NASA has said that its first crewed Artemis mission will not see a launch before 2026. This notice has come after NASA's notification of &nbsp;delays on Artemis-1 uncrewed flight around the Moon.&nbsp;

The agency indicated last week that it would launch no earlier than May, but even that timeline is in doubt, Space.com reported.

"Given the time needed to develop and test the human landing system and NASA`s next generation spacesuits, we estimate the date for a crewed lunar landing likely to slip to 2026 at the earliest," NASA Inspector General Paul Martin was quoted as saying during a House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.

He acknowledged that the 2025 deadline that NASA is aiming for doesn`t appear to be feasible.

Martin said there are challenges that need to be faced, "not the least of which would be getting the human landing system certified to operate spacesuits," along with changes in the agency`s acquisition strategy that is expected to take more time in procuring key technologies "that are not mature".

These factors, he said, "often point to taking longer and [requiring] development to get there. So 2025 is not impossible, but it seems improbable."

According to William Russell, the US Government Accountability Office director of contracting and national security acquisitions, the problem is that NASA is seeking to manage "multiple risks simultaneously" while achieving a tight deadline, the report said.

Russell pointed to factors such as the seven-month delay induced by the HLS disputes, a key change in spacesuit development to pivot the work to a contractor instead of in-house work, and cost growth for the Space Launch System rocket and other key infrastructure required to support a human landing.

NASA, for its part, pointed to unanticipated issues that contributed to cost growth and schedule delays, particularly involving the coronavirus pandemic, which has created supply chain hiccups and personnel challenges due to safety protocols.

"Every bit of work that I`ve mentioned is possible because of the people of NASA and our private sector partners," James Free, the agency`s associate administrator of the exploration systems development mission directorate, was quoted as saying.

 
&nbsp;

NASA has said that its first crewed Artemis mission will not see a launch before 2026. This notice has come after NASA's notification of delays on Artemis-1 uncrewed flight around the Moon.

NASA has said that its first crewed Artemis mission will not see a launch before 2026. This notice has come after NASA's notification of delays on Artemis-1 uncrewed flight around the Moon. The agency indicated last week that it would launch no earlier than May, but even that timeline is in doubt, Space.com reported. "Given the time needed to develop and test the human landing system and NASA`s next generation spacesuits, we estimate the date for a crewed lunar landing likely to slip to 2026 at the earliest," NASA Inspector General Paul Martin was quoted as saying during a House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. He acknowledged that the 2025 deadline that NASA is aiming for doesn`t appear to be feasible. Martin said there are challenges that need to be faced, "not the least of which would be getting the human landing system certified to operate spacesuits," along with changes in the agency`s acquisition strategy that is expected to take more time in procuring key technologies "that are not mature". These factors, he said, "often point to taking longer and [requiring] development to get there. So 2025 is not impossible, but it seems improbable." According to William Russell, the US Government Accountability Office director of contracting and national security acquisitions, the problem is that NASA is seeking to manage "multiple risks simultaneously" while achieving a tight deadline, the report said. Russell pointed to factors such as the seven-month delay induced by the HLS disputes, a key change in spacesuit development to pivot the work to a contractor instead of in-house work, and cost growth for the Space Launch System rocket and other key infrastructure required to support a human landing. NASA, for its part, pointed to unanticipated issues that contributed to cost growth and schedule delays, particularly involving the coronavirus pandemic, which has created supply chain hiccups and personnel challenges due to safety protocols. "Every bit of work that I`ve mentioned is possible because of the people of NASA and our private sector partners," James Free, the agency`s associate administrator of the exploration systems development mission directorate, was quoted as saying.

Artemis: NASA's crewed mission delayed till 2026

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with Quad leaders and discussed situation in Ukraine. The discussion included humanitarian implications of the conflict. PM Modi emphassed that there was need to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Quad is a grouping of India, US, Japan and Australia.

US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also took part, in the first such interaction since the leaders of four Quad countries held a summit in September last year in Washington.&nbsp;

The virtual meeting was held amid Russia`s military action in Ukraine. A PMO statement said that the leaders discussed other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands.&nbsp;

<img alt="Quad statement" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="632d1f0b-88e3-4d0e-8c6f-50c528d71426" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Quad.png" />

PM Modi reiterated the importance "of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The Prime Minister underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building.

"Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement said.&nbsp;

The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit. The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year.The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders` Summit in Japan. The Western countries have imposed sanctions against Russia following its military action.

(With inputs from agencies)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with Quad leaders and discussed situation in Ukraine. The discussion included humanitarian implications of the conflict.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with Quad leaders and discussed situation in Ukraine. The discussion included humanitarian implications of the conflict. PM Modi emphassed that there was need to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. Quad is a grouping of India, US, Japan and Australia. US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also took part, in the first such interaction since the leaders of four Quad countries held a summit in September last year in Washington. The virtual meeting was held amid Russia`s military action in Ukraine. A PMO statement said that the leaders discussed other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands. PM Modi reiterated the importance "of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity." "The Prime Minister underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building. "Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement said. The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit. The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year.The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders` Summit in Japan. The Western countries have imposed sanctions against Russia following its military action. (With inputs from agencies)

PM Modi discusses Ukraine situation with Quad leaders

I grew up in a land of lies and bones, with the dead being erased or subsumed by the Kremlin, which refused to see Ukraine as a nation, imposing a Soviet identity over us all.

Today, we’re witnessing the same nihilistic violence unfold in real time, in a campaign of bullets and bombs dropped over Ukraine. “I’m OK,” terrified friends in Kharkiv and Kyiv keep telling me. What else is there to tell? We know this war isn’t new; in some ways we have always expected it to resume.

I remember the pockmarks. My father and I were coming home after a walk in a small park filled with lilacs near our apartment in Kharkiv (then called Kharkov) when Ukraine was still a Soviet republic. “Why are there holes there?” I asked my father, pointing to a cluster of ugly craters, chipped into a corner of our apartment block.

