Former deputy prime minister of Israel Natan Sharansky in an exclusive interview with Wion opined that&nbsp;western world was right to warn Russia against invading Ukraine. He maintained that Israel had good relations with both, Ukraine and Russia.

Natan Sharansky was the figurehead of the worldwide human rights campaign to free Jews from Soviet Russia. At the time, Jews there weren’t allowed to practise Jewish life – or to emigrate.

Having spent 9 years in prison for his activism, Sharansky himself was finally freed in 1986.

He immediately moved to Israel, where he went on to become a minister in 5 different governments, including serving as deputy prime minister.

Our correspondent, Jodie Cohen, brings you this exclusive interview for WION…

Wion: Natan Sharansky, you went from the depths of a Soviet prison to becoming Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, and winning numerous awards across your lifetime. With the world currently facing difficult times because of the pandemic, what do you think gave you such resilience?

Sharansky: In Soviet Union, there was a totalitarian regime which wanted to deprive people of any independence. The way to do it was to deprive people of their identities. So I grew up having no freedom and no identity. Being Jewish, (there was) nothing Jewish in our lives. No holiday, no tradition or religion or language, nothing. There was a lot of anti-semitism. And (there was) no freedom.&nbsp;

And then Israel secured victories against Arab regimes. You learn a lot in underground movements about this unique history, the people and the country, and you want to be part of it. The discovery of things bigger than yourself gives you strength to start speaking publicly and to fight for your rights. And that's how I became official spokesperson of two movements, Jewish movement and human rights movement.

When you get arrested, (you get) this feeling of yourself being part of a very important historical struggle, and that your people are together with you. And then somehow you make yourself feel that the struggle of your people depends on you saying 'no' to KGB. That's what gives you strength. And ofcourse KGB tried to convince me that everything was lost and nobody was ready to fight for you. And then you convince yourself that your people continue to struggle.

So it's mainly a struggle of your imagination against their lies and feeling that your life is more meaningful than simply your survival. Your identity and your freedom are very important.

Wion: You spent about half your time in prison in solitary confinement. With Christmas approaching, and people all over the world having to isolate because of COVID-19, what tips do you have for people finding it hard to cope in quarantine?

Sharansky: First of all, We are in a big struggle for the health of humanity and each of us has a role. We can deliver the victory together. So realising that there is sense, there is meaning (to all of this) helps.

Secondly, try to keep your sense of humour. I always enjoyed laughing at my prison guards showing them absurdity of their regime by making jokes about Soviet leaders. They couldn't even laugh because they were afraid to laugh.&nbsp;

As long as you can laugh when it is funny, you are free. So internet has lot of jokes about our situation. Enjoy the jokes.

Thirdly, don't make plans which don't depend on you. For example, don't say something like when all of this is over I will go to America. It doesn't depend on you, whether you can or cannot go. Then you feel even more depressed. Make plans that depend on you.

For example, say I will learn a new language next month. I will read books which I wanted to read but didn't have time. This depends on you.

In prison, it was very important to not make plans about your survival. Your survival doesn't depend on you. But make plans to stand and say no to KGB and think that you will be a free person on the last moment of your life.

So make plans for which you can take full responsibility, and then deliver.&nbsp;

Wion: Hundreds of thousands of people marched united in Washington to stand up for Jews from Soviet Russia. Today in the US, Israel and across the world, politics is increasingly polariseD. What lessons can be learned from the unity of the campaign to free Soviet Jews?

Sharansky: That campaign was extremely powerful. They marched not just to free Soviet Jews but also to bring down the iron curtain. The Soviet Union couldn't survive, it fell apart. So it was a victory against the most powerful totalitarian regime in the world. And this was possible because us, a small group of dissidents in the Soviet Union were supported by Jews from different walks of life and also other people who were interested in (supporting) human rights.

They marched with Martin Luther King and then they fought for our human rights. We also received support from those interested in freedom of those teaching Judaism. People from left to right (in the political spectrum) could understand why it was in their interest to press Soviet Union on the issue of human rights. So it was really very important that there was a common ground.&nbsp;

The problem today is that even in the most obvious battles like battle against anti-Semitism, the confrontation between the left and the right that left is ready to see anto-Semitism among the right but not among themselves.

(Fight against) Hatred towards other religions and anti-Semitism must unite us all, left and right, and we all have to fight these prejudices in our own camps. This is quite a challenge, how to overcome political differences and unite ourselves for fight for freedom.

Wion: In 2018, you won the Israel Prize for your contributions to the State of Israel in the fields of Immigration and Absorption. This included setting up a political party to help integrate the 1 million Soviet Jews who moved to Israel. What can you tell us from your experience about the best way to integrate immigrants into society?

Sharansky: First of all, Israel is really a unique country because usually a country creates diaspora. In case of Israel, diaspora created Israel. They created their own state which existed two thousand years ago. So these are the people who came from very different diasporas.

Secondly, our victory over the territorial regime of Soviet Union brought the unique fact that 1 million Jews came from Soviet Union to Israel. Israel at the time was a country of 6 million people. It was a big change. It was very cometitive. People who became professionals, elite in a country of 200 million people, they came to a small country. So suddenly, number of doctors doubled (there were) engineers, 10 times more musicians and so on. So it was difficult.

But what was critical was that we understood we had to give voice to new immigrants. That's why we created a party of new immigrants. We entered the Knesset. Many immigrants were not well conversant in Hebrew, but they worked in government, municipalities are were taking decisions along with rest of country. That proved to be the best way of integration.

And if you look now, one generation later, (you can see) unbelievable example of successful integration. They are very comfortable in all walks of society.

Wion: Moving to Israel now. You became Deputy Prime Minister just after the Camp David peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down - in hindsight, why do you think they broke down? In your books on democracy, you’ve argued that there can never be peace until there are ‘real democratic institutions in Palestinian society’. Do you see signs for optimism today?

Sharansky: Well, I definitely see signs of optimism today. And they think that we lost a lot of time trying to build peace process through Oslo agreement. At that moment in 1993 when we signed the Oslo agreement, everybody was happy to see the picture of Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton. Two weeks after this I wrote my first article against this. Why? Because our prime minister said that it was very good that Yasser Arafat was a dictator. Without free press, human rights organisations, supreme court, he will defeat terrorism of Hamas.

I wrote in my article that as dictators, these people would need us as their enemies....For Yasser Arafat there will be no other enemy but us. So we have to be insistent that Yasser Arafat has free press, human rights organisations and supreme court (in Palestine). What happened in Oslo brought Yasser Arafat from Tunis to Palestine and it told Palestinians that he was their leader. And he destroyed all beginnings of (establishment of) human rights.

And that's why I was very critical. I never believed that this type of process of creating our own, or encouraging our own (principles) among Palestinians would bring peace.

I am more optimistic now. Because Abraham Accords between Israel and number of countries are based on people-to-people connections. Public opinion in Egypt continues to be extremely hostile to Israel. Same in Jordan. (But) The leaders are encouraging contact between people, businesses, cultures. It inevitably will also include Palestinians.

And then when those Palestinian leaders who will choose to recognise how important it is to use this, to build their own civil institutions, to build joint ventures with Israelis, they will become leaders of future Palestinian state which will make peace with us. Only the state in which people and leaders are interested to make peace can be our partner. So yes I am much more optimistic than I was before.

Wion: As a human rights activist, you’ve won numerous awards including, in 2006, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Israel often faces criticism for its human rights record. In your opinion, is this criticism fair?

Sharansky: Israel, like every democratic country, should be open to criticism. Israel has a challenge of constantly fighting for its right to exist and also uphold human rights. For example, how to minimise casualties among civilians while fighting terror. Israel surely has this challenge and has more and more reasons to think about it. And as one who has been trying to solve this problem from all sides, I can say that we have this problem and we are dealing with this at least as good if not better than all other democratic countries.

Criticism is ok. But when criticism turns into demonisation of Israel, denying right of Israel to exist, applying double standards, that is anti-Semitism.&nbsp;

Unfortunately, people in the free world, without realising are helping those who want to destroy us by agreeing with all sorts of extreme demonisation. For example, I hear some respectable western leader who says that I was in a refugee camp of Palestinians. This is the Auschwitz of today.

This is typical demonisation.

What does a refugee camp have to do with Auschwitz? Anyone who was in Auschwitz knows what a hell it was. It has nothing to do with poor neighbourhoods of Palestinians.

This is one of millions of examples of demonisation of Israel. These are clear double standards.

China is erasing whole cultures in Tibet and that of Uyghurs. Awful things are happening in Chechenya or in Africa.&nbsp;

Amid all this, the only conflict that becomes symbol of human rights (violations) is that between Israel and Palestinians. These are clear double standards.

Wion: You were a child chess prodigy, and even beat the world chess champion in 1996! There is another Israeli who is also known to be a master strategist, and that is former PM, Benjamin Netanyahu. A) Would he beat you at chess? And B) Do you think he’ll be able to manoevre his way to becoming prime minister again?

 
Sharansky: First of all, Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) is not a bad chess player. He once drew with me and I don't know which other Israeli politician can do that.

He is not oustanding, but by the standards of politicians, he is a good chess player.

As to the political chess, Netanyahu is a friend. When I was in prison, he was a young diplomat in Washington. He was very inventive in giving ideas about how our struggle against the Soviet Union can be amplified.

And then when I was in government, I could see how he fought for an open Israeli economy, for removal of old socialist restrictions. And at the same time. For 20 years he was a fierce voice, sometimes a lonely one, against Iran.&nbsp;

When such a person stays in power for so many years, it appears somehow that for the future of the country this person should stay in power. But let's not bet about democracy let's not bet over a person.

