Space foundation removed Yuri Gagarin's name from regular event and called it A Celebration of Space instead. The move has been condemned as a 'war against history'. Yuri’s Night in the Space Symposium was renamed to Celebrate Human Achievements, erasing Yuri Gagarin from the event to feed the Russophobia planted by the West. Sanctions were imposed on Russia after it initiated a special operation in Ukraine, and they were not limited to banking and commercial restrictions. Along with living and long-dead artists, numerous competitions have enforced vengeful bans to ensure that nothing Russian escapes punishment, including cats and trees.  The Space Foundation, an American non-profit organization created in 1983, has renamed its Yuri's Night fundraiser "in light of current world events."  The original title was a tribute to the first man to journey into space, famous Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.   “The focus of this fundraising event remains the same — to celebrate human achievements in space while inspiring the next generation to reach for the stars,” the Foundation reportedly explained in a statement.   The message was later deleted, but the official name of the event was changed to “A Celebration of Space: Discover What’s Next.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss how to boost Middle Eastern oil and gas exports and reduce purchases from Russia, denouncing Moscow’s military action in Ukraine while saying nothing of the seven-year conflict still raging in Yemen.

In a statement ahead of Wednesday’s trip, Johnson blasted Russia’s “brutal and unprovoked assault” on Ukraine while declaring that London is “building an international coalition” to deal with a “new reality” in the energy sector.  

“The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin’s addiction to oil and gas,” he said of the Russian president, adding that “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term.”  

The PM will first meet with Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed before heading to Saudi Arabia for a sit-down with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where he’s expected to discuss increasing Gulf energy output as the UK seeks to cut down on Russian imports.  The visit was slammed by some lawmakers, as it comes soon after Riyadh’s largest-ever public execution, in which it killed 81 prisoners. Saudi officials said the convicts were found guilty of “heinous crimes,” including ties to terrorism.  

US President Joe Biden is also reportedly planning to visit the kingdom to discuss energy issues, though the White House has declined to confirm his travel schedule. While Washington has so far dismissed an outright ban on Russian imports, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is in “active discussions” with European partners about such a move, so long as they can maintain “a steady global oil supply.”  

Johnson’s trip also comes amid a bloody seven-year war on Yemen, in which a coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia – and heavily supported by the US and UK – has attempted to oust Houthi rebels from power and reinstall Yemeni President Mansour Hadi, who was elected in 2012 on a one-man ballot. As of late 2021, nearly 400,000 people had been killed in the conflict, according to UN estimates, most of them Yemeni children under the age of 5. Many have perished of “indirect” causes and deprivation, such as hunger and lack of medicine amid a blockade on Yemen’s ports, while around 40% have been killed in fighting and airstrikes.

Russian army continues advancing in different directions around Kyiv.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, even as his position on a no-fly zone did not change after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's urgent appeal to the U.S. Congress for military help to fend off a Russian invasion.

8 years without free access to water - that's been the difficult reality for the Crimean Peninsula, whose dam system was under Ukrainian control. But now the advance of Russian forces means the taps are flowing freely again.

Not far from Mariupol in Berdiansk, Russian forces have taken a base belonging to the Ukrainian Army, where forces deserted without any resistance.

KYIV, March 15 - Russian air strikes and shelling hit Kyiv on Tuesday killing at least four people, authorities said, as invading forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian capital and the mayor announced a 35-hour curfew starting at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).  Two large blasts echoed across the centre of the city just before dawn on Tuesday. Late on Monday, tracer bullets flashed across the night sky as Ukrainian forces apparently targeted an enemy drone.  "Today is a difficult and dangerous moment," mayor Vitali Klitschko said. 

"The capital is the heart of Ukraine, and it will be defended. Kyiv, which is currently the symbol and forward operating base of Europe's freedom and security, will not be given up by us."  He called on men who took wives and children to the relative safety of the west of the country earlier in the conflict to return to the capital to fight. Some have done so already, he and his brother Wladimir told Reuters in a recent interview.  Reuters witnesses saw a high-rise apartment block in flames after being struck by artillery. Firefighters tried to douse the blaze and rescue workers helped evacuate residents trapped inside using mobile ladders. A body lay on the ground in a bag.

The Artem weapons factory in central Kyiv was also hit, with footage taken by a local resident showing smoke coming from the roof. Outside kiosks nearby, shopkeepers and helpers swept up glass and other debris from the impact of the explosions.  Russia said on Monday that it planned to attack Ukrainian arms factories in retaliation for what it said was a Ukrainian strike on the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, and urged workers and local residents to stay away. Ukraine denied launching an attack.  Kyiv has been spared the worst of the fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, but the Russian military is slowly closing in on the city and the shelling has intensified.

"What is happening right now in Kharkiv, in Mariupol and other cities - it was understandable that sooner or later it would happen in Kyiv," said local resident Igor Krupa.  Sitting on the ground outside the badly damaged apartment building, he described how he had cocooned himself with furniture and metal weights before going to sleep.

"This actually saved me because all the windows went out and all the debris went into the apartment, and I remained unwounded. Just a couple of scratches."  In another part of the city, residents cleared debris from their homes after shelling blew out windows, ruined balconies and left wreckage strewn across the ground.  Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and millions more displaced.

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, calls its actions a "special military operation" to "denazify" the country, a claim that Ukraine and its allies reject as a pretext for an unjustified and illegal attack.

Humanitarian efforts are well underway in Ukraine with Russian forces helping those most in need.