Russia & CIS

Nigeria backed Saudi Arabia and Russia in freezing oil production while giving Iran and Iraq a way out to regain some of their lost market share due to sanctions and war, Bloomberg reports.

Ex-President of Georgia, now head of the Odessa Regional State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili accused Georgian billionaire and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili of a lie.

Facebook has created a new “social VR” team, led by two video gaming executives, ahead of the launch of its Oculus Rift headset next month, ft.com reports.

Azerbaijani diaspora activists have held a rally outside Armenia`s Embassy in Stockholm to commemorate the 24th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide, when the Armenian armed forced killed innocent Azerbaijani civilians.

Azerbaijani athlete Oleg Stepko has won a gold medal in the parallel bars event in the FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup in Baku.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran on Sunday where he will meet his Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehghan and other high-ranking officials, a source in the Russian Embassy in Tehran told Sputnik.

President of the European Council, Donald Tusk has phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express the EU’s support for Ankara against terrorism, the Turkish Presidency announced late Saturday.

Azerbaijan Britain Students Network has organized a march in London to commemorate the 24th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide, which was committed by Armenia’s armed forces against the Azerbaijani civilians in 1992, AzerTag reports.

The date of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev's visit to Iran has been made public.

Baku has hosted the first workshop on tourism in Italy, AzerTag reports.

Russian Federtion is сonserned with agricultural exports` rise with China and Southeast Asia, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said Sunday.

According to district’s press service, a special detachment of Russia's Southern Military District motor rifle brigades conducted tactical drills to eliminate a simulated illegal armed group.

A new military exposition under the auspices of the Russian Defense Ministry kicked off at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

The servicemen of the independent rocket-artillery brigade of Russia’s Northern Fleet have received Bastion (NATO reporting name SSC-5) mobile coastal defense missile systems, the fleet’s spokesman said Sunday.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, voiced his hope Sunday that his meeting with Pope Francis earlier in February would decrease tensions between Russia and NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with the Cabinet’s economic bloc members to discuss the 2016 economic action plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

The project documentation for the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Straight, between mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, has finally been approved officially. The accuracy of the estimated cost of the project has also been confirmed. The construction of the Kerch bridge will cost 211.851.575,730 rubles

Russia's first hotel to be entirely constructed from ice is due to open near a volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula on February 28.

Russian Southern Military District press service said that air defense units deployed at the Russian military base in Abkhazia destroyed a simulated enemy target using S-300 and Osa air defense systems.

Guilt-free gaming - now wouldn't that be the dream? Hours spent looking at the screen of your laptop, safe in the knowledge that, should somebody ask what you're doing, you can reply: "I'm working on knowing more about Russia."