Trump 'gearing up for battle' at New York court hearing, lawyer says - BBC

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By Nadine Yousif

BBC News

Former US president Donald Trump is "gearing up for a battle" ahead of his scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer has said.

Mr Trump is expected to fly to New York City from his Mar-a-Lago home on Monday to face charges related to hush money payments made to a porn star.

He then plans to return to Florida following his court hearing, where he will address his supporters.

Mr Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing.

His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, promised that any charges against the former president will be fought vigorously.

"He's someone who's going to be ready for this fight," Mr Tacopina told ABC's This Week programme on Sunday.

"We're ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him."

Media reports have said that Mr Trump will be facing more than 30 charges related to business fraud over a $130,000 (£105,000) pay-out to Stormy Daniels in 2016 that was made in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.

• What happened between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump?
• 'He'll be our next president': Florida protesters stay faithful to Trump
• Trump indictment: A simple guide to what it means

Sources familiar with the case have told US media that the former president is being charged with falsifying business records in the first degree - a felony under US law.

Details of the charges, including what they are and how many, remain under seal. Mr Tacopina has said that he himself has not yet seen the charges.

Mr Trump has been reportedly meeting with his advisors and legal team to plan his defence ahead of his flight to New York on Monday.

Law enforcement officials have told BBC's US partner, CBS News, that the former president will be escorted by members of the US Secret Service on his way to New York.

He is expected to hand himself over to authorities on Tuesday, with a hearing due to take place at 14:15 (19:15 BST) in Manhattan.

Judge Juan Merchan will preside over Mr Trump's criminal arraignment.

The Manhattan courthouse will be closed in the afternoon for the hearing, his lawyer said. The former president will not be handcuffed, but Mr Tacopina added that other details of the arraignment are still a mystery.

"This is unprecedented… I just don't know what to expect to see," he said.

"What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it's... a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say 'not guilty,' we set schedules to file motions and whatnot... and we move forward and get out there," he said.

Law enforcement officials - including the FBI , New York City court officers and Secret Service - have been preparing for Tuesday.

The New York Police Department has also reportedly intensified security measures in anticipation of any protests around the city.

AFP

A rally for Mr Trump with Republican House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been scheduled for noon on Tuesday in New York, calling for supporters to join in "peaceful protest" against the indictment.

Later on Tuesday, Mr Trump is scheduled to return to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after his hearing, where he has said he will make an address at 20:15 EST.

Around a dozen of his supporters had gathered outside Mr Trump's Florida home over the weekend, waving "Trump 2024" flags and banners at passing motorists, many of whom honked their horns in support - but also disagreement.

They were outnumbered at the site by journalists, photographers and camera crews waiting for Mr Trump's departure to New York.

"We're just here to let him know we have his back," one woman told the BBC. "Just like he's always had ours... he'll go up to New York and beat this very soon."

Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, has accused the Manhattan district attorney of "political prosecution".

He is the first US president - sitting or former - to be charged with a criminal felony.

Other Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have spoken out in support of him and have also accused the district attorney of weaponising the criminal justice system to influence the outcome of next year's presidential election.

In response, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the charges had been brought by citizens of New York doing their civic duty - and neither the former president nor Congress could interfere with proceedings.

With reporting from Bernd Debusmann in Florida.

Related Topics

• New York City
• Donald Trump
• United States

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2023-04-03 05:16:46Z
1892737167

Sanna Marin defeated by Finland's conservatives in tight race - BBC

AFP

By Paul Kirby

BBC News

Finnish conservative leader Petteri Orpo has won a nail-biting three-way election race, defeating Prime Minister Sanna Marin's centre left.

"We got the biggest mandate," said the leader of the National Coalition Party, after a dramatic night in which the result gradually swung away from Ms Marin's Social Democrats.

Mr Orpo secured 20.8% of the vote, ahead of the right-wing populist Finns Party and the centre left.

The populists won a record 20.1%.

It is a bitter defeat for Ms Marin, who increased her party's seats and secured 19.9% of the vote.

