Blinken to visit Vietnam next week, US senator says

So many families are being separated and displaced. I'm honoured to be welcomed to Poland today by [Mayor Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski] and meeting Ukrainian refugees. Poland has taken in at least 1.7m so far.' 

"Vladlen has proven that today the front line passes everywhere: in the zone of military action, in the rear, and in cities, hearts and minds," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Telegram messaging app, noting he had died "in the centre of peaceful St Petersburg at terrorists' hands".

The estimated Russian death toll is of a scale similar to that of the Battle of Iwo Jima, where 6,852 US troops were killed and 19,000 were wounded during five weeks of fighting Japanese forces in the most intense phase of the Pacific theatre of World War Two

HANOI, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam next week, Senator Jeff Merkley told a news conference in Hanoi on Saturday, as part of Washington's efforts to move diplomatic relations with Hanoi on to a higher level this year.

The three-time Pro Bowler suddenly became a hot commodity on the NFL trade market last week when a grand jury declined to indict Watson on nine criminal complaints, after 22 women accused him of harassment and sexual assault in civil lawsuits last year

Last year, Hardin called the claims against Watson 'meritless' and alleged they were made following a failed attempt to blackmail his client for $30,000.  He previously accused the plaintiffs of being motivated by financial gain, saying that massage therapist Ashley Solis originally sought a $100,000 settlement from his client. 

'I also met Anna, a production assistant whose parents remain in the outskirts of Kyiv, taking refuge in the basement of their building with no electricity or water for days.
What these people are going through is unimaginable.'

'He basically didn't want the rest of his body massaged, he wanted his groin area massaged and his butt only,' Lewis told Tasha K., echoing accusations from other female massage therapists against Watson. 'He kept saying ''Do you want to put in your mouth?'' It was just very very uncomfortable.' 

The 40-year-old Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was accorded military honours including a gun salute and an army band at the funeral at Moscow's Troyekurovskoye cemetery due to his past participation in military operations in eastern Ukraine alongside Moscow-backed separatists battling Kyiv's forces.

April 8 (Reuters) - A missile fired from Ukrainian-held territory was shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosia in Russian-controlled Crimea, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea's administration said on Saturday.

Almost three million people have fled the country since Russia invaded last month, with the majority, more than 1.7 million, going to Poland. Fergie has been vocal about both the refugees and Polish people needing help, describing the situation as 'heartbreaking'.

Video posted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty shows military ambulances driving through the Belarusian city of Homel, with employees at the region's clinical hospital alleging more than 2,500 bodies have been shipped back to Russia

MOSCOW, April 8 (Reuters) - Hundreds of mourners, including the leader of Russia's Wagner private militia group, attended the funeral on Saturday of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed on April 2 in a cafe bomb blast that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Russia forcibly annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a pro-Moscow president was toppled amid mass street protests.
Kyiv has vowed to recapture the Black Sea peninsula along with all other Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

According to one US intelligence estimate, 7,000 Russian troops including four generals have already been killed - more than the number of American troops killed in either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars at 4,825 and 3,576 respectively - and between 14,000 and 21,000 troops have been injured in the fighting.

Prigozhin is also known for his sharp criticism of Russia's top brass over their performance in Ukraine.