“It’s from the war,” he told me. It was the mid-1980s, nearly half a century after World War II had ended. The artillery scars are still in my mind. It’s one of my earliest childhood memories.

It was impossible to grow up in Ukraine without witnessing the violence the land had seen. We clambered around old tanks proudly displayed in parks and squares, lumbering monuments to World War II. We learned of this history at dinner tables and in elementary schools, in stories passed down of famine and invasions, from the Mongol destruction of Kyivan Rus in the 13th century to the Nazi attack in 1941 to the Soviet purges.

By the 1980s the country was in many ways a giant mass grave, a grave the size of Texas. And yet we were not encouraged to see it as a Ukrainian story, but as a Soviet one, a collective amnesia pushed out from the Kremlin across the Soviet states.

The story of modern Ukraine begins a little over 100 years ago, at the end of World War I, when new states were crawling out of the ruins of defeated empires across Europe. Ukraine, however, was fractured. The region ended up in two pieces: the eastern and central parcels were annexed by the Soviet Union; the western region, known as Eastern Galicia, which had once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was tacked on to Poland. Both were about to enter decades of suffering.

Warsaw, which had just regained its sovereignty for the first time in 123 years, wasn’t keen on permitting a distinct Ukrainian identity to develop in Eastern Galicia; the 1920s saw an increasing crackdown on Ukrainian culture, churches and schools. When Ukrainian nationalists began waging a campaign of terrorism and assassination against what they viewed as a Polish occupation of Ukrainian soil, Warsaw responded with the 1930 “pacification of Eastern Galicia,” a euphemism for brutal suppression of Ukrainians.

But the situation in Poland paled in comparison to the genocide Stalin perpetuated on the Soviet part of Ukraine. From 1932 through 1933, Soviet commissars began seizing grain and food from Ukrainian peasants in the name of Communist collectivization, part of a vicious backlash against the independent farmers whom Moscow deemed to be too successful and therefore too greedy.

The seizure of food turned Ukraine into an apocalyptic wasteland plagued by famine. People dropped dead on the streets. Ukrainians ate dirt, grass, food waste. Reports of cannibalism were widespread, and parents were said to have eaten their children. About 3.9 million Ukrainians perished in what became known as Holodomor — “death by hunger” in Ukrainian. But killing them wasn’t enough. As a final insult, Stalin, who was infamous for erasing enemies from photographs, forbade talk of the famine and ensured statistics were altered to hide the deaths, as if his victims had never existed.

Less than a decade later, the Nazis seized Ukraine. Some 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews were killed, most by mobile Nazi death squads known as Einsatzgruppen, aided by local collaborators in what later became known as the Holocaust of bullets. Babyn Yar, just outside of Kyiv, became the final resting place for 33,000 Jews mowed down in just days. Destruction was not limited to the Jews. Cities, including Kharkiv, were reduced to swaths of rubble. Over two million Ukrainians were pressed into slave labor in Germany. Hunger descended again. In all, because of war and famine and destruction, five million to seven million Ukrainians lost their lives. Nearly 200,000 Crimean Tatars, Muslims who lived in Ukraine for centuries, were deported to Central Asia; tens of thousands died as a result.

The end of German occupation didn’t end the suffering, it only brought renewed Soviet repression. The U.S.S.R. couldn’t abide any identity that challenged Soviet dominance, whether in individuals or nations. For 40 years after the war, Russia methodically swept aside the Ukrainian language and culture, leaving behind a landscape of soulless Soviet kitsch, red stars and slogans and tomes of speeches by Lenin. Ukrainian identity was vestigial and subservient; I still remember my school showing us drawings of peasants in vyshyvanki — traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts — insipidly smiling while waving Soviet flags.

The Kremlin also suppressed Holocaust remembrance, which it saw as potentially dangerous because it facilitated Jewish communal identity. For decades, the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Jews remained strewn in Nazi killing pits throughout Ukraine without so much as a grave marker. When the regime did permit memorials, the dead were invariably referred to as “peaceful Soviet citizens,” their Jewish identity purposefully omitted.

When I was still a child, in 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant spewed a radioactive cloud through Ukraine and Belarus. Heroic local volunteers and firefighters put out the radioactive inferno, preventing a second explosion that could have decimated half of Europe; many died horrific deaths in the process and in the aftermath. A large area of land was rendered uninhabitable and remains so today. Moscow stifled discussion of Chernobyl as it happened, cloaking the accident in secrecy and propaganda.

Three years later my parents, my grandmother, my sister and I — along with thousands of other Soviet Jews — fled for Vienna. It was from America that we watched, in 1991, as the Soviet Union crumbled and the Iron Curtain was drawn back. Ukraine gained its independence, but promises of democracy were soon mired in endemic corruption.

In 2004, the Orange Revolution saw hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians reverse the outcome of a fraudulent presidential election. In the winter of 2013-14, millions joined the Euromaidan uprising, demanding that Ukraine enter into a partnership agreement with the European Union. Shortly after, Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula while Russian-backed separatists launched an anti-Euromaidan uprising in the east of the country.

I wonder if our old pockmarked apartment building in Kharkiv has new scars, if it’ll even be standing tomorrow. My American friends were emailing and texting, expressing sympathy, asking what they could do. I didn’t respond to some of them; I couldn’t. America wants solutions and happy endings, and I couldn’t tell my friends the reality — there’s nothing they or I can do.

But that isn’t entirely true. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who denies that Ukraine is a sovereign nation, is waging far more than a physical war: He, like his predecessors in the Kremlin, is working to erase the very concept of Ukraine from existence. With each new report of a Russian bombing, I find myself becoming more Ukrainian, seizing the identity that first the Soviet Union — and now Russia — has long fought to suppress.

I hope others can help keep Ukraine alive. Learn the history. Light a candle on Holodomor Remembrance Day in November. Mourn the dead. Remember Ukraine.

I grew up in a land of lies and bones, with the dead being erased or subsumed by the Kremlin, which refused to see Ukraine as a nation, imposing a Soviet identity over us all.

