Russian President Vladimir Putin has given several ministers purged from his Cabinet new positions in his administration.

Russia’s top military officer has threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike if Nato goes ahead with controversial plans for a missile defence system in Eastern Europe.

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev has said developing the Arctic is crucial to sustaining Russian energy supplies because the region may hold a quarter of the world’s offshore oil and natural-gas reserves.

Russia’s security chief said Western spies were working to weaken and break up the country and singled out British agents as the most intrusive, according to an interview published today.

Russia’s top intelligence and counterterrorism agency prevented terror attacks during several international summits hosted by Russia, the agency’s chief said today.

Russia’s security body today formally ended a high alert announced earlier this week over a threat of terror attack.

Russia’s security chief today said foreign intelligence agents were actively spying on Russia with the help of new Nato members.

The head of Russia’s Federal Security Service today said that Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev has been killed, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia today offered a €7.9m reward for information on the killers of five Russian Embassy staff killed in Iraq.

The head of Russia’s main KGB successor agency said Moscow will not expel four British diplomats accused of spying, a Russian news agency reported today.

RUSSIA’S security chief said yesterday that his agency has uncovered US, British, Kuwaiti and Saudi spy activity that was being conducted by non-governmental organisations.

Russia’s security chief said today that his agency has uncovered US, British, Kuwaiti and Saudi spy activity that was being conducted under the cover of non-governmental organisations.

CHECHEN rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, blamed by Russia for last year's school hostage slaughter, has been killed during an army raid, Russian President Vladimir Putin was told yesterday.

Russia has vowed to hunt down the terrorists responsible for the suicide bombing of a train that killed 42 people near Chechnya.

A SUICIDE attacker set off an explosion that tore through a commuter train yesterday near the rebellious region of Chechnya, killing 40 people and wounding scores of others.

Three women and a man took part in the suicide bomb attack that killed at least 40 people and wounded scores on a Russian commuter train packed with school children and students near war torn Chechnya today.

Soldiers and civilians in southern Russia observed a day of mourning in honour of the victims of the suicide truck-bombing that killed 50 people at a military hospital.

A truck bomb explosion ripped through a government compound in northern Chechnya today, killing at least 41 people including six children and wounding more han 100 others.

Sixty seven hostages in the Moscow theatre crisis have been killed.

Emergency crews pulled a seventh body from the ruins of an apartment block in northern Moscow today.

At least four people were killed and up to nine more were feared trapped in the debris of a Moscow residential building that collapsed following an explosion.

A chartered Russian airliner heading from Israel to Siberia exploded at 36,000 feet today and plummeted into the Black Sea coast with 78 people on board.

Several suspects have been arrested over the three bombings in southern Russia that killed at least 21 people and injured more than 100 others.

Saying it is time to change strategy, President Vladimir Putin has transferred control of the war against Chechen rebels from the military to the country's main anti-terrorism agency.