weapon. “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world,” he said at a last-minute press conference at the White House on Monday.After receiving a McDonald’s delivery at the beginning of the presser, Trump invoked bellicose language in discussing Iran. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, and we’re going to get the dust back. We’ll get it back, either we’ll get it back from them, or we’ll take it,” he said. At one point, when questioned about some sort of prior ultimatum regarding Iran, Trump said: “I don’t want to comment on that but it won’t be pleasant.”Talks are expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, will meet face-to-face in direct talks. Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.There were reports indicating that US officials were continuing talks with Tehran. One official told CNN: “There is continued engagement between the US and Iran and forward motion on trying to get an agreement.” Meanwhile, some administration officials were having internal talks about how a second sit-down with Iranian officials might look, should the opportunity arise, CNN reported.Trump blasted Pope Leo XIV on social media in response to the pontiff’s call for an end to the war. The president claimed the pope was trying to appease the “radical left”. The pope said he had “no intention to debate” Trump over Iran but would continue to advocate for peace. US vice-president JD Vance urged the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality”. Continue reading...

• India's Reserve Bank of India began its 3-day monetary policy meeting on April 7th, with the decision scheduled for announcement on April 8th, affecting regional market sentiment. • A CNBC TV18 poll indicates market consensus expects no change to repo rates in the upcoming policy decision, suggesting the RBI will maintain its current monetary stance. • The policy meeting comes amid mixed signals from Indian corporate earnings, with HDFC Bank reporting business growth above expectations while Kotak Mahindra Bank fell short.

More than 30 people face charges after collision between two trains that killed 57 people in February 2023A long-awaited trial has begun into Greece’s worst train tragedy, which killed 57 people in 2023, leaving the entire country in shock.Thirty-six people face charges and more than 350 witnesses are due to be heard at the trial that opened in the central city of Larissa, near where a freight train and a passenger train collided on 28 February 2023. Continue reading...

Late-night hosts panned Trump’s joke about the 1941 attack, addressed new unredacted Epstein emails and talked popular puppy namesWith The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on hiatus until at least 27 March, late-night hosts on Thursday discussed Donald Trump’s snafu while meeting Japan’s prime minister, his caginess over Iran, and new findings in the Epstein investigations. Continue reading...

On a staff call, editor-in-chief Bari Weiss emphasized that the cuts do not stem from poor employee performanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxCBS News is laying off employees on Friday as part of a strategic restructuring announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski. Employees will be informed by the end of the day if their job has been affected, the two executives said in the memo.“We recognize that this is a difficult time for those who will be leaving CBS News,” they wrote. “Because these aren’t just names on a list. They are talented, committed colleagues who have been critical to our success. We’ll treat them all with care and respect.” Continue reading...