MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. In an interview with the Turkey’s NTV channel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that Washington would eventually change its mind on Turkey’s plans to buy S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.

"At present, relevant agencies conduct all the necessary talks, and will continue to do so, including a speech before the Congress. I hope that this wrongful approach by the United States would change," he said, commenting on the possibility of US sanctions over the deal.

27 Feb 2019; DW: Australian Cardinal George Pell will spend his first night in prison after a judge revoked his bail on Wednesday.

Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd revoked Pell's bail at the end of a sentencing hearing before corrections officers took him into custody. Kidd said he would deliver Pell's sentence on March 13.

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The entire airspace north of the Indian capital has been vacated, official sources said on Wednesday.

The skies above New Delhi were vacated as nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian air traffic on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

Guwahati, Feb 26 (PTI) US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster Tuesday met Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal here and discussed an array of issues, including business, connectivity and organic cultivation.

The Ambassador said that considering the vibrant petroleum and natural gas sector of the state, the USA can help Assam in providing state-of-the-art technology for exploring the sectors economically.

PARIS, February 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Soyuz-ST-B carrier rocket has completed all necessary checks and has been cleared for the February 27 launch to put first OneWeb satellites into orbit, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

"Soyuz is approved for flight! Today’s launch readiness review cleared the medium-lift workhorse for tomorrow’s liftoff with the first six satellites in OneWeb’s constellation," he said.

Kolkata, Feb 26 (PTI) Miffed by the "adamant" attitude of the CPI(M)-led Left Front, the Congress is likely to go it alone in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress will take a final call on the matter in a meeting of its Election Committee slated to be held Wednesday, state Congress leaders said.

26 Feb 2019; DW: A United Nations conference secured $2.6 billion (€2.3 billion) in pledges on Tuesday to aid the millions of people facing starvation in war-torn Yemen.

The pledges were up by 30 percent from the amount secured during last year's aid drive.

"Today's pledging conference can be considered a success," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Geneva at the end of the day-long conference.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress Tuesday in a testimony that the central bank will be "taking a patient approach" in determining future changes in monetary policy.

The central bank, Powell said, will be "taking a patient approach with regard to future policy changes." He said policy decisions "will continue to be data dependent and will take into account new information as economic conditions and the outlook evolve."

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has not approved the resignation of the country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi stated on Tuesday.

"The resignation [of the foreign minister] was not approved [by the Iranian president]," Qasemi stated on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, Zarif announced his resignation on Twitter, which gave rise to an active discussion. Qasemi denied the media reports on various reasons for Zarif’s decision.

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday took note of the Centre's submissions that no fresh incident of violence against Kashmiris has been reported since February 22, the day when the apex court had taken cognisance of a PIL on the issue.

The apex court on February 22 directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of alleged threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack.

KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR, February 26. /TASS/. The first serial-produced Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet will arrive for Russia’s Aerospace Force in 2019, Deputy CEO of the Sukhoi Aircraft Company Alexander Pekarsh said on Tuesday.

Pekarsh heads the Company’s branch in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East where Su-57 planes are manufactured.

ANKARA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and the European Union are again clashing over Ankara's enduring accession bid amid a call by European lawmakers to suspend the already stalled negotiations, but experts believe that mutual interest will prevail in the end.

Last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament called on the European Commission and member states to formally halt the talks, citing Turkey's disregard for human rights and civil liberties, influence on the judiciary, and disputes over territory with neighboring Cyprus.