I grew up in a land of lies and bones, with the dead being erased or subsumed by the Kremlin, which refused to see Ukraine as a nation, imposing a Soviet identity over us all. Today, we’re witnessing the same nihilistic violence unfold in real time, in a campaign of bullets and bombs dropped over Ukraine. “I’m OK,” terrified friends in Kharkiv and Kyiv keep telling me. What else is there to tell? We know this war isn’t new; in some ways we have always expected it to resume. I remember the pockmarks. My father and I were coming home after a walk in a small park filled with lilacs near our apartment in Kharkiv (then called Kharkov) when Ukraine was still a Soviet republic. “Why are there holes there?” I asked my father, pointing to a cluster of ugly craters, chipped into a corner of our apartment block. “It’s from the war,” he told me. It was the mid-1980s, nearly half a century after World War II had ended. The artillery scars are still in my mind. It’s one of my earliest childhood memories. It was impossible to grow up in Ukraine without witnessing the violence the land had seen. We clambered around old tanks proudly displayed in parks and squares, lumbering monuments to World War II. We learned of this history at dinner tables and in elementary schools, in stories passed down of famine and invasions, from the Mongol destruction of Kyivan Rus in the 13th century to the Nazi attack in 1941 to the Soviet purges. By the 1980s the country was in many ways a giant mass grave, a grave the size of Texas. And yet we were not encouraged to see it as a Ukrainian story, but as a Soviet one, a collective amnesia pushed out from the Kremlin across the Soviet states. The story of modern Ukraine begins a little over 100 years ago, at the end of World War I, when new states were crawling out of the ruins of defeated empires across Europe. Ukraine, however, was fractured. The region ended up in two pieces: the eastern and central parcels were annexed by the Soviet Union; the western region, known as Eastern Galicia, which had once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was tacked on to Poland. Both were about to enter decades of suffering. Warsaw, which had just regained its sovereignty for the first time in 123 years, wasn’t keen on permitting a distinct Ukrainian identity to develop in Eastern Galicia; the 1920s saw an increasing crackdown on Ukrainian culture, churches and schools. When Ukrainian nationalists began waging a campaign of terrorism and assassination against what they viewed as a Polish occupation of Ukrainian soil, Warsaw responded with the 1930 “pacification of Eastern Galicia,” a euphemism for brutal suppression of Ukrainians. But the situation in Poland paled in comparison to the genocide Stalin perpetuated on the Soviet part of Ukraine. From 1932 through 1933, Soviet commissars began seizing grain and food from Ukrainian peasants in the name of Communist collectivization, part of a vicious backlash against the independent farmers whom Moscow deemed to be too successful and therefore too greedy. The seizure of food turned Ukraine into an apocalyptic wasteland plagued by famine. People dropped dead on the streets. Ukrainians ate dirt, grass, food waste. Reports of cannibalism were widespread, and parents were said to have eaten their children. About 3.9 million Ukrainians perished in what became known as Holodomor — “death by hunger” in Ukrainian. But killing them wasn’t enough. As a final insult, Stalin, who was infamous for erasing enemies from photographs, forbade talk of the famine and ensured statistics were altered to hide the deaths, as if his victims had never existed. Less than a decade later, the Nazis seized Ukraine. Some 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews were killed, most by mobile Nazi death squads known as Einsatzgruppen, aided by local collaborators in what later became known as the Holocaust of bullets. Babyn Yar, just outside of Kyiv, became the final resting place for 33,000 Jews mowed down in just days. Destruction was not limited to the Jews. Cities, including Kharkiv, were reduced to swaths of rubble. Over two million Ukrainians were pressed into slave labor in Germany. Hunger descended again. In all, because of war and famine and destruction, five million to seven million Ukrainians lost their lives. Nearly 200,000 Crimean Tatars, Muslims who lived in Ukraine for centuries, were deported to Central Asia; tens of thousands died as a result. The end of German occupation didn’t end the suffering, it only brought renewed Soviet repression. The U.S.S.R. couldn’t abide any identity that challenged Soviet dominance, whether in individuals or nations. For 40 years after the war, Russia methodically swept aside the Ukrainian language and culture, leaving behind a landscape of soulless Soviet kitsch, red stars and slogans and tomes of speeches by Lenin. Ukrainian identity was vestigial and subservient; I still remember my school showing us drawings of peasants in vyshyvanki — traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts — insipidly smiling while waving Soviet flags. The Kremlin also suppressed Holocaust remembrance, which it saw as potentially dangerous because it facilitated Jewish communal identity. For decades, the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Jews remained strewn in Nazi killing pits throughout Ukraine without so much as a grave marker. When the regime did permit memorials, the dead were invariably referred to as “peaceful Soviet citizens,” their Jewish identity purposefully omitted. When I was still a child, in 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant spewed a radioactive cloud through Ukraine and Belarus. Heroic local volunteers and firefighters put out the radioactive inferno, preventing a second explosion that could have decimated half of Europe; many died horrific deaths in the process and in the aftermath. A large area of land was rendered uninhabitable and remains so today. Moscow stifled discussion of Chernobyl as it happened, cloaking the accident in secrecy and propaganda. Three years later my parents, my grandmother, my sister and I — along with thousands of other Soviet Jews — fled for Vienna. It was from America that we watched, in 1991, as the Soviet Union crumbled and the Iron Curtain was drawn back. Ukraine gained its independence, but promises of democracy were soon mired in endemic corruption. In 2004, the Orange Revolution saw hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians reverse the outcome of a fraudulent presidential election. In the winter of 2013-14, millions joined the Euromaidan uprising, demanding that Ukraine enter into a partnership agreement with the European Union. Shortly after, Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula while Russian-backed separatists launched an anti-Euromaidan uprising in the east of the country. I wonder if our old pockmarked apartment building in Kharkiv has new scars, if it’ll even be standing tomorrow. My American friends were emailing and texting, expressing sympathy, asking what they could do. I didn’t respond to some of them; I couldn’t. America wants solutions and happy endings, and I couldn’t tell my friends the reality — there’s nothing they or I can do. But that isn’t entirely true. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who denies that Ukraine is a sovereign nation, is waging far more than a physical war: He, like his predecessors in the Kremlin, is working to erase the very concept of Ukraine from existence. With each new report of a Russian bombing, I find myself becoming more Ukrainian, seizing the identity that first the Soviet Union — and now Russia — has long fought to suppress. I hope others can help keep Ukraine alive. Learn the history. Light a candle on Holodomor Remembrance Day in November. Mourn the dead. Remember Ukraine.

