Leaders and top officials from an international group founded to counter Western alliances have met in Pakistan’s capital, with Moscow and Beijing announcing they will boost cooperation.

Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed acting president of the Islamic Republic after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reappointed Mikhail Mishustin as the country’s prime minister.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the gunmen who raided a suburban Moscow concert hall and killed 139 people were “radical Islamists.”.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says pressure from the West is strengthening his country's ties with China.

China says Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Beijing next week for talks, marking the latest exchange in a relationship in which Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on China for economic and diplomatic support.

Belarus is planning to deploy up to 200 troops to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces in the country.

Russian health authorities have shortened the required isolation period for those who came in contact with COVID-19 patients from 14 to seven days, a move that comes as an unprecedented surge of coronavirus infections, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant, rips through the vast country.

The Russian prime minister on Monday visited the Pacific islands claimed by Japan and said the government is considering setting up a special economic zone there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Belarusian counterpart for talks on closer integration between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

Russia's main security agency says it arrested two Belarusians who it claims were preparing a plot to overthrow Belarus' government and kill authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

A worker places a Greek flag at a tribune, ahead of a military parade, in Athens, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)ATHENS – Greece on Wednesday kicked off two days of celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the start of the country’s war of independence, although events are far more muted than originally planned due to the pandemic. Celebrations are to culminate in a military parade, accompanied by air force overflights, in central Athens on Thursday, Greece’s Independence Day. The 200th anniversary of the start of Greece’s war of independence comes at a time of frosty relations with neighbor and NATO ally Turkey. The Greek independence revolt started in the Mani region of the southern Peloponnese peninsula in 1821 and continued for years without official foreign support, with the Greeks gradually becoming riven by dissent and infighting.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures while speaking to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, during their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. On Thursday, Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin traveled to the Belarusian capital to discuss conditions for Belarus to refinance a Russian loan. Earlier this week, six Belarusian journalists were detained while covering a student demonstration and charged with taking part in unsanctioned protests. Authorities also have revoked the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists and deported some foreign journalists, including two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists. APs Belarusian journalists were among those told their press credentials had been revoked.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures while speaking to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, during their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. On Thursday, Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin traveled to the Belarusian capital to discuss conditions for Belarus to refinance a Russian loan. As they try to stifle dissent, authorities also have revoked the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists and deported some foreign journalists. In addition, the APs Belarusian journalists were told by the government that their press credentials had been revoked. On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin traveled to the Belarusian capital to discuss conditions for Belarus to refinance a Russian loan.

The Defenders of the Fatherland Day, celebrated in Russia on Feb. 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)MOSCOW Russia's security chief described the arrest of 33 Russian security contractors in Belarus as a presidential campaign stunt and warned Wednesday that it would have grave consequences for the ties between two neighbors and allies. Russia has demanded the release of the contractors for a private firm, saying they only were in Belarus because they missed a connecting flight to another country. Lukashenko denounced Moscow's position as part of Russia's alleged efforts to deprive Belarus of its independence. He warned Moscow against trying to fuel tensions in his country, saying that the instability could spread to Russia.

The Vyasna rights center has said that 43 journalists have been briefly detained while covering opposition rallies since the start of Belarus presidential election campaign. On Wednesday, more than 200 Belarusian journalists put out a statement urging the authorities to stop detaining reporters. Lukashenko is expected to easily win reelection on Aug. 9 despite the latest opposition protests, which were triggered last week when Belarus election officials barred the president's two main challengers from appearing on the ballot. Since May, more than 1,000 people have been detained in Belarus for taking part in protests, according to Vyasna. The Belarusian president has dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as psychosis and rejected any lockdown measures, but the economic fallout from the outbreak has badly battered the 9.5-million nations Soviet-style economy.

In mid-March, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tested positive for the virus. Around the same time, Spains authorities announced that the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Snchez got infected with the virus as well. According to a statement, Begoa Gmez and the prime minister were in good health and remained at their residence in Madrid. In early April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized after getting infected. On April 30, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said he tested positive for the virus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on the phone during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin via teleconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday endorsed Russia's nuclear deterrent policy which allows him to use atomic weapons in response to a conventional strike targeting the nation's critical government and military infrastructure. By including a non-nuclear attack as a possible trigger for Russian nuclear retaliation, the document appears to send a warning signal to the U.S. In line with Russian military doctrine, the new document reaffirms that the country could use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or an aggression involving conventional weapons that threatens the very existence of the state.But the policy document now also offers a detailed description of situations that could trigger the use of nuclear weapons. They include the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies and an enemy attack with conventional weapons that threatens the country's existence.