So I do reach out to my friend Netanyahu to strengthen his heritage. (But I don't want him to be complacent).

Today's political situation is unstable because we have a government that has the majority of 1 vote in the Knesset. This makes it very difficult to take any serious decision. There needs to be effort from both sides to build a government that will have a much broader platform.

Wion: Moving to geopolitics. You were born in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union…today there is great tension between the Ukraine and Russia. Israel has just celebrated 30 years of ties with the Ukraine, and it also has ties with Russia. How can it continue to balance relations with both Ukraine and Russia going forward?

Sharansky: First of all, we have good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. There is no KGB today controlling minds of the people, there are no&nbsp;Gulags with millions of people dying there.

Having said this, I feel sorry that President Putin, who has very good relations with Israel, is restricting democracy and freedom in Russia.

Russia's annexation of Crimea was a violation of Helsinki agreement that said that borders will not change by way of war. I think this is very unfortunate.

I think the free world is right in warning Russia against invading Ukraine. At the same time I understand the difficulty of Israeli leaders who have to lead war against Iran and Iran's presence in Syria.

Unfortunately, Syrian airspace and territory is controlled by Russia. Giving away control in Syria, doing nothing when Syria was using chemical weapons and allowing strong Russian presence in Syria was a mistake from President Obama.

As a result, when we have to fight Iranian presence in Syria, we have to co-ordinate with Russia. So our leaders, when they are critical of Russia, they have to be cautious in choosing their tone, words and actions

Wion: You’re currently chairman of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy – with the pandemic there has been a new trend of Covid-related anti-Semitism. What can you tell us about this, and what is being done to counter it?

Sharansky: This is something very new, anti-Semitism and Covid. It is continuation of same policy of anti-Semites for 3000 years. Jews were presented as symbol of the evil, so everything bad was connected with Jews. (It was said that) Jews were responsible for Capitalism and they were also responsible for Marxism. They were held responsible for establishing regimes and destroying regimes.

Today we see two types of accusations. First is, Jews are making money through Covid pandemic. Second is, Jews helped China to keep Covid a secret. Jews didn't tell the world because they wanted to do business using pandemic. All of this is nonsense. But when some absolute nonsense is repeated many times on the internet, more and more people start believing it.

Only way to fight this is through a fight against demonisation of Jewish people and of Jewish state on all fronts simultaneously, on the left, on the right, religious, secular, everywhere.

After all, we are Jews and we are very proud of it.&nbsp;

I was very happy when I received the Genesis Prize. I donated the prize amount, one million dollars for fight against Covid. Many Jewish people and organisations are doing excellent work in this field.&nbsp;

Wion: You most recently served as Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, which seeks to unite and educate Jews across the world…This is seen as a unifying role, and of course there is one other major unifying role in Israel, and that is the president. Would you like to become President of Israel one day?

Sharansky: I am very happy and lucky that I got the opportunity to lead the struggle for Soviet Jews, the struggle to bring down the iron cutrain, the struggle for integration of Soviet Jews and many other good opportunities. But everybody has to know where he can contribute. It is great, the position of president of Israel is noble. But (there are) many speeches, many performances and many receptions every day, I don't think I can be good in it.

Former deputy prime minister of Israel Natan Sharansky in an exclusive interview with Wion opined that western world was right to warn Russia against invading Ukraine.

Former deputy prime minister of Israel Natan Sharansky in an exclusive interview with Wion opined that western world was right to warn Russia against invading Ukraine. He maintained that Israel had good relations with both, Ukraine and Russia. Natan Sharansky was the figurehead of the worldwide human rights campaign to free Jews from Soviet Russia. At the time, Jews there weren’t allowed to practise Jewish life – or to emigrate. Having spent 9 years in prison for his activism, Sharansky himself was finally freed in 1986. He immediately moved to Israel, where he went on to become a minister in 5 different governments, including serving as deputy prime minister. Our correspondent, Jodie Cohen, brings you this exclusive interview for WION… Wion: Natan Sharansky, you went from the depths of a Soviet prison to becoming Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, and winning numerous awards across your lifetime. With the world currently facing difficult times because of the pandemic, what do you think gave you such resilience? Sharansky: In Soviet Union, there was a totalitarian regime which wanted to deprive people of any independence. The way to do it was to deprive people of their identities. So I grew up having no freedom and no identity. Being Jewish, (there was) nothing Jewish in our lives. No holiday, no tradition or religion or language, nothing. There was a lot of anti-semitism. And (there was) no freedom. And then Israel secured victories against Arab regimes. You learn a lot in underground movements about this unique history, the people and the country, and you want to be part of it. The discovery of things bigger than yourself gives you strength to start speaking publicly and to fight for your rights. And that's how I became official spokesperson of two movements, Jewish movement and human rights movement. When you get arrested, (you get) this feeling of yourself being part of a very important historical struggle, and that your people are together with you. And then somehow you make yourself feel that the struggle of your people depends on you saying 'no' to KGB. That's what gives you strength. And ofcourse KGB tried to convince me that everything was lost and nobody was ready to fight for you. And then you convince yourself that your people continue to struggle. So it's mainly a struggle of your imagination against their lies and feeling that your life is more meaningful than simply your survival. Your identity and your freedom are very important. Wion: You spent about half your time in prison in solitary confinement. With Christmas approaching, and people all over the world having to isolate because of COVID-19, what tips do you have for people finding it hard to cope in quarantine? Sharansky: First of all, We are in a big struggle for the health of humanity and each of us has a role. We can deliver the victory together. So realising that there is sense, there is meaning (to all of this) helps. Secondly, try to keep your sense of humour. I always enjoyed laughing at my prison guards showing them absurdity of their regime by making jokes about Soviet leaders. They couldn't even laugh because they were afraid to laugh. As long as you can laugh when it is funny, you are free. So internet has lot of jokes about our situation. Enjoy the jokes. Thirdly, don't make plans which don't depend on you. For example, don't say something like when all of this is over I will go to America. It doesn't depend on you, whether you can or cannot go. Then you feel even more depressed. Make plans that depend on you. For example, say I will learn a new language next month. I will read books which I wanted to read but didn't have time. This depends on you. In prison, it was very important to not make plans about your survival. Your survival doesn't depend on you. But make plans to stand and say no to KGB and think that you will be a free person on the last moment of your life. So make plans for which you can take full responsibility, and then deliver. Wion: Hundreds of thousands of people marched united in Washington to stand up for Jews from Soviet Russia. Today in the US, Israel and across the world, politics is increasingly polariseD. What lessons can be learned from the unity of the campaign to free Soviet Jews? Sharansky: That campaign was extremely powerful. They marched not just to free Soviet Jews but also to bring down the iron curtain. The Soviet Union couldn't survive, it fell apart. So it was a victory against the most powerful totalitarian regime in the world. And this was possible because us, a small group of dissidents in the Soviet Union were supported by Jews from different walks of life and also other people who were interested in (supporting) human rights. They marched with Martin Luther King and then they fought for our human rights. We also received support from those interested in freedom of those teaching Judaism. People from left to right (in the political spectrum) could understand why it was in their interest to press Soviet Union on the issue of human rights. So it was really very important that there was a common ground. The problem today is that even in the most obvious battles like battle against anti-Semitism, the confrontation between the left and the right that left is ready to see anto-Semitism among the right but not among themselves. (Fight against) Hatred towards other religions and anti-Semitism must unite us all, left and right, and we all have to fight these prejudices in our own camps. This is quite a challenge, how to overcome political differences and unite ourselves for fight for freedom. Wion: In 2018, you won the Israel Prize for your contributions to the State of Israel in the fields of Immigration and Absorption. This included setting up a political party to help integrate the 1 million Soviet Jews who moved to Israel. What can you tell us from your experience about the best way to integrate immigrants into society? Sharansky: First of all, Israel is really a unique country because usually a country creates diaspora. In case of Israel, diaspora created Israel. They created their own state which existed two thousand years ago. So these are the people who came from very different diasporas. Secondly, our victory over the territorial regime of Soviet Union brought the unique fact that 1 million Jews came from Soviet Union to Israel. Israel at the time was a country of 6 million people. It was a big change. It was very cometitive. People who became professionals, elite in a country of 200 million people, they came to a small country. So suddenly, number of doctors doubled (there were) engineers, 10 times more musicians and so on. So it was difficult. But what was critical was that we understood we had to give voice to new immigrants. That's why we created a party of new immigrants. We entered the Knesset. Many immigrants were not well conversant in Hebrew, but they worked in government, municipalities are were taking decisions along with rest of country. That proved to be the best way of integration. And if you look now, one generation later, (you can see) unbelievable example of successful integration. They are very comfortable in all walks of society. Wion: Moving to Israel now. You became Deputy Prime Minister just after the Camp David peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down - in hindsight, why do you think they broke down? In your books on democracy, you’ve argued that there can never be peace until there are ‘real democratic institutions in Palestinian society’. Do you see signs for optimism today? Sharansky: Well, I definitely see signs of optimism today. And they think that we lost a lot of time trying to build peace process through Oslo agreement. At that moment in 1993 when we signed the Oslo agreement, everybody was happy to see the picture of Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton. Two weeks after this I wrote my first article against this. Why? Because our prime minister said that it was very good that Yasser Arafat was a dictator. Without free press, human rights organisations, supreme court, he will defeat terrorism of Hamas. I wrote in my article that as dictators, these people would need us as their enemies....For Yasser Arafat there will be no other enemy but us. So we have to be insistent that Yasser Arafat has free press, human rights organisations and supreme court (in Palestine). What happened in Oslo brought Yasser Arafat from Tunis to Palestine and it told Palestinians that he was their leader. And he destroyed all beginnings of (establishment of) human rights. And that's why I was very critical. I never believed that this type of process of creating our own, or encouraging our own (principles) among Palestinians would bring peace. I am more optimistic now. Because Abraham Accords between Israel and number of countries are based on people-to-people connections. Public opinion in Egypt continues to be extremely hostile to Israel. Same in Jordan. (But) The leaders are encouraging contact between people, businesses, cultures. It inevitably will also include Palestinians. And then when those Palestinian leaders who will choose to recognise how important it is to use this, to build their own civil institutions, to build joint ventures with Israelis, they will become leaders of future Palestinian state which will make peace with us. Only the state in which people and leaders are interested to make peace can be our partner. So yes I am much more optimistic than I was before. Wion: As a human rights activist, you’ve won numerous awards including, in 2006, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Israel often faces criticism for its human rights record. In your opinion, is this criticism fair? Sharansky: Israel, like every democratic country, should be open to criticism. Israel has a challenge of constantly fighting for its right to exist and also uphold human rights. For example, how to minimise casualties among civilians while fighting terror. Israel surely has this challenge and has more and more reasons to think about it. And as one who has been trying to solve this problem from all sides, I can say that we have this problem and we are dealing with this at least as good if not better than all other democratic countries. Criticism is ok. But when criticism turns into demonisation of Israel, denying right of Israel to exist, applying double standards, that is anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, people in the free world, without realising are helping those who want to destroy us by agreeing with all sorts of extreme demonisation. For example, I hear some respectable western leader who says that I was in a refugee camp of Palestinians. This is the Auschwitz of today. This is typical demonisation. What does a refugee camp have to do with Auschwitz? Anyone who was in Auschwitz knows what a hell it was. It has nothing to do with poor neighbourhoods of Palestinians. This is one of millions of examples of demonisation of Israel. These are clear double standards. China is erasing whole cultures in Tibet and that of Uyghurs. Awful things are happening in Chechenya or in Africa. Amid all this, the only conflict that becomes symbol of human rights (violations) is that between Israel and Palestinians. These are clear double standards. Wion: You were a child chess prodigy, and even beat the world chess champion in 1996! There is another Israeli who is also known to be a master strategist, and that is former PM, Benjamin Netanyahu. A) Would he beat you at chess? And B) Do you think he’ll be able to manoevre his way to becoming prime minister again? Sharansky: First of all, Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) is not a bad chess player. He once drew with me and I don't know which other Israeli politician can do that. He is not oustanding, but by the standards of politicians, he is a good chess player. As to the political chess, Netanyahu is a friend. When I was in prison, he was a young diplomat in Washington. He was very inventive in giving ideas about how our struggle against the Soviet Union can be amplified. And then when I was in government, I could see how he fought for an open Israeli economy, for removal of old socialist restrictions. And at the same time. For 20 years he was a fierce voice, sometimes a lonely one, against Iran. When such a person stays in power for so many years, it appears somehow that for the future of the country this person should stay in power. But let's not bet about democracy let's not bet over a person. So I do reach out to my friend Netanyahu to strengthen his heritage. (But I don't want him to be complacent). Today's political situation is unstable because we have a government that has the majority of 1 vote in the Knesset. This makes it very difficult to take any serious decision. There needs to be effort from both sides to build a government that will have a much broader platform. Wion: Moving to geopolitics. You were born in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union…today there is great tension between the Ukraine and Russia. Israel has just celebrated 30 years of ties with the Ukraine, and it also has ties with Russia. How can it continue to balance relations with both Ukraine and Russia going forward? Sharansky: First of all, we have good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. There is no KGB today controlling minds of the people, there are no Gulags with millions of people dying there. Having said this, I feel sorry that President Putin, who has very good relations with Israel, is restricting democracy and freedom in Russia. Russia's annexation of Crimea was a violation of Helsinki agreement that said that borders will not change by way of war. I think this is very unfortunate. I think the free world is right in warning Russia against invading Ukraine. At the same time I understand the difficulty of Israeli leaders who have to lead war against Iran and Iran's presence in Syria. Unfortunately, Syrian airspace and territory is controlled by Russia. Giving away control in Syria, doing nothing when Syria was using chemical weapons and allowing strong Russian presence in Syria was a mistake from President Obama. As a result, when we have to fight Iranian presence in Syria, we have to co-ordinate with Russia. So our leaders, when they are critical of Russia, they have to be cautious in choosing their tone, words and actions Wion: You’re currently chairman of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy – with the pandemic there has been a new trend of Covid-related anti-Semitism. What can you tell us about this, and what is being done to counter it? Sharansky: This is something very new, anti-Semitism and Covid. It is continuation of same policy of anti-Semites for 3000 years. Jews were presented as symbol of the evil, so everything bad was connected with Jews. (It was said that) Jews were responsible for Capitalism and they were also responsible for Marxism. They were held responsible for establishing regimes and destroying regimes. Today we see two types of accusations. First is, Jews are making money through Covid pandemic. Second is, Jews helped China to keep Covid a secret. Jews didn't tell the world because they wanted to do business using pandemic. All of this is nonsense. But when some absolute nonsense is repeated many times on the internet, more and more people start believing it. Only way to fight this is through a fight against demonisation of Jewish people and of Jewish state on all fronts simultaneously, on the left, on the right, religious, secular, everywhere. After all, we are Jews and we are very proud of it. I was very happy when I received the Genesis Prize. I donated the prize amount, one million dollars for fight against Covid. Many Jewish people and organisations are doing excellent work in this field. Wion: You most recently served as Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, which seeks to unite and educate Jews across the world…This is seen as a unifying role, and of course there is one other major unifying role in Israel, and that is the president. Would you like to become President of Israel one day? Sharansky: I am very happy and lucky that I got the opportunity to lead the struggle for Soviet Jews, the struggle to bring down the iron cutrain, the struggle for integration of Soviet Jews and many other good opportunities. But everybody has to know where he can contribute. It is great, the position of president of Israel is noble. But (there are) many speeches, many performances and many receptions every day, I don't think I can be good in it.