The Ukraine of my childhood is being erased

In a potential move to tighten economic screws against Russia, the London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 27 companies that have strong links with Russia. These companies include Gazprom and Sberbank. Gazprom is Russian energy company.

Action has also been taken against Severstal which is Russia's largest steel and mining company. Severstal is owned by Alexei Mordashov, the richest man in Russia.

Aluminium comapany EN+, co-owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, has also been barred. Other companies which have found themselves to have been targetted are Rosneft and VK. The latter is parent company of social media platform VKontakte. It is bigger than Facebook in Russia.

Some other companies in the list are PhosAgro (fertiliser company), Lukoil (energy firm), Polyus (Gold producer), Novolipetsk Steel.

The London Stock Exchange said that such a step was taken “in light of market conditions, and in order to maintain orderly markets”

Russia is currently invading Ukraine and the intense global pressure in terms of economic sanctions have begun to take toll on Russian businesses.

In related but distinct development, In the rebalance, Evraz and Polymetal International will exit the FTSE 100 and enter the FTSE 250 index, FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the LSE, said in a statement.&nbsp;

The changes -- part of the quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE 100 -- will take effect from the start of trading on March 21, it added.

Both companies' share prices have tanked in the past week, making their relegation inevitable, market watchers said.&nbsp;

Polymetal International is a gold miner, while Evraz specialises in steel.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

In a potential move to tighten economic screws against Russia, the London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 27 companies that have strong links with Russia.

In a potential move to tighten economic screws against Russia, the London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 27 companies that have strong links with Russia. These companies include Gazprom and Sberbank. Gazprom is Russian energy company. Action has also been taken against Severstal which is Russia's largest steel and mining company. Severstal is owned by Alexei Mordashov, the richest man in Russia. Aluminium comapany EN+, co-owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, has also been barred. Other companies which have found themselves to have been targetted are Rosneft and VK. The latter is parent company of social media platform VKontakte. It is bigger than Facebook in Russia. Some other companies in the list are PhosAgro (fertiliser company), Lukoil (energy firm), Polyus (Gold producer), Novolipetsk Steel. The London Stock Exchange said that such a step was taken “in light of market conditions, and in order to maintain orderly markets” Russia is currently invading Ukraine and the intense global pressure in terms of economic sanctions have begun to take toll on Russian businesses. In related but distinct development, In the rebalance, Evraz and Polymetal International will exit the FTSE 100 and enter the FTSE 250 index, FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the LSE, said in a statement. The changes -- part of the quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE 100 -- will take effect from the start of trading on March 21, it added. Both companies' share prices have tanked in the past week, making their relegation inevitable, market watchers said. Polymetal International is a gold miner, while Evraz specialises in steel. (With inputs from agencies)

Trading in 27 companies that have links to Russia suspended by London Stock Exchange

Georgian prime minister said on Thursday that the country has officially applied for membership of the European Union. This has come after European Parliament expressed backing for a similar move by Ukraine currently being invaded by Russia.

"We are applying today for EU membership," Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said after signing the application letter.&nbsp;

"Georgia is a European state and continues to make a valuable contribution to its protection and development," he added. 
"History has deemed the European choice of the Georgian people as its strategic aim."

Georgia's ruling party faced strong pressure from the opposition to follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's move to apply for EU membership -- a bid which won backing from MEPs in a non-binding resolution.

Zelensky's decision to seek fast-track EU membership came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The MEP vote on Ukraine was largely seen in Georgia as a window of opportunity to advance its own EU aspirations -- a goal enshrined in the Black Sea nation's constitution.

Last year, Georgia announced its intention to apply for EU membership in 2024.

The government has faced mounting international criticism over perceived backsliding on democracy, seriously damaging Tbilisi's relations with Brussels.

Kremlin's possible target

The war in Ukraine also strengthened the West's focus on Georgia and Moldova, another ex-Soviet republic seeking EU membership.&nbsp; 
The West has expressed concerns that these countries risked becoming possible targets for the Kremlin after Ukraine.

"We stand with Moldova and Georgia to defend their sovereignty and security," French President Emmanuel Macron said last week, while his Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said France was "worried" about a possible Russian military offensive against Georgia and Moldova.

Last week, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was in Paris and Brussels to argue for Europe's commitments to Ukraine being extended to Georgia.

Even if granted candidate status however, Georgia and Ukraine will face a protracted and complex accession process.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Georgian prime minister said on Thursday that the country has officially applied for membership of the European Union. This has come after European Parliament expressed backing for a similar move by Ukraine currently being invaded by Russia.

Georgian prime minister said on Thursday that the country has officially applied for membership of the European Union. This has come after European Parliament expressed backing for a similar move by Ukraine currently being invaded by Russia. "We are applying today for EU membership," Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said after signing the application letter. "Georgia is a European state and continues to make a valuable contribution to its protection and development," he added. "History has deemed the European choice of the Georgian people as its strategic aim." Georgia's ruling party faced strong pressure from the opposition to follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's move to apply for EU membership -- a bid which won backing from MEPs in a non-binding resolution. Zelensky's decision to seek fast-track EU membership came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin last week ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The MEP vote on Ukraine was largely seen in Georgia as a window of opportunity to advance its own EU aspirations -- a goal enshrined in the Black Sea nation's constitution. Last year, Georgia announced its intention to apply for EU membership in 2024. The government has faced mounting international criticism over perceived backsliding on democracy, seriously damaging Tbilisi's relations with Brussels. Kremlin's possible target The war in Ukraine also strengthened the West's focus on Georgia and Moldova, another ex-Soviet republic seeking EU membership. The West has expressed concerns that these countries risked becoming possible targets for the Kremlin after Ukraine. "We stand with Moldova and Georgia to defend their sovereignty and security," French President Emmanuel Macron said last week, while his Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said France was "worried" about a possible Russian military offensive against Georgia and Moldova. Last week, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was in Paris and Brussels to argue for Europe's commitments to Ukraine being extended to Georgia. Even if granted candidate status however, Georgia and Ukraine will face a protracted and complex accession process. (With inputs from agencies)

