A female suicide bomber killed at least 14 people and wounded scores more at a railway station in southern Russia.

Russia has evacuated dozens of its citizens from Syria as the country’s foreign minister warned that military intervention by the US and its allies would destabilise the region.

Russian police have arrested several gay rights activists and Russian nationalists who confronted them at a rally declared illegal under a new law against “gay propaganda”.

Ecuador’s government is considering an asylum request from Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor wanted for revealing secrets.

The former National Security Agency contractor wanted for revealing classified secrets is seeking asylum in Ecuador, foreign minister Ricardo Patino has said.

Cyprus has four days to agree on a new plan to raise funds to avoid bankruptcy after the European Central Bank warned that it would pull the plug on the country’s banks at the start of next week if no bailout deal is agreed.

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday a Syrian passenger plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying Russian-made munitions destined for Syria’s armed forces, ratcheting up tension with his country’s war-torn neighbour.

Fabio Capello has been named as Russia’s new manager – with the former England boss set to complete the formalities of his move to Moscow in the next few days.

Kazakhstan has called the playing of a spoof of its national anthem at an international sporting event “a scandal”, and demanded an investigation.

Syria’s ally, Russia, added its voice to rising calls for a truce so aid can be sent to violence-hit cities, after deadly clashes rocked a district of the capital near the heart of the embattled regime.

Vladimir Putin appears all but certain to return to the Kremlin in tomorrow’s Russian presidential election, but he will find himself in charge of a country far more willing to challenge him.

Russian and Ukrainian special services have arrested a group of suspects over an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s state television reported today.

Syrian tanks and troops have massed outside the resistance stronghold of Homs for a possible ground assault that one activist warned could unleash a new round of fierce and bloody urban combat even as the Red Cross tried to broker a ceasefire to allow emergency aid in.

Syria's President Bashar Assad appears to be pouring reinforcements into the battle against his opponents in Syria.

SIX astronauts were forced to take refuge aboard the International Space Station’s “lifeboat” crafts yesterday, bracing for the threat of a collision with floating space debris, the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, said in a statement.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is poised to become the next leader of the scandal-rocked International Monetary Fund, with a major endorsement from the Obama administration.

Syrian president Bashar Assad issued a general amnesty for prisoners that includes those deemed to have committed political “crimes” as pressure built from a 10-week-old uprising that his regime has failed to quell with overwhelming military force.

Two ferries carrying foreigners trying to leave strife-torn Libya were waiting to leave Tripoli today, delayed by officialdom and rough seas, while a Russian-chartered ferry arrived at a port further east.

A Russian prison is getting tanning beds installed for inmates to use.

A Russian Antonov military cargo plane crashed on the border between Russia’s Tula and Oryol regions, killing all 11 crew members aboard, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

A judge declared former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty of theft and money laundering charges in his second trial today, Russian news agencies reported.

SECOND World War Katyn massacres were committed on the direct order of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Russia’s lower house of parliament said yesterday — a statement hailed by Polish officials.

The Second World War Katyn massacres were committed on the direct order of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Russia’s lower house of parliament said today – a statement hailed by Polish officials.

Insurgents have stormed the parliament and agriculture ministry in Russia’s volatile Chechnya region and people have died, Russian news agencies reported today.

NON-CREW members were in the cockpit of the plane of Polish president Lech Kaczynski before its fatal crash in Russia, officials said yesterday, raising fresh questions about the tragedy’s cause.

Two explosions tore through Russia’s largest underground coal mine, killing 11 workers and injuring 41 others, an emergency services ministry official said today. Another 84 people remained in the mine, including rescue workers.

Russia has signed an arms deal with Libya worth €1.2bn, according to reports today.

Moscow has dashed Iranian hopes that a Russian-built nuclear reactor will be switched on this year, a blow to Tehran amid persistent tension over its nuclear program.

Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered a further investigation into the killing of journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya.

Moscow police have violently dispersed a gay pride parade banned by the authorities.

Ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he doubted he would live to see the end of Barack Obama’s four-year US presidential term and instructed officials to start making decisions without him.

A car exploded outside the Russian military’s headquarters in South Ossetia today, killing seven people and wounding three, the government of the Moscow-backed separatist region said.

Some Russian troops are withdrawing from the separatist-held Georgian region of South Ossetia, according to reports from the Itar-Tass news agen

Russian forces pushed a second front deep into Georgia, seizing towns and a military base in the western parts of the country.

Russia battled Georgian forces on land and sea, reports said today, despite a Georgian ceasefire offer and its claim to be withdrawing from South Ossetia, the separatist province ravaged by days of intense fighting.

The capital of Georgia’s separatist region of South Ossetia came under heavy fire early today, just hours after Georgia’s president declared a unilateral ceasefire.

Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev was headed for an easy victory in today’s presidential election, according to an exit poll and early partial results.

Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Russia, will not come online before late 2008, Russian news reports said today.

Flags flew at half-staff nationwide today as grieving relatives prepared to bury victims of Ukraine’s worst mining disaster in years.

A bus exploded in Russia this morning, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, a spokesman for the emergency ministry said.

Iran's new top nuclear negotiator will hold his first meeting with the EU's foreign policy chief over Tehran's contentious nuclear programme today in Rome.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has asked the Kremlin to dissolve his government, Russian news agencies reported today, with less than three months remaining before parliamentary elections.

Ten people have been arrested over the killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya and will be charged soon, Russian news agencies quoted the chief prosecutor as saying today.

Two deep-diving Russian miniature submarines today descended more than two and a half miles to the ocean floor beneath the North Pole, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.