DMITRY MEDVEDEV

Vimpelcom's $6.6 billion bid for telecoms assets owned by Weather Investments was hanging by a thread after Norwegian shareholder Telenor said on Monday it would not back the deal.

The U.S. Senate opens debate on the START Treaty this morning, with the Democrats needing one more vote to ensure passage.

Twitter is ending the year with the number of accounts touching the 100 million mark. To celebrate, the site has created an infographic on Twitter's 'Class of 2010', which includes Bill Gates, Kanye West, Tiger Woods and many more.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attacked the United States on Thursday over secret U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, saying the West had no right to preach to Russia about democracy.

Telecom gear maker Nokia Siemens Networks is set to become the latest foreign company to pledge its support to the Kremlin's new flagship technology hub near Moscow, the head of the hub said on Thursday.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was on a four-day official visit to India along with his wife Carla Bruni left for Paris on Tuesday after signing a few deals worth more than $10 billion, which is almost the same as what US President Obama managed during his visit last month.

Russia is widely expected to secure European Union approval to join the World Trade Organization at a summit on Tuesday, taking Moscow closer to completing membership negotiations after 17 years.

President Nicolas Sarkozy urged India on Saturday to support France's agenda of reforming the global monetary system during its presidency of the G20 and hinted a nuclear deal could be signed on his trip.

Football fans needs not worry about securing visas ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia as Moscow is planning to scrap the requirement all together for match ticket-holders as well as footballers from the European Union.

US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blower site Wikileaks suggest that even as Russians are eagerly awaiting the dates of elections in 2012, the outcome is almost decided. American officials believe that Vladimir Putin, the current Prime minister would continue to influence the course of the country's politics no matter what role he plays in it.

The Obama administration has been left red-faced by disclosures made by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks pertaining to French president Nicholas Sarkozy that describes him as an “emperor without clothes”, Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as ‘Hitler’ and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin as an “Alpha Dog”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is not alone when it comes to avoiding flying. He's got a friend in Moammar Qadafi of Libya, whose staff avoid long distance travel by air over water.

Germany has strongly condemned the Russian government move, what they call as “reciprocating”, to make visa norms “strict” for the EU citizens.

North American and European nations of the NATO alliance agreed for the first time to develop a missile defense shield over the next decade to protect against the threat of ballistic missiles for all its member states, President Barack Obama announced on Friday.

Coordination on exiting the Aghanistan war, a missile shield system over Europe to protect against Iranian threats, and forging closer ties with Russia will be on the agenda for the NATO summit in Portugal over the next two days.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is planning an official visit to Israel in January next year, the Haaretz reported on Wednesday. This will be the first Russian presidential visit to Israel in almost five years. It was in 2005 that Vladimir Putin met Ariel Sharon, which improved the bilateral ties between the countries.

The arrest of Russian spies in the US and the ensuing spy-swap was the result of the betrayal of a Russian intelligence officer, a Moscow newspaper reported on Thursday. Kommersant, the paper, claimed that Col. Shcherbakov, who worked for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), blew the cover of his unit.

President Dmitry Medvedev warned Russia's Kremlin-appointed regional governors on Monday that he is closely watching their approval ratings and hinted they won't last long in the job if they cannot keep people happy.

Russia's paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, hinted on Monday he would return to the presidency in 2012 for six more years and said democracy protesters marching without permission deserved to be beaten.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted that he would return to the Kremlin in 2012 for another six years, saying in an interview published Monday he was more interested than everyone else in the election.

An icon of Jesus embedded in a Kremlin gate used by Soviet leaders but bricked over in the 1930s during communist times was restored on Saturday to public view.