Daily briefing Saturday 11th April

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0:36This is the Times Radio News Briefing for Saturday, the 11th of April. Four astronauts are said to be happy and healthy after splashing down in the Pacific off the California coast. Splashdown confirmed. Copy splashdown. Waiting on VLDR. From the pages of Jules Verne to a modern-day mission to the moon, a new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbour is complete. Integrity's astronauts, back on Earth. The crew of Artemis II travelled a total of 700 ,000 miles during the 10-day mission to the far side of the moon. At a NASA press conference afterwards, the Times correspondent Jackie Goddard had this question for the mission's leader, Howard Hu.

1:13As a little boy, you were inspired by Star Wars. I wondered if today is better for you than Star Wars. Wow, you might be watching my old interviews or something, but I would say a thousand, thousands of times better. that little kid who saw and was inspired by the stars and now we're able to send our crew out to the stars the farthest any humans have been i mean i i can't even express uh just how i feel and the goosebumps i have talks between the united states and iran are set to begin in islamabad in an effort to end the six-week-old conflict but tehran says they can only go ahead if certain conditions are met including an end to attacks on lebanon and the lifting of sanctions.

1:56Pakistan's capital is under an unprecedented lockdown as the US delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, arrives. Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif says the talks are make or break. Plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius have been abandoned after opposition from Donald Trump. The Times has been told a bill needed for the deal will not be included in next month's King's speech after the American president called it an act of great stupidity. The government says it still supports the deal and will try to persuade Mr. Trump to change his mind, but admits it can't go ahead without US backing.

2:27The Duke of Sussex has rejected what he's described as an offensive and damaging defamation claim by the Senta Bali charity he co-founded. The organisation has lodged a high court action against Prince Harry, alleging he coordinated an adverse media campaign. The private bank Coots has raised the amount of wealth needed to open an account from£1 million to£3 million. The high-end bank, which is used by the King, says it wants to focus on ultra-high net worth customers. It's the biggest increase in the bank's wealth threshold in its 333-year history. In the Gulf, Rory McIlroy will take a six-shot lead into day three of the Masters.

3:03The defending champion is 12 under par after a second round 65 at Augusta. Americans Patrick Reid and Sam Burns are six under, with Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry one shot behind them. The Northern Irishman, though, says he's not watching the leaderboard. I've built up a nice cushion at this point, you know, and I guess my mindset is just trying to, you know, keep playing well and, you know, keeping my foot on the gas. Focusing on myself and staying on my own little world out there is the best thing. You can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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