China added to its official gold reserves for the third straight month in February as the country continues efforts to minimize its exposure to the US dollar. The People’s Bank of China added 10 tons of gold to its horde last month. It has accumulated an additional 32 tons of the yellow metal since the beginning of the year. According to the Financial Times, at this rate, China will surpass Russia... 

This comes after Venezuelan President Maduro said he would request China, Russia, Cuba and Iran, as well as the UN, to probe a recent attack on the country’s power grids that left the country’s vast territories without electricity for several days. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has voiced Beijing’s readiness to help Venezuela restore its energy supply system. At the same time, according... 

Gif footage showing an unambiguous gesture of a female shop assistant has garnered thousands of views and comments during the first 24 hours after it popped up on Reddit, and its viral status shows no sign of abating. British UFC fighter Darren Till has expressed his admiration for a Russian saleswoman who knocked down a violent customer. “Play with feathers get ye arse tickled”, Till captioned... 

The US president’s former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and conman who used his inner circle to cover up damaging allegations about sex and lied about his business interests in Russia throughout the campaign that sent him to the White House. In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress, testified that Mr Trump had advance knowledge... 

Law enforcement chiefs said that an internal check in almost no time found out who had hired the striptease dancer to entertain the men, adding that four other people had been reprimanded over the affair. A top policewoman, who worked until now as a senior investigator in Ulan-Ude’s police office, in the Russian Republic of Buryatia, has been sacked for arranging an “erotic” dance as a gift... 

President Vladimir Putin warned of a resolute response if the U.S. decides to station missiles in neighboring countries to Russia. Putin, at his annual address to parliament on Wednesday, said his country would not seek confrontation and would not take the first step in deploying missiles after the suspension of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. However, he said Russia would respond... 

Facebook has suspended several accounts operated by Maffick Media without prior warning, right after CNN ran a report about the company’s perceived ties to the Kremlin. In what seems to be a new step in the social media giant’s fight against perceived ‘Russian propaganda’, Facebook took down, without prior notice, several pages offering video content. The social media network said... 

Russia is testing the heavy attack drone Okhotnik (‘Hunter’), which is designed to dismantle an enemy’s defenses. It is scheduled to enter service this year along with some similar models. Can it challenge the West’s UAV reign? The new heavy stealth attack drone Okhotnik will have its first test flight in the “nearest future,” Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov... 

Belarus is ready to merge with Russia, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said on the third and last day of his bilateral talks with President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Rumors resurfaced this year that Russia could annex Belarus as Putin’s constitutional term limits bar him from running for the presidency in 2024. “The two of us could unite tomorrow, no problem,” Lukashenko said in... 

As the poorest Caribbean state descends into chaos caused by the corruption of its elites, protesters on the streets are calling for help from a man who has never set foot in the country – Vladimir Putin. “Down with Americans, long live Putin!” chanted around 200 demonstrators in the capital Port-au-Prince on Friday, some holding up printouts with the face of the Russian president. Protesters... 

Poland’s Foreign Minister has dismissed the idea of creating an EU army independent of NATO at the Munich Security Conference. Poland, he said, needs “an American presence” to compete with Russia. Combining the military forces of the EU’s 28 member states has long been a dream of some EU leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron talked up the idea of building a “real European army” to... 

UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is itching for conflict with Russia and China. He’s not mad. Not even slightly. But he is stupid. Very. Unlike former fireplace salesman Gavin Williamson, I am no military expert. But then you do not need to be one to understand that while Britain going to war with Russia and China might work as a video game, the real thing would be an exceedingly bad idea. So... 

A truly extraordinary hotel has opened its doors to tourists in the small Russian town of Alushta in Crimea. The new spaceship-themed complex is also a museum and entertainment center all-in-one. The new hotel dubbed ‘The Guardian of the Empire’ provides guests with a unique opportunity to spend their vacations in special space cabins, equipped with a mini-bar and TV. Real science fiction fans... 

Russia could see the start of private space tourism in around five years, with participants flying for several minutes to a height of 100km before descending by parachute or engine-powered aircraft. That’s according to Sergei Zhukov, co-leader of the working group of the National AeroNet Technology Initiative. He told RIA Novosti about the so-called CosmoCourse project, which is being developed... 

A new weapon installed on Russian warships can make enemy soldiers miss targets by blinding them, while also causing hallucinations and making them want to vomit. Two Russian frigates were fitted with the new non-lethal dazzler-type weapon, the 5P-42 Filin (eagle-owl), the manufacturer’s representative told RIA Novosti. The weapon is designed to temporarily blind the enemy. It creates a strobe-like...