World - Russia

MOSCOW (AFP) - Germany's new Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle emphasised strong relations with Russia during his first visit to Moscow Friday, but remained discreet on human rights issues. Full Story »

MOSCOW - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized Kremlin policies Friday and toyed with the ambitious idea of attempting a political comeback. Full Story »

MOSCOW - Russia lacks a viable program for developing a new spacecraft and risks losing its place as a leader in space travel, a veteran Russian cosmonaut said in an interview published Friday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (AFP) - An Russian Orthodox priest who was an outspoken critic of both Islam and ultra-nationalist groups was shot dead in his Moscow church by a masked assassin, investigators said Friday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russian ice-breaker cruise ship carrying more than 100 people, mostly British tourists, broke free of Antarctic ice and was on its way to Argentina after days of entrapment, the ship's operator said on Friday. Full Story »

MOSCOW - A gunman killed a Russian Orthodox priest in his Moscow church and seriously wounded the reverend's assistant, officials said Friday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A masked gunman entered a church and murdered a Russian Orthodox priest who had received death threats for converting Muslims to Christianity and criticizing Islam, prosecutors and church officials said Friday. Full Story »

YALTA, Ukraine (AFP) - Vladimir Putin on Friday delivered one of his most searing attacks yet against the Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, saying it may not be safe to wear ties around him. Full Story »

YALTA, Ukraine (AFP) - Ukraine's president on Thursday warned Russian gas supplies to Europe are under threat as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko for talks on the row. Full Story »

ST.PETERSBURG, Russia - Russia's Constitutional Court effectively outlawed the death penalty Thursday, saying a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force until the nation fully bans executions. Full Story »

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - Russia cannot apply the death penalty even after a moratorium expires next year, a court ordered Thursday, in a major step towards abolishing capital punishment in the country. Full Story »

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired one of his top advisors for abuse of office in one of the biggest changes to his Kremlin administration since taking power, media reported on Thursday. Full Story »

MOSCOW - A simmering confrontation between far-right youths and ant-racist activists has erupted into Moscow's streets after the fatal shooting of an anti-racist activist known as the Bonebreaker. Full Story »

GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Work to rebuild Russia's Chechnya region, devastated by separatist wars from the 1990s, is now virtually complete, the region's leader said at the lavish opening of a new shopping center in the capital. Full Story »

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Russia wants to join the World Trade Organization on its own but will synchronize its entry with Kazakhstan and Belarus, its partners in a customs union, a Russian official said on Wednesday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian soldier has been detained for trying to sell plastic explosives used in the armor plating of tanks on a city street in Russia's Far East, RIA news agency reported on Wednesday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (AFP) - Arkady Gaydamak, the colourful Israeli tycoon convicted by a French court last month of smuggling arms to Angola, blasted the case as "pure politics" in an interview published on Wednesday. Full Story »

MOSCOW (AFP) - It is premature to say that diplomatic efforts aimed at defusing tensions over Iran's nuclear programme have failed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. Full Story »