Europe Russia Exports to China surged to a record in April, +57% on April 2021, $8,9 billion worth of goods, probably due to rising global energy prices; imports fell to the lowest level since the early months of the pandemic
Europe Russia Victory Day will be celebrated on Monday 9 May: for decades a hymn to peace, lately more a display of military power; this year millions and millions of people hope it will mark peace again
Europe Russia UN Secretary Guterres will be in Moscow today to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine went unheeded
Europe Russia A video, created with high-definition digital systems and showing the sunken flagship "Moskva" crashing into the Kremlin, has gone viral after the sinking of the ship, used as a Ukrainian mockery of Moscow
Europe Russia Russian foreign minister on a visit to New Delhi thanked the country for not judging the crisis in Ukraine from a single perspective but "in the totality of the facts" and said he was ready to open a door on oil supply to India
Europe Russia The Russian Court ruled that Meta, that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is an extremist organization and it therefore banned it from operating in the country's territory
Europe Russia Reports say Russia is seeking to continue international trade, exploring alternative payment channels with India and including the possibility of using the Chinese yuan as a reference currency to evaluate the rupee-ruble trade mechanism
Europe Russia The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, apparently blamed liberal Western values - drawing particular attention to non discrimination of omosexuality - for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in his Sunday sermon
Europe Russia Demonstrations in dozens of Russian cities involved thousands of citizens, with over 1.700 protesters arrested because of the strict laws against street opposition; people are therefore using social media for petitions and fundraisers
Europe Russia The case of 15-year-old athlete Kamila Valieva has brought about discussions on whether to raise to 17 the age limit for athletes taking part in Olympics
Europe Russia Bitcoin regulation and taxes could yield up to 1 trillion rubles ($13 billion) in returns for the country, according to government analysts
Europe Russia Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he favours "mutually respectful" relations with the US and denied posing a threat to Ukraine
Europe Russia President Putin has tasked his government with submitting proposals for a railway link to the Barents Sea; the development of the Arctic region is a strategic priority with massive investment budgeted in military infrastructure and mineral extraction