She continues to enjoy high poll ratings and has been widely praised for steering Finland towards imminent entry into Nato and navigating her country through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shortly after the conservative leader claimed victory, the centre-left leader conceded the election.

"Congratulations to the winner of the elections, congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken," she told supporters.

For weeks the three parties had been almost level in the polls, and as the results came in it became too close to call. Then a projection from public broadcaster YLE gave Petteri Orpo's National Coalition victory with the biggest number of seats in parliament.

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"I think Finnish people want change. They want change and now I will start negotiations, open negotiations with all parties," he said.

There was a mood of euphoria in the camp, said Matti Koivisto, political correspondent with public broadcaster YLE. "When they saw the projection, it was quite clear they were going to win."

Finns Party leader Riikka Purra congratulated her centre-right rival and was herself delighted with the best result in her party's history.

"We're still challenging to be number one, but seven more seats is an excellent result."

The Finns underlined their success by winning more regions than any other party in mainland Finland. Riikka Purra won more votes than any other candidate and commentators highlighted her party's appeal to young voters by reaching out over social media such as TikTok.

Alamy

Meanwhile, three of the other parties in the outgoing coalition - the Centre Party, Left Alliance and Greens - all rang up big losses.

Now 37, Sanna Marin became the world's youngest leader when she burst on to the political scene in 2019. She headed a coalition of five parties, all led by women.

Despite her successful response to neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the election was largely fought on Finland's economy and public debt as all the mainstream parties backed Nato membership.

Many Finns see her as a polarising figure. She came under heavy scrutiny last year when a video emerged of her singing, dancing and drinking at a party. Supporters said the controversy was steeped in sexism and women across Finland and the world shared videos of themselves dancing in solidarity.

Petteri Orpo by contrast has none of Sanna Marin's "rock-star" qualities, says YLE's Matti Koivisto.

"He's a career politician. He's been in the game since the 1990s and he's quite stable and calm. There is criticism that maybe he's too dull and calm, but it also works quite well in Finland."

The conservatives will have the first opportunity in forming a government, and if they succeed, Mr Orpo, 53, will become the next prime minister.

Under an Orpo-led government, Europe could expect a pro-European conservative from the liberal centre of his party with an emphasis on economic policy.

Less exciting than Sanna Marin and very moderate, says Vesa Vares, professor of contemporary history at the University of Turku: "A sort of dream son-in-law."

Under Finland's system of proportional representation he will have to muster more than 100 seats in the 200-seat parliament to run the country, and that will not be straightforward.

Mr Orpo really has two choices ahead of him, either forming a right-wing coalition with Riikka Purra's nationalist Finns Party or reaching an agreement with Sanna Marin's Social Democrats.

"The Finns are a very difficult partner because they're so inexperienced and they have MPs who are discontented towards almost anything," says Prof Vares.

"The most natural thing would be to co-operate with the Social Democrats. But [Sanna Marin] used to belong to her party's left wing and it's obvious she doesn't like the conservatives."

Politics researcher Jenni Karimaki of the University of Helsinki also points out that Ms Marin has been reluctant to say what her aspirations are.

The Social Democrats have mixed feelings, she says, because while they increased their seats in parliament, they were unable to become the biggest party and renew their premiership.

"But Finnish political culture is known for its flexibility. They are known for their ability to negotiate and form compromises."

Related Topics

• Sanna Marin
• Finland

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2023-04-02 22:38:27Z
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Ukraine news – live: Pro-Russia military blogger killed in St Petersburg café bombing - The Independent

Related video: Russia arrests US journalist on espionage allegations

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A prominent pro-Putin military blogger has died and more than a dozen other people were injured when a bomb went off in a cafe in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky - real name Maxim Fomin - was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Bar cafe in the country’s second largest city.

Tatarsky was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He was meeting with members of the public at the cafe and a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded, according to local reports.

It comes after six civilians were killed and eight wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, a senior Ukrainian official has said.

Kostiantynivka, home to about 70,000 people before the war, is just 12.5 miles west of Bakhmut, the epicentre of fighting for at least eight months as Russian forces try to capture the city.