World is right to warn Russia over Ukraine issue: Former deputy PM of Israel

Western countries on Thursday rejected Russian efforts to put obstacles in Ukraine's path towards becoming NATO member. The countries urged Russia to return to peace talks mediated by France and Germany.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg branded Russia the "aggressor" thus repeating accusation that Moscow had masses powerful military forces near its border with Ukraine.

The NATO chief also met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, and gave a joint news conference to insist that any decision on membership was a matter for Kiev and the alliance's 30 member states.

"We will not compromise on the right of Ukraine to choose its own path. We will not compromise on the right for NATO to protect and defend all NATO allies," Stoltenberg said.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is pushing for direct dialogue with his US counterpart Joe Biden's administration to resolve the stand-off on the frontier.

European leaders who met in Brussels in EU summit pushed for a return to 'Normandy format'. It is a four-way dialogue between Paris Berlin, Kiev and Moscow aimed at ending the conflict.

On Wednesday, Russia handed a list of security demands to US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, who then came to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday to discuss them with Stoltenberg.

No compromise

He said there would also be no compromising on NATO's partnership with Ukraine, describing it as important for both sides and "not in any way a threat to Russia".

On Wednesday, Zelensky attended a summit with EU leaders -- most of whose countries are also NATO members -- and said that most of them understood and supported Ukraine's position in the conflict.

But he is frustrated that European powers in particular have refused to take preventive action against Russia, preferring to threaten a response in the event of Russian action.&nbsp;

"Since 2014, since the start of the war, I believe that basically Russia pushed Ukraine into NATO," he said.

"Basically I believe that today Russia itself is paving the difficult path of Ukraine to NATO."

Western countries on Thursday rejected Russian efforts to put obstacles in Ukraine's path towards becoming NATO member. The countries urged Russia to return to peace talks mediated by France and Germany.

Western countries on Thursday rejected Russian efforts to put obstacles in Ukraine's path towards becoming NATO member. The countries urged Russia to return to peace talks mediated by France and Germany. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg branded Russia the "aggressor" thus repeating accusation that Moscow had masses powerful military forces near its border with Ukraine. The NATO chief also met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, and gave a joint news conference to insist that any decision on membership was a matter for Kiev and the alliance's 30 member states. "We will not compromise on the right of Ukraine to choose its own path. We will not compromise on the right for NATO to protect and defend all NATO allies," Stoltenberg said. Russia's President Vladimir Putin is pushing for direct dialogue with his US counterpart Joe Biden's administration to resolve the stand-off on the frontier. European leaders who met in Brussels in EU summit pushed for a return to 'Normandy format'. It is a four-way dialogue between Paris Berlin, Kiev and Moscow aimed at ending the conflict. On Wednesday, Russia handed a list of security demands to US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, who then came to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday to discuss them with Stoltenberg. No compromise He said there would also be no compromising on NATO's partnership with Ukraine, describing it as important for both sides and "not in any way a threat to Russia". On Wednesday, Zelensky attended a summit with EU leaders -- most of whose countries are also NATO members -- and said that most of them understood and supported Ukraine's position in the conflict. But he is frustrated that European powers in particular have refused to take preventive action against Russia, preferring to threaten a response in the event of Russian action. "Since 2014, since the start of the war, I believe that basically Russia pushed Ukraine into NATO," he said. "Basically I believe that today Russia itself is paving the difficult path of Ukraine to NATO."

West rejects Russian attempts to thwart Ukraine's NATO ambitions

A Russian court has inadvertantly revealed that Russia had troops in separatists-held region. Russia, apparently in a damage control mode, is now saying that the documents likely contained an error.

