US security leaker Edward Snowden is set to start a new job at a major Russian website, three months after the fugitive was given asylum in Russia, his lawyer said yesterday.

A car bombing near Syria’s ruling party headquarters in Damascus has killed 53 people, according to state media, while mortar rounds exploded near the army’s central command in the city.

Russian officials opened a terror investigation today, saying that a home-made bomb planted on the tracks of the high-speed Moscow-to-St Petersburg route caused a derailment that killed at least 26 people and injured dozens more.