Amid Ukraine crisis, Georgia formally applies for EU membership

Iran said that it was ready to step up exports of crude oil once US sanctions are lifted. Iran is currently negotiating with world powers to revive 2015 nuclear deal

Global oil prices have shot up in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Iran.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to increase its production and exports to the pre-November 2018 level," Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying by the official IRNA agency.&nbsp;

Owji was referring to November 5, 2018 when the US under then president Donald Trump reimposed sanctions against Iran's oil sector, following its withdrawal in May that year from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

"It is up to the major consuming countries to take the necessary steps to maintain stability and calm in the oil market," Owji had said Wednesday after an OPEC meeting, according to Shana, the ministry's official agency.&nbsp;

In that meeting, the oil-rich Gulf states had failed to respond to Western pressure to increase crude output, prioritising their own strategic and economic interests.&nbsp;

"I promise to reach the highest oil export capacity within one to two months as soon as the green light from Vienna is given," Owji said.&nbsp;

The minister had, in comments on February 6, estimated his country's export capacity at 2.5 million barrels per day, out of total production of about 4 million bpd, according to the Shana agency.&nbsp;

"Iran is technically and operationally capable of stabilising its export share in the world market after the lifting of sanctions," he said.

Crude oil prices were already rising sharply before the Ukraine war amid supply shortages due to a strong recovery in global demand caused by the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in many countries.&nbsp;

Surging oil prices are playing a major role in sending global inflation to the highest levels in decades, forcing central banks to hike interest rates.

In recent days, negotiators have reported progress in the ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal Iran reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Iran said that it was ready to step up exports of crude oil once US sanctions are lifted. Iran is currently negotiating with world powers to revive 2015 nuclear deal Global oil prices have shot up in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Iran.

Iran said that it was ready to step up exports of crude oil once US sanctions are lifted. Iran is currently negotiating with world powers to revive 2015 nuclear deal Global oil prices have shot up in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Iran. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to increase its production and exports to the pre-November 2018 level," Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying by the official IRNA agency. Owji was referring to November 5, 2018 when the US under then president Donald Trump reimposed sanctions against Iran's oil sector, following its withdrawal in May that year from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. "It is up to the major consuming countries to take the necessary steps to maintain stability and calm in the oil market," Owji had said Wednesday after an OPEC meeting, according to Shana, the ministry's official agency. In that meeting, the oil-rich Gulf states had failed to respond to Western pressure to increase crude output, prioritising their own strategic and economic interests. "I promise to reach the highest oil export capacity within one to two months as soon as the green light from Vienna is given," Owji said. The minister had, in comments on February 6, estimated his country's export capacity at 2.5 million barrels per day, out of total production of about 4 million bpd, according to the Shana agency. "Iran is technically and operationally capable of stabilising its export share in the world market after the lifting of sanctions," he said. Crude oil prices were already rising sharply before the Ukraine war amid supply shortages due to a strong recovery in global demand caused by the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in many countries. Surging oil prices are playing a major role in sending global inflation to the highest levels in decades, forcing central banks to hike interest rates. In recent days, negotiators have reported progress in the ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal Iran reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. (With inputs from agencies)

Will raise oil output once US sanctions lifted, says Iran

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that 18 more flights were scheduled in next 24 hours which will bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.

"We are scheduling more flights and a large number of Indians will be back home in the next 2-3 days. I would like to appreciate the Ukrainian government and the neighboring countries for hosting our people and providing support in evacuating them," said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of MEA.

He said that a total of 18,000 Indian national had left Ukraine since first advisory issued by India.

India has launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back citizens from Ukraine which is currently under Russian attack. Bagchi said that 30 flights have brought 6400 Indians back to homeland.

"This increased number of flights reflects the large number of Indians who have crossed over from Ukraine and are now in the neighboring countries. We will further step up efforts to bring all these Indian nationals back to India at the earliest," said Bagchi.

Meanwhile, India's Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju visited Solvakia on Thursday. He observed facilities made available to Indians who had crossed the border into Slovakia from Ukraine.

"Today morning, I visited Bidovce in Slovakia to check basic facilities for our citizens coming from Ukraine. Initially they had faced difficulties which will be taken care of now," he tweeted.

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Today morning, I visited Bidovce in Slovakia to check basic facilities for our citizens coming from Ukraine. Initially they had faced difficulties which will be taken care of now.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationGanga?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OperationGanga</a> 🇮🇳 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ukraine</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UkraineRussiaWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UkraineRussiaWar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UkraineWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UkraineWar</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZyUsj2Q4gS">pic.twitter.com/ZyUsj2Q4gS</a>
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) <a href="https://twitter.com/KirenRijiju/status/1499346045368774665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

"These group of students have left for India from Košice in Slovakia. Our new generation of young Indians are very confident. I've conveyed to them the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and wished them safe journey back home," he said in another tweet