"Maybe we are talking about a mistake by someone who wrote the document, because this is impossible," Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman of President Vladimir Putin said.

"There have never been any Russian forces on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics."

The court in question is one in southern Russian region of Rostov. It published a ruling online&nbsp;

in a case where the defendant testified he was responsible for supplying food to Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

The court verdict read that every two weeks a column of 70 trucks carrying supplies would be dispatched to eastern Ukraine to bring food to Russian troops stationed there.&nbsp;

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/germany-expels-russian-diplomats-after-court-accuses-russia-of-state-terrorism-in-berlin-park-murder-case-437205">Germany expels Russian diplomats after court accuses Russia of 'state terrorism' in Berlin park murder case</a>

Pescov claimed that Russia has been sending humanitarian aid to the separatist statelets on a regular basis.

According to the court document, supplies were sent to eastern Ukraine in 2018 and 2019.

"The supplies were intended to be sent to military units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation deployed in the DPR and LPR," the conviction read, referring to two breakaway regions.

'Confession'

The defendant -- identified as V.N. Zabaluyev -- served as deputy regional manager for military food supplies at a local company and was sentenced to five years in prison for bribing officials in 2019.

Later Thursday, the Rostov courts press service issued a statement saying the local court that collected Zabaluyev's testimony had not verified it.

"This was not the subject of the legal proceedings," the statement said, adding that "the court did not and could not verify this part of the testimony".

The revelation comes at a tense time in the conflict, with Russia accused of massing around 100,000 troops near Ukraine, raising new fears in the West of a possible invasion.

A Russian court has inadvertantly revealed that Russia had troops in separatists-held region. Russia, apparently in a damage control mode, is now saying that the documents likely contained an error.

A Russian court has inadvertantly revealed that Russia had troops in separatists-held region. Russia, apparently in a damage control mode, is now saying that the documents likely contained an error. "Maybe we are talking about a mistake by someone who wrote the document, because this is impossible," Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman of President Vladimir Putin said. "There have never been any Russian forces on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics." The court in question is one in southern Russian region of Rostov. It published a ruling online in a case where the defendant testified he was responsible for supplying food to Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. The court verdict read that every two weeks a column of 70 trucks carrying supplies would be dispatched to eastern Ukraine to bring food to Russian troops stationed there. Also Read | Germany expels Russian diplomats after court accuses Russia of 'state terrorism' in Berlin park murder case Pescov claimed that Russia has been sending humanitarian aid to the separatist statelets on a regular basis. According to the court document, supplies were sent to eastern Ukraine in 2018 and 2019. "The supplies were intended to be sent to military units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation deployed in the DPR and LPR," the conviction read, referring to two breakaway regions. 'Confession' The defendant -- identified as V.N. Zabaluyev -- served as deputy regional manager for military food supplies at a local company and was sentenced to five years in prison for bribing officials in 2019. Later Thursday, the Rostov courts press service issued a statement saying the local court that collected Zabaluyev's testimony had not verified it. "This was not the subject of the legal proceedings," the statement said, adding that "the court did not and could not verify this part of the testimony". The revelation comes at a tense time in the conflict, with Russia accused of massing around 100,000 troops near Ukraine, raising new fears in the West of a possible invasion.

Russian court documents show troops in Ukraine, Kremlin says text has 'error'

UK PM Boris Johnson on Monday warned Russian president Vladimir Putin on call and said that invasion against Ukraine would be a 'mistake' which would have 'significant consequences'

"The Prime Minister emphasised the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences," a spokesman said.

"He expressed the United Kingdom's deep concern over the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, and reiterated the importance of working through diplomatic channels to deescalate tensions and identify durable solutions."

There is tension between Russia and Western countries over situation at Ukraine-Russia border. Russia has massed troops at the border and blaming Ukraine for necessitating it. Russia has annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Russia on Monday said that it may deploy nuclear missiles in Europe. The statement has potential to further heighten tensions

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia's RIA news agency in an interview that Moscow would have to take the step if NATO refused to engage with it on preventing such an escalation.

Missiles that Russia has threatened to deploy are Intermediate nuclear missiles.

(With inputs from agencies)

UK PM Boris Johnson on Monday warned Russian president Vladimir Putin on call and said that invasion against Ukraine would be a 'mistake' which would have 'significant consequences' "The Prime Minister emphasised the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences," a spokesman said.

UK PM Boris Johnson on Monday warned Russian president Vladimir Putin on call and said that invasion against Ukraine would be a 'mistake' which would have 'significant consequences' "The Prime Minister emphasised the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences," a spokesman said. "He expressed the United Kingdom's deep concern over the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, and reiterated the importance of working through diplomatic channels to deescalate tensions and identify durable solutions." There is tension between Russia and Western countries over situation at Ukraine-Russia border. Russia has massed troops at the border and blaming Ukraine for necessitating it. Russia has annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014. Russia on Monday said that it may deploy nuclear missiles in Europe. The statement has potential to further heighten tensions Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia's RIA news agency in an interview that Moscow would have to take the step if NATO refused to engage with it on preventing such an escalation. Missiles that Russia has threatened to deploy are Intermediate nuclear missiles. (With inputs from agencies)

Ukraine invasion would be a costly mistake, Boris Johnson warns Putin

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a strong statement underlining that NATO was not the aggressor but it was Russia who invaded Ukraine. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014. Tensions are high between Russia and the West over possibility of another Russian invasion.

Russia, which has tens of thousands of its soldiers stationed along its border with Ukraine has been claiming that it did not want to attack Ukraine. However, statements from Russian camp have mentioned 'security threats' from Ukraine. This is largely seen as attempt to create pretext for invasion. Russia is strongly against inclusion of Ukraine, a former Soviet territory, in NATO.

On Thursday, Blinken spoke with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Blinken is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva to calm situation that observers say was potentially headed for conflict.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/usa-approves-baltic-request-to-send-us-made-weapons-to-ukraine-446173">USA approves Baltic request to send US-made weapons to Ukraine</a>

Blinken underlined in his speech that Ukraine wasn't the aggressor in the conflict with Russia.

"Ukraine is just trying to survive. No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident and then tries to use it to justify military intervention, hoping that by the time the world realises the ruse, it'll be too late," Blinken told the audience. "There's been a lot of speculation about President Putin's true intentions, but we don't actually have to guess. He's told us repeatedly. He's laying the groundwork for an invasion because he doesn't believe that Ukraine is a sovereign nation."

He also made clear that the conflict was bigger than a conflict between two states and bigger than between Russia and NATO.

"Russia says the problem is NATO. On its face that's absurd. NATO didn't invade Georgia, NATO didn't invade Ukraine, Russia did," said Blinken.

The United States together with their allies and partners were still prepared to offer a diplomatic path out of the crisis, Blinken added. "That's why I've returned to Europe, Ukraine yesterday, Germany here today, Switzerland tomorrow, where I'll meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and once again seek diplomatic solutions."

Blinken's tough words came on the same day when US approved request from Baltic countries to supply US-made weapons to Ukraine.

Don't panic, says Ukraine's president

<img alt="Zelensky" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="328bd46b-76d0-438f-bd40-739e5b2134b3" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/zelenskiy.JPG" />

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to boost national morale and asked countrymen to not panic.&nbsp;

Addressing the nation in the video released by the presidential press office, Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine wanted its partners to be more specific in their reaction to war threat.

Ukrainian army held drills near Crimea. Soldiers practised rapid deployment of BM-21 "Grad" multiple rocket launchers during tactical military exercises at a shooting range in the Kherson region. The footage of military drills was released by Ukrainian defence ministry

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a strong statement underlining that NATO was not the aggressor but it was Russia who invaded Ukraine. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a strong statement underlining that NATO was not the aggressor but it was Russia who invaded Ukraine. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014. Tensions are high between Russia and the West over possibility of another Russian invasion. Russia, which has tens of thousands of its soldiers stationed along its border with Ukraine has been claiming that it did not want to attack Ukraine. However, statements from Russian camp have mentioned 'security threats' from Ukraine. This is largely seen as attempt to create pretext for invasion. Russia is strongly against inclusion of Ukraine, a former Soviet territory, in NATO. On Thursday, Blinken spoke with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Blinken is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva to calm situation that observers say was potentially headed for conflict. Also Read | USA approves Baltic request to send US-made weapons to Ukraine Blinken underlined in his speech that Ukraine wasn't the aggressor in the conflict with Russia. "Ukraine is just trying to survive. No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident and then tries to use it to justify military intervention, hoping that by the time the world realises the ruse, it'll be too late," Blinken told the audience. "There's been a lot of speculation about President Putin's true intentions, but we don't actually have to guess. He's told us repeatedly. He's laying the groundwork for an invasion because he doesn't believe that Ukraine is a sovereign nation." He also made clear that the conflict was bigger than a conflict between two states and bigger than between Russia and NATO. "Russia says the problem is NATO. On its face that's absurd. NATO didn't invade Georgia, NATO didn't invade Ukraine, Russia did," said Blinken. The United States together with their allies and partners were still prepared to offer a diplomatic path out of the crisis, Blinken added. "That's why I've returned to Europe, Ukraine yesterday, Germany here today, Switzerland tomorrow, where I'll meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and once again seek diplomatic solutions." Blinken's tough words came on the same day when US approved request from Baltic countries to supply US-made weapons to Ukraine. Don't panic, says Ukraine's president Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to boost national morale and asked countrymen to not panic. Addressing the nation in the video released by the presidential press office, Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine wanted its partners to be more specific in their reaction to war threat. Ukrainian army held drills near Crimea. Soldiers practised rapid deployment of BM-21 "Grad" multiple rocket launchers during tactical military exercises at a shooting range in the Kherson region. The footage of military drills was released by Ukrainian defence ministry

NATO didn't invade Ukraine, Russia did: Blinken

In a major development, the US has approved requests by Baltic countries to ship US-made weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion mount, as per officials.

