Russia is the biggest market for Paraguayan beef.

It is believed that rebels opposing Syrian dictator Bashr al-Assad were sprayed with deadly sarin gas.

The Pussy Riot case may test Russia's identity as a state tolerant of all faiths, or only those compliant with the government led by Vladimir Putin.

"Little children, keep yourselves from idols", wrote John the Evangelist. Important words for believers to hear upon confronting Power.

Tanks and Ak-47s were evident in Caracas as Venezuelans went to vote. Exit polls showed Capriles the winner, but the government-controlled electoral college gave the win to Chavez who has been in power for 14 years.

Users of LinkedIn are advised to change their passwords immediately.

Assange will face rape charges in Sweden.

Thousands of people march in the center led by writers and poets. The police stands by watching. Experts say the authorities are convinced that the unrest wMill soon peter out, but they are hoping in vain. Perhaps it is "a revolution".

Moscow police have no orders to disperse a tent camp of about 100 people set up on a downtown square, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The local investigators to investigate "extremist activity". The Jehovah's Witnesses continue to face threats and judicial harassment.

Terrorism experts both in Russia and the West have long assumed that Umarov would seek to disrupt the Winter Olympics and would infiltrate fighters from Kabardino-Balkaria to the environs of Sochi during the spring and summer of 2013 to prepare those attacks.

Russia's National Antiterror Committee says its officers have seized stashed guns, ammunition, and explosives that were allegedly planned to be used in a terrorist attack on the 2014 Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

As Europe changes, Vladimir Putin has remained a constant.

The opposition rally in Moscow ends with hundreds of arrests and dozens wounded. Increasingly radical opposition, but Kremlin shows no intention of backing down. Uphill struggle for the new Russian president's mandate which begins today. Suspected of using religion to consolidate political power.

A Cold-War era nuclear communication hotline may soon be used to channel messages between the United States and Russia on cyber security, "The Washington Post" reports.

When coupled with Chinese military modernization, the regional balance of power on the Asian mainland seems to be moving steadily against Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church seeks to counter what it describes as a vicious campaign against its churches and clerics. Thousands of Russians are rising in support of two women jailed for staging an illegal performance in Moscow's largest church.

Nicaragua is getting cozy with Russia, while it also has had some success in the war on narcotics.

The daily "Izvestiya" reports that Russia's border service plans to establish 20 new Arctic border posts.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko has called for the United States and NATO to change their position on a missile-defense system planned for Europe.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has reportedly named Chechen insurgent leader Doku Umarov as the mastermind of a foiled plot to assassinate President-elect Vladimir Putin.

Report says deployment of the new S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system has started in the Kaliningrad exclave.

Authorities have said that Russia will send urgent humanitarian aid to Tajikistan to help tackle the aftermath of an unusually cold and long winter.

A top U.S. arms-control official has said Moscow and Washington should work together to settle a dispute over U.S. plans for a missile-defense system that has long strained ties between the two countries.

The United States and Russia have expressed interest in joint technology research, including projects involving the planned Skolkovo innovations park outside Moscow.

Metropolitan Hilarion criticises the decision of the British government to defend ban on religious symbols in the workplace before Strasbourg court. Russian priest says one of her parishioners was fired for wearing a cross that was not visible.

Officials in Vladivostok said the suspect, 35, confessed to killing his 41-year-old friend on March 21 and eating the body with another friend.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called on Belarus to join the rest of Europe and impose a moratorium on the death penalty.

Russia has asked Britain to extradite the Bank of Moscow's former president -- who fled to London almost a year ago -- over alleged wrongdoings in a fraudulent loan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the Russian government will discuss a proposal that for the first time would permit the U.S.-led coalition to use a Russian air base to transit troops and military cargo from Afghanistan.

The opposition rally in Moscow ends with 250 detentions, including the blogger Navalny. All released within hours. The movement promises to return to the streets "until victory"; next gatheringMarch 10 in Moscow.

The United States has urged the Russian government to conduct "an independent, credible investigation of all reported electoral violations" stemming from the March 4 presidential vote that saw Vladimir Putin sweep to victory.

Cities as disparate as Moscow and Edinburg reveal their Christian roots in their lay out.

Russia has reportedly convinced a number of Central Asian countries not to sign on to a proposed U.S. counternarcotics initiative in the region.

In Stavropol region, car bomb attack on the deputy mufti. Investigations focus on extremists, but may also be a personal vendetta.