1680466179

Russia‘s foreign ministry says Western silence over cafe bombing shows ‘hypocrisy’

Russia‘s foreign ministry made no accusations of involvement in the attack on a cafe in St Petersburg, but said silence in Western capitals exposed hypocrisy over expressions of concern for journalists.

Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, said the absence of reaction in Washington, London and Paris “speaks for itself given their ostensible concern for the well-being of journalists and freedom of expression.”

She wrote on the ministry’s website: “The reaction in Kyiv is striking where those who receive Western grants are in no way concealing their delight at what has happened.”

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 21:09

1680465659

Watch: Russian military blogger handed statue moments before cafe explosion

Watch: Russian military blogger handed statue moments before cafe explosion

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 21:00

1680463815

Bakhmut front line ‘especially hot’ today, President Zelensky says

Volodymyr Zelensky has paid tribute to Ukrainian soldiers fighting against Russia.

Moscow has been sending waves and waves of attacks against the front line city in eastern Ukraine, which has been raised to the ground following months of war.

In his nightly address on Telegram, the Ukrainian president said: “I am grateful to our warriors who are fighting near Avdiivka, Maryinka, near Bakhmut.

“Especially Bakhmut! It's especially hot there today!”

Ukrainian forces have continued to hold on in Bakhmut despite calls from some Western pundits for them to abandon the city.

Now, according to some reports, Russia's offensive appears to be culminating in the city.

President Zelensky added: “The resilience of everyone is the resilience of the whole of Ukraine, helping everyone in a position nearby is helping the whole of Ukraine!”

Thomas Kingsley2 April 2023 20:30

1680462015

ICYMI: Pro-Putin military blogger killed in St Petersburg cafe explosion

One person was killed and 16 injured in an explosion in a cafe in Russia's St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, citing emergency services.

News agency RIA has said well-known military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, has been killed in the explosion.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

He was among hundreds of attendees at a lavish Kremlin ceremony last September to proclaim Russia's annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move that most countries at the UN condemned as illegal.

Read the full story below:

Thomas Kingsley2 April 2023 20:00

1680460074

Pictured: scene after St Petersburg cafe explosion

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

Russian police officers are seen at the site of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 19:27

1680457408

Video: One person killed and 15 injured in St Petersburg cafe blast

St Petersburg explosion: One person killed and 15 injured in cafe blast

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 18:43

1680456791

Pro-Putin military blogger killed in St Petersburg cafe explosion

One person was killed and six injured in an explosion in a cafe in Russia‘s St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, citing emergency services.

News agency RIA has said well-known military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, has been killed in the explosion.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 18:33

1680448505

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.

His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.

As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

It was a month into Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp. His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager. As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead. The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 16:15

1680446705

Lavrov held phone call with Blinken

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian news agencies said on Sunday, citing Russia‘s foreign ministry.

They did not say what was discussed.

The conversation came at a time of acute tension in U.S.-Russian relations, three days after Russia said it had arrested Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. reporter for the Wall Street Journal, on charges of espionage.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 15:45

1680444905

Journal reporter's arrest threatens reporting from Russia

The arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges in Russia has news organizations based outside the country weighing for the second time in a year whether the risks of reporting there during wartime are too great.

The Journal and other news outlets continued to press Friday for the release of Evan Gershkovich, He was taken into custody by Russian security officials a day earlier and accused of spying, charges the newspaper vehemently denies.

More than 30 press freedom groups and news organizations, including the Journal, The New York Times, BBC, The Associated Press, The New Yorker, Time and The Washington Post, signed a letter Friday to Anatoly I. Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., expressing concern about “a significant escalation in your government’s anti-press actions.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 15:15

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2023-04-02 20:22:04Z
1899014276

Ukraine news – live: Pro-Russia military blogger killed in St Petersburg café bombing - The Independent

Related video: Russia arrests US journalist on espionage allegations

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

A prominent pro-Putin military blogger has died and more than a dozen other people were injured when a bomb went off in a cafe in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky - real name Maxim Fomin - was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Bar cafe in the country’s second largest city.