A State Department official in Berlin, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was holding talks on Ukraine, said that the United States was "expediting authorised transfers of US-origin equipment from other allies."

The news has broken just hours after US President Joe Biden commented about Putin saying "my guess is he will move in". The words of US President are being interpreted by some as an indication of an increased possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/severe-costs-my-guess-is-he-will-move-in-says-biden-on-putins-ukraine-invasion-plan-446058">'Severe costs': My guess is he will move in, says Biden on Putin's Ukraine invasion plan</a>

Russia currently has tens of thousands of its troops stationed along its border with Ukraine. Though in past, Russia has said that it would not invade Ukraine, the Russian statements about Ukraine being a threat to Russia's security are seen as an attempt to create a pretext for invasion. Ukraine, part of the erstwhile Soviet Union has already lost the Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia has made it abundantly clear that it is dead against Ukraine joining North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Ukraine has till recently shown eagerness to join the military alliance which, at the time of its formation, was aimed against the Russian threat perceived by western powers.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a major development, the US has approved requests by Baltic countries to ship US-made weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion mount, as per officials.

In a major development, the US has approved requests by Baltic countries to ship US-made weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion mount, as per officials. A State Department official in Berlin, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was holding talks on Ukraine, said that the United States was "expediting authorised transfers of US-origin equipment from other allies." The news has broken just hours after US President Joe Biden commented about Putin saying "my guess is he will move in". The words of US President are being interpreted by some as an indication of an increased possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine. Also Read | 'Severe costs': My guess is he will move in, says Biden on Putin's Ukraine invasion plan Russia currently has tens of thousands of its troops stationed along its border with Ukraine. Though in past, Russia has said that it would not invade Ukraine, the Russian statements about Ukraine being a threat to Russia's security are seen as an attempt to create a pretext for invasion. Ukraine, part of the erstwhile Soviet Union has already lost the Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Russia has made it abundantly clear that it is dead against Ukraine joining North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Ukraine has till recently shown eagerness to join the military alliance which, at the time of its formation, was aimed against the Russian threat perceived by western powers. (With inputs from agencies)

USA approves Baltic request to send US-made weapons to Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Germany would do everything in its power to guarantee Ukraine's security. She was on her first visit to Ukraine.

"We will do our all to guarantee Ukraine's security. We will do our all to guarantee Europe's security," she said at a press conference following talks with her Ukrainian counterpart, a day before she is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops and heavy military equipment along its border with Ukraine. Though Russia claims that it does not intend to invade Ukraine, fears of such an attack remain. Ukraine was part of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Russia has already annexed Ukraine Crimean peninsula in 2014. Russia remains fiercely opposed to Ukraine's inclusion in NATO.

Speaking during a visit to Madrid, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "we expect clear steps from Russia to de-escalate the situation".

"Military aggression against Ukraine would have serious political as well as economic consequences" for Russia, he added at a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Baerbock's visit to Kyiv comes amid attempts to revive the so-called Normandy Format grouping of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine whose aim is to de-escalate the conflict.

Her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, told reporters following discussions that Ukraine and Germany were "committed to a diplomatic settlement of this conflict".

"Our joint goal is the effective work of the Normandy Format and the holding of a summit of leaders of the Normandy Format," Kuleba said.

He reiterated however Ukraine's intention to receive weapons from the West, after Kyiv in December accused Berlin of blocking the supply of NATO arms.

"Our dialogue with Germany on this issue will continue," Kuleba said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to hold his first meeting with Baerbock on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Germany would do everything in its power to guarantee Ukraine's security. She was on her first visit to Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Germany would do everything in its power to guarantee Ukraine's security. She was on her first visit to Ukraine. "We will do our all to guarantee Ukraine's security. We will do our all to guarantee Europe's security," she said at a press conference following talks with her Ukrainian counterpart, a day before she is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops and heavy military equipment along its border with Ukraine. Though Russia claims that it does not intend to invade Ukraine, fears of such an attack remain. Ukraine was part of the erstwhile Soviet Union. Russia has already annexed Ukraine Crimean peninsula in 2014. Russia remains fiercely opposed to Ukraine's inclusion in NATO. Speaking during a visit to Madrid, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "we expect clear steps from Russia to de-escalate the situation". "Military aggression against Ukraine would have serious political as well as economic consequences" for Russia, he added at a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Baerbock's visit to Kyiv comes amid attempts to revive the so-called Normandy Format grouping of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine whose aim is to de-escalate the conflict. Her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, told reporters following discussions that Ukraine and Germany were "committed to a diplomatic settlement of this conflict". "Our joint goal is the effective work of the Normandy Format and the holding of a summit of leaders of the Normandy Format," Kuleba said. He reiterated however Ukraine's intention to receive weapons from the West, after Kyiv in December accused Berlin of blocking the supply of NATO arms. "Our dialogue with Germany on this issue will continue," Kuleba said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to hold his first meeting with Baerbock on Tuesday. (With inputs from agencies)

Germany will do 'all' to ensure Ukraine's security, says foreign minister

A senior US official said on Sunday that the US will announce its "next steps" over Ukraine crisis. The statement came after &nbsp;intense diplomacy failed to ease the threat of a new conflict over Ukraine

Amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was "ready either way."&nbsp;

"We're in close touch with our allies and partners, including the Ukrainians," the top advisor to President Joe Biden told CBS. "We're coordinating closely on next steps. And we'll have more to share in terms of the next steps into the diplomacy early next week."

"But the key point here is that we're ready either way. If Russia wants to move forward with diplomacy, we are absolutely ready to do that in lockstep with our allies and partners.

"If Russia wants to go down the path of invasion and escalation, we're ready for that too, with a robust response."

Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine. Though Russia claims that it does not plan to invade Ukraine, tensions are high.

The Kremlin again insisted on Sunday that it did not want to lead "a military action," even while warning of unnamed "counter actions" if NATO rejects Moscow's demands to lessen its military presence in Eastern Europe.

Meantime, officials in Kiev said Sunday they had proof that Moscow was involved in what they called a "massive cyberattack on government websites" in Ukraine.&nbsp;

The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

(With inputs from agencies)

A senior US official said on Sunday that the US will announce its "next steps" over Ukraine crisis. The statement came after intense diplomacy failed to ease the threat of a new conflict over Ukraine Amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was "ready either way.

A senior US official said on Sunday that the US will announce its "next steps" over Ukraine crisis. The statement came after intense diplomacy failed to ease the threat of a new conflict over Ukraine Amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was "ready either way." "We're in close touch with our allies and partners, including the Ukrainians," the top advisor to President Joe Biden told CBS. "We're coordinating closely on next steps. And we'll have more to share in terms of the next steps into the diplomacy early next week." "But the key point here is that we're ready either way. If Russia wants to move forward with diplomacy, we are absolutely ready to do that in lockstep with our allies and partners. "If Russia wants to go down the path of invasion and escalation, we're ready for that too, with a robust response." Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine. Though Russia claims that it does not plan to invade Ukraine, tensions are high. The Kremlin again insisted on Sunday that it did not want to lead "a military action," even while warning of unnamed "counter actions" if NATO rejects Moscow's demands to lessen its military presence in Eastern Europe. Meantime, officials in Kiev said Sunday they had proof that Moscow was involved in what they called a "massive cyberattack on government websites" in Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied any involvement. (With inputs from agencies)

Ukraine crisis: US 'ready either way', says Biden aide

The United States has sent a written response to Russia's demands in eastern Europe. While it offered a "principled and pragmatic evaluation" of the Kremlin's concerns, the US has upheld North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) 'open-door' policy. This policy refers to NATO's openness to new member countries. Ukraine is keen to be part of NATO, something Russia is fiercely against.

The written response to Russia's demands was delivered in person by US ambassador in Moscow.

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&nbsp;

Russia has demanded NATO pull back troops and weapons from eastern Europe and bar its neighbour Ukraine, a former Soviet state, from ever joining. Washington and its NATO allies reject that position but say they are ready to discuss other topics such as arms control and confidence-building measures.

"Putting things in writing is ... a good way to make sure we're as precise as possible, and the Russians understand our positions, our ideas, as clearly as possible. Right now, the document is with them and the ball is in their court," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Whether President Vladimir Putin is prepared to accept Washington and its allies' agenda will determine the next phase of the crisis, in which Moscow has massed around 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine while denying it plans to invade.

NATO says it is putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, while the US, Britain and others are providing weapons to help Ukraine defend against Russia's much larger army.

Asked how much time Russia would need to study NATO's response, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax news agency: "We will read it. Study it. The partners studied our project for almost a month and a half."

Dialogue

In Paris, diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held more than eight hours of talks on ending a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, part of the wider crisis between Moscow and Kyiv that risks becoming a full-scale war.

The so-called "Normandy" talks were a good signal from Russia and a step toward defusing broader tensions, though major differences remained with further talks planned in Berlin in two weeks, a French official said.

Western-Russian differences were on full display on Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden saying he would consider imposing sanctions personally on Putin if he invades Ukraine, part of an attempt by Washington to convince Moscow that any new action against Ukraine would bring massive costs.

(With inputs from agencies)

The United States has sent a written response to Russia's demands in eastern Europe. While it offered a "principled and pragmatic evaluation" of the Kremlin's concerns, the US has upheld North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) 'open-door' policy.

