RUSSIA

The United States does not need and cannot afford the Pentagon’s request for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will cost -- incredibly -- a mind-boggling $134.5 million per plane.

The Russian government criticized the United States for it so-called unjustified decision to sentence alleged international arms dealer, Viktor Bout, to 25 years in prison. The Kremlin has vowed to bring the Russian national, known in the United States as the Merchant of Death, back to his home country.

Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh will host President Asif Ali Zardari at a lunch in New Delhi before he makes a private trip to the shrine of a Sufi saint in Rajasthan state, according to officials.

Russia, the world's ninth largest economy, cut its 2012 GDP forecast to 3.4 percent from 3.7 percent as investment growth is expected to decline, its economy minister said Friday.

Moscow trendsetters look set for a gloomy and conservative autumn/winter 2012/13 season if Russian Fashion Week has been any judge of the trends for menswear and womenswear.

Russia will take all necessary efforts to get its citizen returned to his native country, the foreign ministry said. Bout, dubbed the Merchant of Death and basis for the movie Lord of War, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison.

The 45-year-old Russian was busted in a 2008 sting in Thailand in which undercover informants working for U.S. authorities posed as members of the Colombian rebel group FARC. Bout insists he was a legitimate businessman just trying to sell airplanes, not weapons.

So far this week, U.S. industrial giants have announced nearly $3 billion will be invested in new operations and research in Brazil, China and India three cornerstone members of the BRICS countries.

It seems like Russia might be moving the world closer to a zombie apocalypse. Last week Anatoly Serdyukov, Russian defense minister, announced plans for a new electromagnetic weapon. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia has been working on mind-bending psychotronic guns that can effectively turn people into zombies.

The head of China's national pension fund called for a bigger role for the Chinese currency in the international monetary system, saying the yuan could someday account for 10 percent of global reserves.

The U.S. titan will provide technology services to Eike Batista's EBX Group and acquire a 20 percent stake in EBX subsidiary SIX Automacao.

School notebook covers bearing the portrait of Josef Stalin has stirred up a controversy in Russia, as human rights activists and historians allege that the notebooks inspire a positive image of the Soviet dictator in children's minds.

The new 2014 Mazda6 will be largely based off of Mazda's Takeri concept vehicle which made its North American debut at the New York Auto Show 2012, the company announced Wednesday.

India has promised not to arm the submarines with nuclear weapons, only cruise missiles, in honor of international non-proliferation and security treaties.

By resigning, the president becomes eligible for an emergency election expected to take place May 6, and it opens the door to a challenge from opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic, who favors stronger ties with Russia.

Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), the top provider of Internet gear, announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in new initiatives in Brazil and India.

Thus far, western countries have refrained from suggesting they want to send weapons to Syrian dissidents, although Saudi Arabia and Qatar have already urged such measures.

China has sent election monitors to check on Myanmar's recent parliamentary elections. The irony of a country without free democratic elections monitoring ballots has not been lost on the Chinese.

The Saudis are reportedly greatly concerned by Iran’s alleged nuclear power ambitions and the impact of such a development on the Persian Gulf.

A female Russian spy was close to seducing a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet in 2010, the FBI's assistant director for counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi, told the BBC in a recent interview. But that spy wasn't flame-haired media darling Anna Chapman, a bureau spokesman told ABC News.

Shell is moving closer to the date when it can start drilling for oil in Arctic waters off Alaska. The company may soon get the Department of the Interior's approval and could begin operations by year's end.