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These group of students have left for India from Košice in Slovakia. 
Our new generation of young Indians are very confident. I've conveyed to them the message of Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> Ji and wished them safe journey back home.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationGanga?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OperationGanga</a> 🇮🇳 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UkraineWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UkraineWar</a> <a href="https://t.co/t7NQ5vBjjk">pic.twitter.com/t7NQ5vBjjk</a>
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) <a href="https://twitter.com/KirenRijiju/status/1499262915769155586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that 18 more flights were scheduled in next 24 hours which will bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that 18 more flights were scheduled in next 24 hours which will bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. "We are scheduling more flights and a large number of Indians will be back home in the next 2-3 days. I would like to appreciate the Ukrainian government and the neighboring countries for hosting our people and providing support in evacuating them," said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of MEA. He said that a total of 18,000 Indian national had left Ukraine since first advisory issued by India. India has launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back citizens from Ukraine which is currently under Russian attack. Bagchi said that 30 flights have brought 6400 Indians back to homeland. "This increased number of flights reflects the large number of Indians who have crossed over from Ukraine and are now in the neighboring countries. We will further step up efforts to bring all these Indian nationals back to India at the earliest," said Bagchi. Meanwhile, India's Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju visited Solvakia on Thursday. He observed facilities made available to Indians who had crossed the border into Slovakia from Ukraine. "Today morning, I visited Bidovce in Slovakia to check basic facilities for our citizens coming from Ukraine. Initially they had faced difficulties which will be taken care of now," he tweeted. Today morning, I visited Bidovce in Slovakia to check basic facilities for our citizens coming from Ukraine. Initially they had faced difficulties which will be taken care of now.#OperationGanga 🇮🇳 #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar #UkraineWar pic.twitter.com/ZyUsj2Q4gS — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) March 3, 2022 × "These group of students have left for India from Košice in Slovakia. Our new generation of young Indians are very confident. I've conveyed to them the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and wished them safe journey back home," he said in another tweet These group of students have left for India from Košice in Slovakia. Our new generation of young Indians are very confident. I've conveyed to them the message of Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji and wished them safe journey back home.#OperationGanga 🇮🇳 #UkraineWar pic.twitter.com/t7NQ5vBjjk — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) March 3, 2022 ×

Ukraine conflict: 18 more flights scheduled in next 24 hours to bring Indians back, says MEA

Scientists in China have found evidence of a 40,000 years old culture just 100 miles away from Beijing. The stone-age culture was populated by now-extinct relatives of human species. These hominins made use of a pigment called Ochre and crafted blade-like tools from stone.

The site of excavation is located in Nihewan Basin. It is a depression in northern, mountainous region in China. The site is called Xiamabei

The researchers found evidence of the culture about 8 feet below ground. The layer of silt they found was found to be 39,000 to 41,000 years old based on carbon dating and more techniques of analysis.

In this sediment, the researchers found hundreds of mammal bones, lithics, tools and more.

"The remains seemed to be in their original spots after the site was abandoned by the residents," said Shixia Yang, co-first author Shixia Yang as quoted by Live Science.

"Based on this, we can reveal a vivid picture of how people lived 40,000 years ago in Eastern Asia."

"This is the earliest-known ochre workshop for East Asia," co-senior author Francesco d'Errico told Live Science.

The researchers found that Ochre was used as an additive to be used in processing hides and also as an adhesive that was used to affix handles to stone tools.

Scientists in China have found evidence of a 40,000 years old culture just 100 miles away from Beijing. The stone-age culture was populated by now-extinct relatives of human species.

Scientists in China have found evidence of a 40,000 years old culture just 100 miles away from Beijing. The stone-age culture was populated by now-extinct relatives of human species. These hominins made use of a pigment called Ochre and crafted blade-like tools from stone. The site of excavation is located in Nihewan Basin. It is a depression in northern, mountainous region in China. The site is called Xiamabei The researchers found evidence of the culture about 8 feet below ground. The layer of silt they found was found to be 39,000 to 41,000 years old based on carbon dating and more techniques of analysis. In this sediment, the researchers found hundreds of mammal bones, lithics, tools and more. "The remains seemed to be in their original spots after the site was abandoned by the residents," said Shixia Yang, co-first author Shixia Yang as quoted by Live Science. "Based on this, we can reveal a vivid picture of how people lived 40,000 years ago in Eastern Asia." "This is the earliest-known ochre workshop for East Asia," co-senior author Francesco d'Errico told Live Science. The researchers found that Ochre was used as an additive to be used in processing hides and also as an adhesive that was used to affix handles to stone tools.

40,000 year-old stone-age culture found in China

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

&nbsp;

Russia on Wednesday made a huge claim that some Indian students in Kharkov (Kharkiv) were being held hostage by Ukrainian forces. The Russian side also said that these students were being used as human shields and that Russia was trying to organise 'urgent evacuation' of this group of students.

The Russian side released this information in a readout given out after telephone conversation between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As per the readout, Putin has given all necessary instructions to ensure safe evacuation of Indian citizens from the war zone.

<img alt="Russian readout" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="450c4c87-c6b6-4301-be6e-63f8d84809b1" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Russian%20readout.jpeg" />

India has already launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back Indian citizens and students who are caught in the Ukraine conflict. On Wednesday (March 2) Indian embassy in Ukraine <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/ukraine-conflict-india-says-citizens-must-leave-kharkiv-immediately-458211">issued an advisory</a> for citizens and said that they "must leave" Kharkiv immediately. Kharkiv is under attack from Russian forces.

It was in Kharkiv that first casualty of an Indian medical student was recorded on Tuesday (March 1).&nbsp;

Indian Air Force has also joined Operation Ganga and a plane

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/as-people-refuse-to-leave-furry-companions-behind-india-relaxes-norms-for-bringing-back-pets-from-ukraine-458120">As people refuse to leave furry companions behind, India relaxes norms for bringing back pets from Ukraine</a>

Separate from conversation between Modi and Putin, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the "deteriorating" situation in Ukraine with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Estonian counterpart Eva-Maria Liimets.