The United States has sent a written response to Russia's demands in eastern Europe. While it offered a "principled and pragmatic evaluation" of the Kremlin's concerns, the US has upheld North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) 'open-door' policy. This policy refers to NATO's openness to new member countries. Ukraine is keen to be part of NATO, something Russia is fiercely against. The written response to Russia's demands was delivered in person by US ambassador in Moscow. × Russia has demanded NATO pull back troops and weapons from eastern Europe and bar its neighbour Ukraine, a former Soviet state, from ever joining. Washington and its NATO allies reject that position but say they are ready to discuss other topics such as arms control and confidence-building measures. "Putting things in writing is ... a good way to make sure we're as precise as possible, and the Russians understand our positions, our ideas, as clearly as possible. Right now, the document is with them and the ball is in their court," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Whether President Vladimir Putin is prepared to accept Washington and its allies' agenda will determine the next phase of the crisis, in which Moscow has massed around 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine while denying it plans to invade. NATO says it is putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, while the US, Britain and others are providing weapons to help Ukraine defend against Russia's much larger army. Asked how much time Russia would need to study NATO's response, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax news agency: "We will read it. Study it. The partners studied our project for almost a month and a half." Dialogue In Paris, diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held more than eight hours of talks on ending a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, part of the wider crisis between Moscow and Kyiv that risks becoming a full-scale war. The so-called "Normandy" talks were a good signal from Russia and a step toward defusing broader tensions, though major differences remained with further talks planned in Berlin in two weeks, a French official said. Western-Russian differences were on full display on Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden saying he would consider imposing sanctions personally on Putin if he invades Ukraine, part of an attempt by Washington to convince Moscow that any new action against Ukraine would bring massive costs. (With inputs from agencies)

Ukraine crisis: US responds to Russian demands, upholds NATO's 'open-door' policy

President Joe Biden and his legal team have spent a year preparing for this moment: the chance to make good on his pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court at a time of continuing racial reckoning for the country.

The decision by Justice Stephen G. Breyer to retire will give Biden his most high-profile opportunity since taking office to reshape the federal judiciary, having already nominated dozens of district and appeals court judges from a range of racial, ethnic and legal backgrounds.

His promise also underscores how much Black women have struggled to become part of a very small pool of elite judges in the nation’s higher federal courts. Speculation on Wednesday focused on a rarefied group of well-credentialed Black women who have elite educations and experience on the bench.

The short list included Ketanji Brown Jackson, a 51-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit who graduated from Harvard Law School and clerked for Breyer, and Leondra R. Kruger, a 45-year-old justice on the California Supreme Court who graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for former Justice John Paul Stevens.

J. Michelle Childs, 55, a little-known U.S. District Court judge in South Carolina whom Biden recently nominated for an appeals court, is also seen as a potential contender. One of Biden’s top congressional allies, Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, told Biden during the presidential campaign that he believed she should be appointed, in part because she came from a blue-collar background, another underrepresented group among federal judges.

Jackson and Kruger attended Ivy League law schools, unlike Childs, who attended the University of South Carolina. And while there are some differences in the women’s backgrounds and experience, they are united in being among a relative handful of Black women who have the kind of credentials normally considered qualifications for the Supreme Court.

The first Black woman to serve as a federal appeals court judge — an experience that in the modern era is usually a key credential in becoming a justice — was appointed by President Gerald R. Ford in 1975. By the time Biden took office more than 40 years later, only seven more had served in such a position.

“If you just look at the raw numbers, it’s a telling and a sobering statistic,” said Leslie D. Davis, the chief executive of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. “That makes it clear that we must do better.”

Biden has said he hopes the diversity he has brought to the high ranks of the federal government will be a centerpiece of his legacy. In addition to his record on judgeships, his decision to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate during the 2020 campaign led to her becoming the first Black woman to serve as vice president.

Half of Biden’s first 16 nominees for federal appeals courts have been Black women — as many as all previous presidents combined had appointed. That emphasis has attracted scrutiny from across the ideological spectrum. For Davis, the important point of comparison is how few Black women had previously been appointed to the federal bench.

“It’s a story that Black women’s voices have not been appreciated,” she said, “that their perspectives have not been valued, and their voices have not been heard.”

But conservatives like the National Review legal commentator Ed Whelan have pointed out that the number of Black women Biden has nominated is strikingly disproportionate to the available pool of Black women with law degrees.

According to a 2021 profile of the legal profession by the American Bar Association, just 4.7% of American lawyers are Black and 37% of lawyers are female. The report did not break out Black women in particular, but the implication is that roughly 2% of American lawyers are both Black and female.

“By Biden’s declared standard of demographic diversity, his first year of judicial nominations has clearly been a remarkable success,” Whelan wrote this month, calling Biden’s record on appointing Black women “extraordinary” while also taking “some delight in noting” that liberal white males, with just two appellate nomination slots so far, were “the big losers.”

Biden made his promise to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court at a debate in February 2020, just days before facing his Democratic rivals in the South Carolina primary, where Black people make up a large portion of the party’s voters. At the time, his campaign was struggling amid losses in two of the early presidential contests.

“I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented,” Biden said that night.

The promise helped Biden secure the support of Clyburn just days before the party’s contest in South Carolina.

“I have three daughters,” Clyburn told Bloomberg. “I think I would be less than a good dad if I did not say to the president-to-be, this is an issue that is simmering in the African American community, that Black women think they have as much right to sit on the Supreme Court as any other women, and up to that point none had been considered.”

Biden went on to win the South Carolina primary, proving the durability of his support among Black voters and setting in motion a string of victories on Super Tuesday a short time later.

Biden's Supreme Court selection will take place in a country still feeling the reverberations of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 and subsequent mass protests over racial justice.

It also would come as the conservative-dominated court agreed this week to hear cases challenging race-conscious college admissions programs, raising the possibility that it may ban affirmative action policies aimed at maintaining racial diversity.

Biden’s political support has been especially strong among Black women. New York Times exit polling data from the 2020 election showed that while they made up just 8% of the electorate, they were Biden’s most lopsided supporters: 90% of Black female voters cast their ballots for him.

And in Georgia, Biden’s win was followed by Democrats sweeping a pair of crucial runoff elections for Senate seats that gave the party razor-thin control of the Senate — and with it the ability to confirm judges without needing any Republican support.

Several factors went into those narrow wins that flipped the state blue, but one was that a group of Black female organizers — most famously Stacey Abrams, the former candidate for governor who founded a voter registration group called the New Georgia Project — had been working to register hundreds of thousands new voters and encourage them to turn out.

For Democrats, maintaining enthusiastic support among Black voters, and especially Black women, may be critical in November’s midterm elections. Democratic activists urged Biden on Wednesday not to back down from his promise.

“There would be little to no rationale for President Biden to miss this opportunity,” Aimee Allison, the president of She the People, a liberal advocacy group, said in a statement. “It is and could be a defining moment for his presidency.”

Polls show Democrats trailing in their efforts to keep control of the House and the Senate, and Biden has had a rocky first year, in part because the Senate filibuster rule means Republicans can block much of his agenda, like passage of a social spending bill and an expansion of federal protections for voting rights.

But since the Senate abolished the filibuster for judges — Democrats did so for lower and appellate court judges in 2013, and Republicans did so for Supreme Court justices in 2017 — a party that controls both the White House and the Senate by any margin can appoint life-tenured federal judges, including to fill any vacancies among the 179 federal appellate seats.

In April, when Biden announced his first three appeals court nominees, all three were Black women with Ivy League educations, including Jackson. Two more of the next 10 appellate judges he appointed are also Black women. And of his six appellate nominees still pending before the Senate, three are Black women.

Biden’s decision to use his power to place numerous Black women on the bench — as well as in district court judgeships and high-profile roles in the executive branch — is transformative considering the many decades during which they have rarely exercised power in the legal system.

The history of Black female judges mirrors the larger story of African Americans since the Civil War, according to a 2010 article in the Howard Law Journal by Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, who is the chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

“Black women judges came to the ‘judicial’ table much later than Black men (by more than 80 years) and also much later than white women (by almost 60 years),” she wrote in the article, “Black Women Judges: The Historical Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts.”

New York City did not have its first Black female judge until 1939, when Jane Matilda Bolin was appointed to the Domestic Relations Court, Blackburne-Rigsby wrote, adding that when the city’s mayor, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, appointed Bolin, he first consulted her husband — a sign of the times and of the limits placed on Black women in the court system.

Blackburne-Rigsby declined to comment Wednesday. But in her article, she sounded a note of caution about viewing that demographic’s slow rise to judicial power as a matter of numbers alone.

“Being both Black and female brings an important additional voice to the deliberative process,” she wrote, “but that voice is varied because there is no singular ‘Black woman’ perspective.”

Even after the civil rights movement in the 1960s, which included President Lyndon B. Johnson’s appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black Supreme Court justice in 1967, Black women’s access to the levers of judicial power remained limited.

In 1966, Johnson had also appointed the first Black female federal judge — Constance Baker Motley, whom he placed in the Southern District of New York.

And in the years that followed, Motley was sometimes mentioned as a potential future Supreme Court justice, said Tomiko Brown-Nagin, a Harvard legal historian who published a biography of the judge this week, “Civil Rights Queen.”

But Brown-Nagin, who is also the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, said that while Motley was “eminently qualified” for elevation, her political window closed: As a former civil rights lawyer, she was seen as a liberal, and from 1969 until 1993, there was no Supreme Court vacancy while a Democrat was president.

“This appointment has been a long time coming,” Brown-Nagin said.

