RUSSIA

At least 31 people were killed when a plane carrying 43 people, including children, crashed soon after takeoff in Siberia on Monday. The ATR-72 twin-engine airliner was flying from the western Siberian city of Tyumen to the oil town of Surgut. The accident has once again raised concerns over the substandard flight and safety conditions in Russia.

Russian authorities closed Moscow's Red Square Sunday and detained dozens of people trying to hold a silent anti-government protest there, prompting opposition charges that they were denying Russians their right to free assembly.

The United States vowed to nearly double its funding to the Syrian opposition, and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised the Syrian people they will not be left alone.

Syria says the year-long revolt to topple President Bashar al-Assad is now over, but it will keep its forces in cities to maintain security until it is safe to withdraw in keeping with a U.N.-backed peace deal.

Russian retail group Bosco, which owns Moscow's famous GUM department store, has opened a store in the shadow of London's Olympic Stadium, its first venture into western Europe.

Two days of talks among the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa wrapped up Friday with little to show other than a currency exchange and a lot of hopeful talk.

In a hilarious new ad by Karl Rove linked group American Crossroads, President Obama is portrayed as a rogue James Bond type character and possible Russian double agent whose main mission is to weaken America.

The top U.S. diplomat is also set to meet with ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates before heading for talks with Turkish, Arab and Western leaders on the Syria crisis.

Palladium prices are set to soar this year, buoyed by high levels of speculative buying, unwavering industrial demand and the general upward price pressure commodity metals are seeing in a zero-interest rate environment, according to a report issued Thursday.

The heads of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, drafted a joint statement attacking American and European aggressive policy actions and dominance of global institutions.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are meeting in Delhi to discuss a range of issues, including increased financial integration of the member countries.

Tibetan protesters clashed with the police as the leaders of five emerging economic powerhouses in the world met at the BRICS 2012 summit, in New Delhi. In an anti-China protest against the presence of Chinese president Hu Jintao in India, Tibetans unfurled the Tibetan flags in a protest rally held at less than a mile from the BRICS summit venue in the Indian capital.

The BRICS nations signed two agreements aimed at promoting trade in local currencies on Thursday. The two agreements, of which one will provide line of credit to the business community, while the other will examine the possibility of setting up a development bank, were signed by officials of the five member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Reuters reported.

Russia and India will start to trade in domestic currencies within the next three years according to the Chairman of Russian Development Bank.

North Korea has started fueling a rocket, moving a step closer to its controversial launch mid-April, a Japanese newspaper has reported.

As leaders of the emerging world powers, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) meet today in New Delhi, the focus is on the bloc's efforts to set up a development bank which will bring together resources required for development, especially in the infrastructure sector.

Leaders of the top five emerging world powerhouses, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), will kick off a two-day summit in the Indian capital today, eyeing increased trade cooperation and seeking common ground on the plan to set up a development bank.

Bulgaria cites a lack of funding for not pursuing a planned nuclear power plant at Belene

In an announcement this week, Microsoft said the next version of the Kinect for Windows will be available at the end of May, with a 1.5 version of the software that works with it. The new Kinect for Windows 1.5 will come with a few new features, such as Kinect Studio, which will allow developers to record, playback and debug users' clips.

Within three years, the combined GDP of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is forecast to exceed that of the United States. China is expected to become the world's No. 1 economy by 2027.

As the Obama administration goes into damage control over an unscripted exchange between President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Mitt Romney is seeking to turn the gaffe into a broader indictment of the president's foreign policy.