Tatarsky was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He was meeting with members of the public at the cafe and a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded, according to local reports.

It comes after six civilians were killed and eight wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, a senior Ukrainian official has said.

Kostiantynivka, home to about 70,000 people before the war, is just 12.5 miles west of Bakhmut, the epicentre of fighting for at least eight months as Russian forces try to capture the city.

1680460074

Pictured: scene after St Petersburg cafe explosion

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

Russian police officers are seen at the site of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 19:27

1680457408

Video: One person killed and 15 injured in St Petersburg cafe blast

St Petersburg explosion: One person killed and 15 injured in cafe blast

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 18:43

1680456791

Pro-Putin military blogger killed in St Petersburg cafe explosion

One person was killed and six injured in an explosion in a cafe in Russia‘s St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, citing emergency services.

News agency RIA has said well-known military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, has been killed in the explosion.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Joe Middleton2 April 2023 18:33

1680448505

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.

His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.

As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

It was a month into Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp. His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager. As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead. The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 16:15

1680446705

Lavrov held phone call with Blinken

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian news agencies said on Sunday, citing Russia‘s foreign ministry.

They did not say what was discussed.

The conversation came at a time of acute tension in U.S.-Russian relations, three days after Russia said it had arrested Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. reporter for the Wall Street Journal, on charges of espionage.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 15:45

1680444905

Journal reporter's arrest threatens reporting from Russia

The arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges in Russia has news organizations based outside the country weighing for the second time in a year whether the risks of reporting there during wartime are too great.

The Journal and other news outlets continued to press Friday for the release of Evan Gershkovich, He was taken into custody by Russian security officials a day earlier and accused of spying, charges the newspaper vehemently denies.

More than 30 press freedom groups and news organizations, including the Journal, The New York Times, BBC, The Associated Press, The New Yorker, Time and The Washington Post, signed a letter Friday to Anatoly I. Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., expressing concern about “a significant escalation in your government’s anti-press actions.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 15:15

1680443405

War crimes warrant for Putin could complicate peace efforts, observers warn

An international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.

Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two is a quandary at the heart of a decision on March 17 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the Russian leader’s arrest.

Judges in The Hague found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Mr Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights were responsible for war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

As unlikely as Mr Putin sitting in a Hague courtroom seems now, other leaders have faced justice in international courts.

Former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a driving force behind the Balkan wars of the 1990s, went on trial for war crimes, including genocide, at a United Nations tribunal in The Hague after he lost power. He died in his cell in 2006 before a verdict could be reached.

Serbia, which wants European Union membership but has maintained close ties to Russia, is one of the countries that has criticised the ICC’s action. The warrants “will have bad political consequences” and create “a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce” in Ukraine, populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Others see consequences for Mr Putin, and for anyone judged guilty of war crimes, as the primary desired outcome of international action.

“There will be no escape for the perpetrator and his henchmen,” European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday in a speech to mark the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the Ukraine town that saw some of the worst atrocities in the war.

“War criminals will be held accountable for their deeds,” she added.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 14:50

1680441905

Brittney Griner urges Biden to bring home reporter Gershkovich

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner exchange last year, has urged the Biden administration to keep using “every tool possible” to win the release of a U.S. reporter accused of spying in Russia.

Griner and her wife Cherelle said on Instagram that “our hearts are filled with great concern” for Evan Gershkovich, the journalist arrested by Russia‘s FSB security service last week in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

The Kremlin says Gershkovich was using journalism as a cover for spying activity - something his newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, has vehemently denied.

Russia has not made public any evidence to support the charges, under which Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in jail. The White House has described the accusations as “ridiculous” and President Joe Biden has called on Moscow to release him.

The Griners said they were grateful for Biden’s “deep commitment to rescue Americans”. They cited the cases of aid worker Jeff Woodke, freed last month after being kidnapped for more than six years in West Africa, and Paul Rusesabagina, a permanent U.S. resident who returned home last week after being released from prison in Rwanda.

The couple added, “we call on all of our supporters to both celebrate the wins and encourage the administration to continue to use every tool possible to bring Evan and all wrongfully detained Americans home”.

