Reuters World News Summary

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.

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said he had canceled his trip to Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on the orders of the prime minister due to the political situation in the country.

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.

People from around the world took to Whisper to reveal the 'normal things' they are too embarrassed to do in public - including a Californian woman, who doesn't like kissing her boyfriend in view of others 

Malaysia said on Saturday it was firmly committed to protecting its sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea after China expressed concern about Malaysian energy projects in a part of the sea that China also claims.

April 8 (Reuters) - Russia is considering raising its base price for calculating the wheat export tax to 17,000 roubles ($212.23) per tonne from 15,000 roubles per tonne, the Vedomosti daily reported, citing two unnamed sources in exporting companies.

Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova will ask India on an upcoming visit for humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia's invasion, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Seventy-one Chinese military aircraft crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as China began drills around Taiwan in anger at President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with the speaker of the U.S.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday wrote a fierce criticism of foreign social media firms, mentioning by name both Meta and educational tutoring services YouTube, but he hinted that the door leading to their possible return to the Russian market would be left ajar.

A senior U.S.
lawmaker pledged on Saturday to help provide training for Taiwan's armed force and k5 learning math 5th grade to speed up the delivery of weapons, as China began three days of military exercises around the island Beijing claims as its territory. China announced the drills the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei from Los Angeles, where she met speaker of the U.S.

Ukraine's leaders discussed ways to prevent leaks of military information on Friday after secret documents detailing U.S.
and NATO efforts to help the country plan a counter-offensive against Russia's invasion reportedly appeared on social media. The New York Times said on Thursday, citing senior U.S. officials, that classified war documents were posted this week on Twitter and Telegram, which is widely used in Russia.

House of Representatives. The three-day drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after Beijing condemned her Wednesday meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

Outraged that Meta Platforms was allowing social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as "Death to the Russian invaders," Moscow blocked Instagram this week, having already stopped access to Facebook because of what it said were restrictions by the platform on Russian media.

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. Blinken's visit, which has not yet been officially announced, would come after U.S.

Dar said he would attend important attend bilateral and multilateral meetings virtually and a Pakistani delegation would be present in Washington. The minister played down reports of the canceled trip being linked to a holdup in Pakistan's IMF bailout program.