"Discussed the deteriorating Ukraine situation with EU HR VP @JosepBorrellF, French FM @JY_LeDrian and Estonia FM @eliimets respectively. Reiterated India's stance that diplomacy and dialogue alone provide the answer. The cessation of violence is an urgent imperative," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. Russia on Wednesday made a huge claim that some Indian students in Kharkov (Kharkiv) were being held hostage by Ukrainian forces. The Russian side also said that these students were being used as human shields and that Russia was trying to organise 'urgent evacuation' of this group of students. The Russian side released this information in a readout given out after telephone conversation between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. As per the readout, Putin has given all necessary instructions to ensure safe evacuation of Indian citizens from the war zone. India has already launched 'Operation Ganga' to bring back Indian citizens and students who are caught in the Ukraine conflict. On Wednesday (March 2) Indian embassy in Ukraine issued an advisory for citizens and said that they "must leave" Kharkiv immediately. Kharkiv is under attack from Russian forces. It was in Kharkiv that first casualty of an Indian medical student was recorded on Tuesday (March 1). Indian Air Force has also joined Operation Ganga and a plane Also Read | As people refuse to leave furry companions behind, India relaxes norms for bringing back pets from Ukraine Separate from conversation between Modi and Putin, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the "deteriorating" situation in Ukraine with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Estonian counterpart Eva-Maria Liimets. "Discussed the deteriorating Ukraine situation with EU HR VP @JosepBorrellF, French FM @JY_LeDrian and Estonia FM @eliimets respectively. Reiterated India's stance that diplomacy and dialogue alone provide the answer. The cessation of violence is an urgent imperative," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Indian students taken hostage by Ukraine forces, says Russia after Putin-Modi phone call

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired high-level meeting to review evacuation of stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine under 'Operation Ganga'. The meeting was third such meeting held in last 24 hours and fourth held since Sunday evening.

The meeting began with the participants expressing grief over the sad demise of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a medical student from Karnataka who died in Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.

Reportedly, Modi was briefed about the evacuation status and was informed that over 1,750 Indian students have returned to the country so far.

He was also informed that Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju and General (Retd) V.K. Singh have flown to Budapest (Hungary), Warsaw (Poland) and Bratislava (Slovakia), respectively, as the government`s special envoys to oversee the evacuation efforts, while Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia left for Bucharest (Romania) by an Air India flight on Tuesday evening.

It has been learnt that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishakar briefed the Prime Minister about the ramped up efforts of the government for evacuation works in the last 24 hours, while Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla updated Modi about the arrangements made by the Indian Embassies in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland, all bordering Ukraine.

Modi had asked the MEA officials to make proper arrangements in the adjoining border points with Ukraine for the students coming to these countries from the war-hit nation.

The sources also said that Modi discussed what could be the possible ways to rescue the Indians stuck in Kharkiv, another important town after the capital city of Kiev.

As of now, thousands of Indians, including students, are still stuck in Kharkiv and the Russian army has scaled up attacks on both Kiev and Kharkiv.

Modi was also informed that a new route to exit through Moldova has been identified, and to facilitate the entry of the Indians into this country, proper arrangements have been made by the Indian Embassy staff in Romania.

The Prime Minister is personally monitoring the evacuation efforts of the government, taking updates from the MEA at regular intervals.

After the death of the medical student from Karnataka in Kharkiv on Tuesday, the Prime Minister got a call from the President of European Council, Charles Michel, who extended condolences over the tragic incident and assured support for the evacuation mission.

Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Principal Secretary to PM, P.K. Mishra, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs were present at the meeting.

(With inputs from agencies)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired high-level meeting to review evacuation of stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine under 'Operation Ganga'.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired high-level meeting to review evacuation of stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine under 'Operation Ganga'. The meeting was third such meeting held in last 24 hours and fourth held since Sunday evening. The meeting began with the participants expressing grief over the sad demise of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a medical student from Karnataka who died in Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Reportedly, Modi was briefed about the evacuation status and was informed that over 1,750 Indian students have returned to the country so far. He was also informed that Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju and General (Retd) V.K. Singh have flown to Budapest (Hungary), Warsaw (Poland) and Bratislava (Slovakia), respectively, as the government`s special envoys to oversee the evacuation efforts, while Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia left for Bucharest (Romania) by an Air India flight on Tuesday evening. It has been learnt that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishakar briefed the Prime Minister about the ramped up efforts of the government for evacuation works in the last 24 hours, while Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla updated Modi about the arrangements made by the Indian Embassies in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland, all bordering Ukraine. Modi had asked the MEA officials to make proper arrangements in the adjoining border points with Ukraine for the students coming to these countries from the war-hit nation. The sources also said that Modi discussed what could be the possible ways to rescue the Indians stuck in Kharkiv, another important town after the capital city of Kiev. As of now, thousands of Indians, including students, are still stuck in Kharkiv and the Russian army has scaled up attacks on both Kiev and Kharkiv. Modi was also informed that a new route to exit through Moldova has been identified, and to facilitate the entry of the Indians into this country, proper arrangements have been made by the Indian Embassy staff in Romania. The Prime Minister is personally monitoring the evacuation efforts of the government, taking updates from the MEA at regular intervals. After the death of the medical student from Karnataka in Kharkiv on Tuesday, the Prime Minister got a call from the President of European Council, Charles Michel, who extended condolences over the tragic incident and assured support for the evacuation mission. Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Principal Secretary to PM, P.K. Mishra, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs were present at the meeting. (With inputs from agencies)

Indian PM Narendra Modi reviews Ukraine evacuation mission

First criminal trial in connection with January 6, 2021 attack on US Capitol started on Wednesday. The case is likely to be closely watched as it may have bearing on future prosecutions relating to Capitol attack

Guy Reffitt, 49, an oil industry worker from Texas, is accused of bringing a gun to Washington, battling police officers, impeding an official proceeding and other offenses.

Moreover, his children are expected to testify against him at the trial.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler, in his opening statement, described Reffitt as a "leader" of the "worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812," when British troops set fire to the seat of Congress.

"A mob needs leaders," Nestler said, and Reffitt was "the tip of this mob's spear."

William Welch, Reffitt's defense attorney, claimed that his client did not bring handgun to Capitol. He also said that Refitt never actually entered the building or assaulted anyone.

More than 750 people have been arrested around the United States for their roles in the failed bid by supporters of the former president to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election.

Nearly 220 people have pleaded guilty to various charges but Reffitt is the first person facing criminal charges to go on trial for their role in the violent storming of the Capitol.