Brittney Griner, a WNBA star and double Olympic gold medallist who played for a Russian team in the off-season, was arrested at a Moscow airport one week before Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

She was found with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being convicted on drug smuggling and possession charges, a verdict that Biden called “unacceptable”.

She was freed in December in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who spent 14 years in jail in the United States for arms trafficking, money laundering and conspiring to kill Americans.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 14:25

1680440295

What’s happening on the battlefield?

Here is the latest from the frontline:

* Six civilians were killed and eight wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, a senior Ukrainian official said. Kostiantynivka, home to about 70,000 people before the war, is just 20 km (12.5 miles) west of Bakhmut, the epicentre of fighting for at least eight months as Russian forces try to capture the city.

Reuters could not independently verify the number of casualties.

* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in the country, according to footage published by the Defence Ministry on Saturday.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 13:58

1680438305

Russia becomes president of UN Security Council despite Ukraine invasion

Around 50 Ukrainians protested in front of the UN’s office in Brussels on Saturday afternoon, waving a mixture of Ukrainian and EU flags.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 April 2023 13:25

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2023-04-02 18:25:01Z
1899014276

US tornadoes: Death toll grows as extreme storms ravage several states - BBC

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By Alys Davies & Thomas Mackintosh

BBC News

At least 26 people have been killed after a series of tornadoes tore through towns and cities in the South and Midwest of the United States.

Homes were destroyed and thousands left without power after huge storms caused devastation across several states.

There have been more than 80 reported tornadoes since 31 March, according to the National Weather Service.

States including Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all had fatalities.

One storm shredded through the Arkansas town of Wynne - a community some 100 miles (170km) east of the state capital, Little Rock.

Reuters

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in the bathroom as a tornado passed overhead, "praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead".

A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

"We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm," Ms Macmillan told AP news agency.

Wynne High School was badly damaged, with some buildings torn to pieces. One of its teachers, Lisa Worden, said a decision to send pupils home early was critical.

"We got out at 1:30, which was such a God blessing from our superintendent, because otherwise kids would have been on busses and teachers would have still been here. And so that would have been even more devastating," she told Reuters news agency.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in the state of Arkansas on Friday, with the national guard activated to help with recovery efforts.

Reuters

She said she had spoken to President Joe Biden about the situation, who promised federal aid.

Friday's storms also led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, Illinois state, leading to one death and 28 injuries.

As storms continue to work their way east, hundreds of thousands of people are without power across several states.

Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania are the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website.

In a bulletin, the Storm Prediction Center warned some of the projected tornadoes could track across the ground for long distances.

EPA

The deadly tornadoes come a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi.

The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes - an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.

President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences.

How have you been affected by the storms? If it is safe to do so share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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Related Topics

• Tornadoes
• Indiana
• Arkansas
• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Tennessee
• United States
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2023-04-02 11:59:26Z
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Pro-Putin military blogger killed in St Petersburg cafe explosion - The Independent

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One person was killed and six injured in an explosion in a cafe in Russia's St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, citing emergency services.

News agency RIA has said well-known military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, has been killed in the explosion.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky is reported to have been killed in a St Petersburg explosion

(via REUTERS)

He was among hundreds of attendees at a lavish Kremlin ceremony last September to proclaim Russia's annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move that most countries at the UN condemned as illegal.

“We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it,” he was shown saying in a video clip on that occasion.

A St Petersburg website said the explosion on Sunday took place at a cafe that had at one time belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

There was no indication who was behind the blast.

If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a high-profile figure associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services last August of killing Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow that President Vladimir Putin called “evil”.

Ukraine denied involvement.

It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US secretary of state Antony Blinken it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained and accused of spying in Russia.

Russian Emergency Situations Ministry stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia

Antony Blinken called for the immediate release of the US journalist during the telephone call with Mr Lavrov on Sunday, the US State Department said.

“Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The Secretary called for his immediate release,” US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement that did not mention Gershkovich by name.

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2023-04-02 17:05:05Z
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