RIA Novosti

Russia on Wednesday said Ukraine was opening a "second front" in Africa after Mali and Niger broke off diplomatic relations with Kiev, accusing it of support for "terrorist groups."

The RIA Novosti agency reports that the man activated a homemade explosive near the Serpukhov convent.
The explosion occurred at the entrance to the Orthodox high school, which is located within the monastery.
The agency states that the attacker was also injured and hospitalized.
Gymnasium students and teachers were evacuated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet in the Russian city of Sochi on May 3, a Kremlin spokesman said on April 21.      

Putin and Erdoğan will discuss the situation in Syria, Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, without providing any other details about the meeting.      

BELGRADE - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned today that the world has reached a "dangerous point" as tensions between Russia and the United States spike over the Syria conflict, EurActiv.com reports.

The White House on March 31 indicated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should not be part of any transitional unity government, echoing views from regime opponents inside the war-shattered country.
 

Russian police on Jan. 11 said they were probing a cheeky stunt by a group of passengers on the Moscow metro who stripped down to their underwear as part of a worldwide flashmob.

Moscow will extend its embargo on European Union agricultural products but is unlikely to go further if the EU extends sanctions as expected, economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev said June 18.

A Russian court on March 8 charged two men with the murder of opposition activist Boris Nemtsov, including an ex-police officer from Chechnya who confessed to his involvement in the brazen assassination.
      

Four men were in custody March 8 for the killing of Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov in a probe which has yet to reveal the motive for the brazen assassination in the centre of Moscow.
      

Russian military stages drills in Crimea

MOSCOW -- The Russian army has started a military exercise in Crimea, with more than 600 soldiers participating, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti said on Tuesday.