Investigators in Moscow said they were unable to retrieve information from the damaged black box of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey last month, data the Kremlin hoped would support its version of what happened.

British and Chinese experts have watched as Russian military officials opened the black box of a Russian warplane downed by a Turkish fighter jet last month.

Donal Hickey on manipulating cloud to produce rain.

A Russian Air Force chief said today that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported.

A senior Russian MP warned today of a growing rift between Nato and Moscow as the military alliance expands to include seven former Soviet-dominated nations.