President Joe Biden and his legal team have spent a year preparing for this moment: the chance to make good on his pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court at a time of continuing racial reckoning for the country.

President Joe Biden and his legal team have spent a year preparing for this moment: the chance to make good on his pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court at a time of continuing racial reckoning for the country. The decision by Justice Stephen G. Breyer to retire will give Biden his most high-profile opportunity since taking office to reshape the federal judiciary, having already nominated dozens of district and appeals court judges from a range of racial, ethnic and legal backgrounds. His promise also underscores how much Black women have struggled to become part of a very small pool of elite judges in the nation’s higher federal courts. Speculation on Wednesday focused on a rarefied group of well-credentialed Black women who have elite educations and experience on the bench. The short list included Ketanji Brown Jackson, a 51-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit who graduated from Harvard Law School and clerked for Breyer, and Leondra R. Kruger, a 45-year-old justice on the California Supreme Court who graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for former Justice John Paul Stevens. J. Michelle Childs, 55, a little-known U.S. District Court judge in South Carolina whom Biden recently nominated for an appeals court, is also seen as a potential contender. One of Biden’s top congressional allies, Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, told Biden during the presidential campaign that he believed she should be appointed, in part because she came from a blue-collar background, another underrepresented group among federal judges. Jackson and Kruger attended Ivy League law schools, unlike Childs, who attended the University of South Carolina. And while there are some differences in the women’s backgrounds and experience, they are united in being among a relative handful of Black women who have the kind of credentials normally considered qualifications for the Supreme Court. The first Black woman to serve as a federal appeals court judge — an experience that in the modern era is usually a key credential in becoming a justice — was appointed by President Gerald R. Ford in 1975. By the time Biden took office more than 40 years later, only seven more had served in such a position. “If you just look at the raw numbers, it’s a telling and a sobering statistic,” said Leslie D. Davis, the chief executive of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. “That makes it clear that we must do better.” Biden has said he hopes the diversity he has brought to the high ranks of the federal government will be a centerpiece of his legacy. In addition to his record on judgeships, his decision to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate during the 2020 campaign led to her becoming the first Black woman to serve as vice president. Half of Biden’s first 16 nominees for federal appeals courts have been Black women — as many as all previous presidents combined had appointed. That emphasis has attracted scrutiny from across the ideological spectrum. For Davis, the important point of comparison is how few Black women had previously been appointed to the federal bench. “It’s a story that Black women’s voices have not been appreciated,” she said, “that their perspectives have not been valued, and their voices have not been heard.” But conservatives like the National Review legal commentator Ed Whelan have pointed out that the number of Black women Biden has nominated is strikingly disproportionate to the available pool of Black women with law degrees. According to a 2021 profile of the legal profession by the American Bar Association, just 4.7% of American lawyers are Black and 37% of lawyers are female. The report did not break out Black women in particular, but the implication is that roughly 2% of American lawyers are both Black and female. “By Biden’s declared standard of demographic diversity, his first year of judicial nominations has clearly been a remarkable success,” Whelan wrote this month, calling Biden’s record on appointing Black women “extraordinary” while also taking “some delight in noting” that liberal white males, with just two appellate nomination slots so far, were “the big losers.” Biden made his promise to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court at a debate in February 2020, just days before facing his Democratic rivals in the South Carolina primary, where Black people make up a large portion of the party’s voters. At the time, his campaign was struggling amid losses in two of the early presidential contests. “I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get everyone represented,” Biden said that night. The promise helped Biden secure the support of Clyburn just days before the party’s contest in South Carolina. “I have three daughters,” Clyburn told Bloomberg. “I think I would be less than a good dad if I did not say to the president-to-be, this is an issue that is simmering in the African American community, that Black women think they have as much right to sit on the Supreme Court as any other women, and up to that point none had been considered.” Biden went on to win the South Carolina primary, proving the durability of his support among Black voters and setting in motion a string of victories on Super Tuesday a short time later. Biden's Supreme Court selection will take place in a country still feeling the reverberations of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 and subsequent mass protests over racial justice. It also would come as the conservative-dominated court agreed this week to hear cases challenging race-conscious college admissions programs, raising the possibility that it may ban affirmative action policies aimed at maintaining racial diversity. Biden’s political support has been especially strong among Black women. New York Times exit polling data from the 2020 election showed that while they made up just 8% of the electorate, they were Biden’s most lopsided supporters: 90% of Black female voters cast their ballots for him. And in Georgia, Biden’s win was followed by Democrats sweeping a pair of crucial runoff elections for Senate seats that gave the party razor-thin control of the Senate — and with it the ability to confirm judges without needing any Republican support. Several factors went into those narrow wins that flipped the state blue, but one was that a group of Black female organizers — most famously Stacey Abrams, the former candidate for governor who founded a voter registration group called the New Georgia Project — had been working to register hundreds of thousands new voters and encourage them to turn out. For Democrats, maintaining enthusiastic support among Black voters, and especially Black women, may be critical in November’s midterm elections. Democratic activists urged Biden on Wednesday not to back down from his promise. “There would be little to no rationale for President Biden to miss this opportunity,” Aimee Allison, the president of She the People, a liberal advocacy group, said in a statement. “It is and could be a defining moment for his presidency.” Polls show Democrats trailing in their efforts to keep control of the House and the Senate, and Biden has had a rocky first year, in part because the Senate filibuster rule means Republicans can block much of his agenda, like passage of a social spending bill and an expansion of federal protections for voting rights. But since the Senate abolished the filibuster for judges — Democrats did so for lower and appellate court judges in 2013, and Republicans did so for Supreme Court justices in 2017 — a party that controls both the White House and the Senate by any margin can appoint life-tenured federal judges, including to fill any vacancies among the 179 federal appellate seats. In April, when Biden announced his first three appeals court nominees, all three were Black women with Ivy League educations, including Jackson. Two more of the next 10 appellate judges he appointed are also Black women. And of his six appellate nominees still pending before the Senate, three are Black women. Biden’s decision to use his power to place numerous Black women on the bench — as well as in district court judgeships and high-profile roles in the executive branch — is transformative considering the many decades during which they have rarely exercised power in the legal system. The history of Black female judges mirrors the larger story of African Americans since the Civil War, according to a 2010 article in the Howard Law Journal by Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, who is the chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. “Black women judges came to the ‘judicial’ table much later than Black men (by more than 80 years) and also much later than white women (by almost 60 years),” she wrote in the article, “Black Women Judges: The Historical Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts.” New York City did not have its first Black female judge until 1939, when Jane Matilda Bolin was appointed to the Domestic Relations Court, Blackburne-Rigsby wrote, adding that when the city’s mayor, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, appointed Bolin, he first consulted her husband — a sign of the times and of the limits placed on Black women in the court system. Blackburne-Rigsby declined to comment Wednesday. But in her article, she sounded a note of caution about viewing that demographic’s slow rise to judicial power as a matter of numbers alone. “Being both Black and female brings an important additional voice to the deliberative process,” she wrote, “but that voice is varied because there is no singular ‘Black woman’ perspective.” Even after the civil rights movement in the 1960s, which included President Lyndon B. Johnson’s appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black Supreme Court justice in 1967, Black women’s access to the levers of judicial power remained limited. In 1966, Johnson had also appointed the first Black female federal judge — Constance Baker Motley, whom he placed in the Southern District of New York. And in the years that followed, Motley was sometimes mentioned as a potential future Supreme Court justice, said Tomiko Brown-Nagin, a Harvard legal historian who published a biography of the judge this week, “Civil Rights Queen.” But Brown-Nagin, who is also the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, said that while Motley was “eminently qualified” for elevation, her political window closed: As a former civil rights lawyer, she was seen as a liberal, and from 1969 until 1993, there was no Supreme Court vacancy while a Democrat was president. “This appointment has been a long time coming,” Brown-Nagin said.

Biden expected to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court

The universe is full of wonders. We already know that. But every now and then the huge expanse of (nearly) nothingness springs up a surprise that makes even scientists go "wow!". For us mortals, the play of colours, the explosions, the formations and what not is always a thing of wonder. These images are shared widely, by space agencies like NASA and even by astronauts from around the world. The sheer beauty makes these images go viral.

We bring you some of these space images that stopped people in their tracks.

Hand of God

<img alt="NASA Hand of God" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cfe876a2-ef26-459c-8f4f-8c1cd93ded19" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/NASA%20Hand%20of%20God.PNG" />

This was undeniably the most recognisable image NASA posted. &nbsp;The beautuiful golden structure that appears to pop out of nowehere in space is shaped like a hand blessing everyone. NASA explained that the 'hand of God' is a nebula of energy and particles blown by a pulsar. The pulsar had been left behind after explosion of a star. This pulsar is known as PSR B1509-58. It is spins around itself 7 times per second! It is 17,000 lightyears away from Earth.

 
The 'Devil's eye'

<img alt="NASA The Devil's Eye" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ec8d364-7270-4f17-8eaa-11d4c467e150" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Devil%27s%20Eye.PNG" />

God has been represented. Now comes the turn of the Devil. This celestial structure looked like an eye that was definitely didn't appear friendly. The eyelashes were blue and the iris was blazing red. Was it the Devil himself? This is Helix Nebula which was clicked by Spitzer telescope. Helix Nebula is 700 light-years away from Earth and located in the Aquarius constellation&nbsp;

 
Visitor in our backyard

<img alt="NASA Comet Leonard" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa9fb670-2f95-41a5-baa8-d291719d604b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Comet%20Leonard.JPG" />

We have a visitor! And he is still in our backyard. Comet Leonard, the brightest comet of the year came into our field of vision in December 2021. Watching this celestial nomad was a once in a lifetime opportunity as it is due to come back near Earth 35,000 years from now, if Sun doesn't gobble it up this time that is. Comet Leonard had a close shave with NASA and European Space Agency's (ESA) solar orbitter. Thankfully, there was no cause for concern.

