BILLIONAIRE Roman Abramovich owns 16 homes, including mansions and apartments, in four countries, and shares in seven companies, but no yachts nor airplanes, according to an official income declaration.

An idea first mulled in the czarist era – a tunnel under the Bering Strait – is being revived as part of an ambitious project to build a 3,700-mile transport corridor linking Russia with Alaska.

A Briton and an American who walked into Russia from Alaska and were sentenced to deportation are awaiting an appeal hearing in their case.