Reffitt, who has pleaded not guilty, came to the demonstration with other members of a right-wing anti-government group called the Three Percenters, according to the affidavit supporting his arrest.

Photographs released by law enforcement showed Reffitt on the steps of the Capitol wearing a black motorcycle helmet and bulletproof vest.

In one picture, Reffitt is seen washing out his eyes with water after being repelled with pepper spray by police defending the Capitol. 
According to the affidavit, Reffitt's teenaged son and daughter told the FBI that their father, on his return to Texas, had threatened them if they cooperated with law enforcement.

"If you turn me in, you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors... traitors get shot," Reffitt was quoted as saying.

Reffitt was arrested on January 19, 2021 and FBI agents recovered an AR-15 rifle and Smith &amp; Wesson pistol from his home in Wylie, a suburb of Dallas.

Reffitt, who has been jailed in Washington since his arrest, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

(With inputs from agencies)

First criminal trial in connection with January 6, 2021 attack on US Capitol started on Wednesday. The case is likely to be closely watched as it may have bearing on future prosecutions relating to Capitol attack Guy Reffitt, 49, an oil industry worker from Texas, is accused of bringing a gun to Washington, battling police officers, impeding an official proceeding and other offenses.

First criminal trial in connection with January 6, 2021 attack on US Capitol started on Wednesday. The case is likely to be closely watched as it may have bearing on future prosecutions relating to Capitol attack Guy Reffitt, 49, an oil industry worker from Texas, is accused of bringing a gun to Washington, battling police officers, impeding an official proceeding and other offenses. Moreover, his children are expected to testify against him at the trial. Prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler, in his opening statement, described Reffitt as a "leader" of the "worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812," when British troops set fire to the seat of Congress. "A mob needs leaders," Nestler said, and Reffitt was "the tip of this mob's spear." William Welch, Reffitt's defense attorney, claimed that his client did not bring handgun to Capitol. He also said that Refitt never actually entered the building or assaulted anyone. More than 750 people have been arrested around the United States for their roles in the failed bid by supporters of the former president to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election. Nearly 220 people have pleaded guilty to various charges but Reffitt is the first person facing criminal charges to go on trial for their role in the violent storming of the Capitol. Reffitt, who has pleaded not guilty, came to the demonstration with other members of a right-wing anti-government group called the Three Percenters, according to the affidavit supporting his arrest. Photographs released by law enforcement showed Reffitt on the steps of the Capitol wearing a black motorcycle helmet and bulletproof vest. In one picture, Reffitt is seen washing out his eyes with water after being repelled with pepper spray by police defending the Capitol. According to the affidavit, Reffitt's teenaged son and daughter told the FBI that their father, on his return to Texas, had threatened them if they cooperated with law enforcement. "If you turn me in, you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors... traitors get shot," Reffitt was quoted as saying. Reffitt was arrested on January 19, 2021 and FBI agents recovered an AR-15 rifle and Smith & Wesson pistol from his home in Wylie, a suburb of Dallas. Reffitt, who has been jailed in Washington since his arrest, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. (With inputs from agencies)

US Capitol Hill attack: First trial begins, likely to be watched closely

The European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday (March 2) that Eurozone inflation had soared to a record high in February. The inflation was at 5.8 per cent and energy prices surged.

The acceleration, from 5.1 percent in January, was announced as oil and gas prices rocketed even higher over fears about the impact on supplies from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Brent crude touched USD 110 a barrel for the first time since 2014. WTI followed suit hours later. It hit its highest level since 2013. European natural gas prices similarly hit a record level.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-talkshows-describe-reports-of-military-losses-as-fake-458218">Russian talkshows describe reports of military losses as 'fake'</a>

The surge in inflation comes at a difficult time for European leaders as they warn their citizens of the "price to pay" from tough sanctions imposed on Russia, the EU's leading foreign gas supplier.

Policymakers fear soaring inflation could choke off the EU's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Eurostat said energy prices in February jumped 31.7 percent, faster than the 28.8 percent recorded in January.

Food prices were up 4.1 percent in February, compared with 3.5 percent the previous month.

Analysts at Capital Economics predicted inflation would hit six percent in the coming months before falling back to around four percent, "most likely" at the end the year.

That is still double the European Central Bank's target of around two percent.

Capital Economics warned that not only energy prices, but also food prices could rise further due to the conflict in Ukraine, a major wheat exporter.

The EU and Western allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow over President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

They have unleashed turmoil on Russia's economy and forced the Kremlin to impose capital controls.

(With inputs from agencies)

The European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday (March 2) that Eurozone inflation had soared to a record high in February. The inflation was at 5.

The European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday (March 2) that Eurozone inflation had soared to a record high in February. The inflation was at 5.8 per cent and energy prices surged. The acceleration, from 5.1 percent in January, was announced as oil and gas prices rocketed even higher over fears about the impact on supplies from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude touched USD 110 a barrel for the first time since 2014. WTI followed suit hours later. It hit its highest level since 2013. European natural gas prices similarly hit a record level. Also Read | Russian talkshows describe reports of military losses as 'fake' The surge in inflation comes at a difficult time for European leaders as they warn their citizens of the "price to pay" from tough sanctions imposed on Russia, the EU's leading foreign gas supplier. Policymakers fear soaring inflation could choke off the EU's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Eurostat said energy prices in February jumped 31.7 percent, faster than the 28.8 percent recorded in January. Food prices were up 4.1 percent in February, compared with 3.5 percent the previous month. Analysts at Capital Economics predicted inflation would hit six percent in the coming months before falling back to around four percent, "most likely" at the end the year. That is still double the European Central Bank's target of around two percent. Capital Economics warned that not only energy prices, but also food prices could rise further due to the conflict in Ukraine, a major wheat exporter. The EU and Western allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow over President Vladimir Putin's invasion. They have unleashed turmoil on Russia's economy and forced the Kremlin to impose capital controls. (With inputs from agencies)

Eurozone inflation hits record high due to soaring energy prices

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