The 'Running Man nebula'

<img alt="NASA Running man nebula" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="692e2861-86d4-4e4c-a5f9-5379beb76154" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Running%20man%20nebula.JPG" />

The Running Man Nebula is 5000 light-years away from Earth. Its scientific designation is NGC 1977. This nebula was in news because NASA captured a pic of 'Herbig Haro object'. Herbig Haro nebula is a type of nebula that forms when gas from a young star collides with surrounding dust and produces shockwaves.

 
Prawn nebula

<img alt="Prawn Nebula" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="545b4383-baaa-4d92-b021-766df30de26a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Prawn%20nebula.JPG" />

Nebulas are where new stars are formed. In November, NASA clicked an image of Prawn Nebula, a massive solar nursery. The nebula is 250 might-years wide and is situated at a distance of 6000 light-years away from Earth. Formally, the Prawn Nebula is called IC 4628.

Aurora from space

<img alt="NASA Aurora" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="54b629dc-8255-4969-950c-95285ca85b8a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Aurora.JPG" />

We are so busy pointing our scopes at stars that we often forget how beautiful our own planet is. Not each of us is lucky enough to go to space and click picture of Earth but astronauts have been doing so for us. European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who was stationed in International Space Station has been prolific in clicking such pictures. In September this year, he showed all of us how an Aurora looks from space.

 
The 'eye in the sky'

<img alt="NASA eye in the sky" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abcc1db4-fb70-441b-935c-79accecf6dfa" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Eye%20in%20the%20sky.JPG" />

This one is not as scary as the 'Devil's eye' but is beautiful nonetheless. This image was clicked by NASA. This is Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy has a supermassive black hole in the centre but it emits a large amount of electromagnetic radiation. The active galactic nucleus with high luminosity gives it an appearance of an 'eye in the sky'

 
Eerie glow on Earth

<img alt="Earth Blue glow Thomas Pequet" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="85791385-5372-47c4-9187-ceafdce9a18b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Blue%20glow.JPG" />

Thomas Pesquet strikes again! The ESA astronaut captured this image when he was aboard International Space Station (ISS). On October 8, Pesquet posted an image in which part of night side of Earth was visible. The land could be seen lit up with cities and roads and more. But remarkable thing in the photo was a strange blue glow. Pesquet was stumped as to what this would be, as were people on Instagram.

Space and even our planet Earth have many wonders still hidden from us. 2022 will surely send such visual treats our way.

The universe is full of wonders. We already know that. But every now and then the huge expanse of (nearly) nothingness springs up a surprise that makes even scientists go "wow!

The universe is full of wonders. We already know that. But every now and then the huge expanse of (nearly) nothingness springs up a surprise that makes even scientists go "wow!". For us mortals, the play of colours, the explosions, the formations and what not is always a thing of wonder. These images are shared widely, by space agencies like NASA and even by astronauts from around the world. The sheer beauty makes these images go viral. We bring you some of these space images that stopped people in their tracks. Hand of God This was undeniably the most recognisable image NASA posted. The beautuiful golden structure that appears to pop out of nowehere in space is shaped like a hand blessing everyone. NASA explained that the 'hand of God' is a nebula of energy and particles blown by a pulsar. The pulsar had been left behind after explosion of a star. This pulsar is known as PSR B1509-58. It is spins around itself 7 times per second! It is 17,000 lightyears away from Earth. The 'Devil's eye' God has been represented. Now comes the turn of the Devil. This celestial structure looked like an eye that was definitely didn't appear friendly. The eyelashes were blue and the iris was blazing red. Was it the Devil himself? This is Helix Nebula which was clicked by Spitzer telescope. Helix Nebula is 700 light-years away from Earth and located in the Aquarius constellation Visitor in our backyard We have a visitor! And he is still in our backyard. Comet Leonard, the brightest comet of the year came into our field of vision in December 2021. Watching this celestial nomad was a once in a lifetime opportunity as it is due to come back near Earth 35,000 years from now, if Sun doesn't gobble it up this time that is. Comet Leonard had a close shave with NASA and European Space Agency's (ESA) solar orbitter. Thankfully, there was no cause for concern. The 'Running Man nebula' The Running Man Nebula is 5000 light-years away from Earth. Its scientific designation is NGC 1977. This nebula was in news because NASA captured a pic of 'Herbig Haro object'. Herbig Haro nebula is a type of nebula that forms when gas from a young star collides with surrounding dust and produces shockwaves. Prawn nebula Nebulas are where new stars are formed. In November, NASA clicked an image of Prawn Nebula, a massive solar nursery. The nebula is 250 might-years wide and is situated at a distance of 6000 light-years away from Earth. Formally, the Prawn Nebula is called IC 4628. Aurora from space We are so busy pointing our scopes at stars that we often forget how beautiful our own planet is. Not each of us is lucky enough to go to space and click picture of Earth but astronauts have been doing so for us. European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who was stationed in International Space Station has been prolific in clicking such pictures. In September this year, he showed all of us how an Aurora looks from space. The 'eye in the sky' This one is not as scary as the 'Devil's eye' but is beautiful nonetheless. This image was clicked by NASA. This is Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy has a supermassive black hole in the centre but it emits a large amount of electromagnetic radiation. The active galactic nucleus with high luminosity gives it an appearance of an 'eye in the sky' Eerie glow on Earth Thomas Pesquet strikes again! The ESA astronaut captured this image when he was aboard International Space Station (ISS). On October 8, Pesquet posted an image in which part of night side of Earth was visible. The land could be seen lit up with cities and roads and more. But remarkable thing in the photo was a strange blue glow. Pesquet was stumped as to what this would be, as were people on Instagram. Space and even our planet Earth have many wonders still hidden from us. 2022 will surely send such visual treats our way.

Hand of God, Devil's eye and more NASA pics that wowed people around the world

Los Angeles police chief has said that in addition to Amazon packages, dozens of guns have been looted by thieves who have been breaking into train wagons.

Images of the detritus left behind by thieves who broke&nbsp;into stationary wagons in the middle of the second biggest city in the United States swept the internet this month.

Now the city's top policeman has said that the bandits got away with more than just Amazon packages.

"People were... breaking into these containers and stealing firearms, tens of firearms," Michael Moore told the Police Commission this week.

"That gave us great concern as a source again of further violence in the city."

An AFP team filmed thousands of gutted boxes on the stretch of tracks near the city center, many from major retailers like Target, and being shipped by carriers including UPS and FedEx.

The thieves wait until the long freight trains stop on the tracks and break the locks with bolt cutters.&nbsp;

They then help themselves to parcels, ditching anything too difficult to sell.

The haul could include anything that moves around the country from or to retailers.

And, the police now say, guns.

Firearms purchased online in the United States cannot legally be shipped to the customer, but can be sent instead to a licensed dealer for pick-up.

Since December 2020, rail operator Union Pacific (UP), whose convoys are being targeted, has seen a 160 percent increase in thefts in Los Angeles County.

"In October 2021 alone, the increase reaches 356 percent compared to October 2020," the operator said in a letter to local authorities seen by AFP.&nbsp;

The phenomenon was accelerated in the run-up to Christmas, as freight volumes rocketed.

According to figures reported by UP, more than 90 containers were vandalized on average each day in Los Angeles County in the last quarter of 2021.

The operator, which manages nearly 280 miles (450 kilometers) of track in Los Angeles County, puts the cost of the damage incurred over the course of 2021 at about $5 million.

(With inputs from agencies)

Los Angeles police chief has said that in addition to Amazon packages, dozens of guns have been looted by thieves who have been breaking into train wagons. Images of the detritus left behind by thieves who broke into stationary wagons in the middle of the second biggest city in the United States swept the internet this month.

Los Angeles police chief has said that in addition to Amazon packages, dozens of guns have been looted by thieves who have been breaking into train wagons. Images of the detritus left behind by thieves who broke into stationary wagons in the middle of the second biggest city in the United States swept the internet this month. Now the city's top policeman has said that the bandits got away with more than just Amazon packages. "People were... breaking into these containers and stealing firearms, tens of firearms," Michael Moore told the Police Commission this week. "That gave us great concern as a source again of further violence in the city." An AFP team filmed thousands of gutted boxes on the stretch of tracks near the city center, many from major retailers like Target, and being shipped by carriers including UPS and FedEx. The thieves wait until the long freight trains stop on the tracks and break the locks with bolt cutters. They then help themselves to parcels, ditching anything too difficult to sell. The haul could include anything that moves around the country from or to retailers. And, the police now say, guns. Firearms purchased online in the United States cannot legally be shipped to the customer, but can be sent instead to a licensed dealer for pick-up. Since December 2020, rail operator Union Pacific (UP), whose convoys are being targeted, has seen a 160 percent increase in thefts in Los Angeles County. "In October 2021 alone, the increase reaches 356 percent compared to October 2020," the operator said in a letter to local authorities seen by AFP. The phenomenon was accelerated in the run-up to Christmas, as freight volumes rocketed. According to figures reported by UP, more than 90 containers were vandalized on average each day in Los Angeles County in the last quarter of 2021. The operator, which manages nearly 280 miles (450 kilometers) of track in Los Angeles County, puts the cost of the damage incurred over the course of 2021 at about $5 million. (With inputs from agencies)

Amazon packages, dozens of guns looted from Los Angeles trains: Police

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