RUSSIA

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that attacks on pro-democracy protesters have stopped, but activists reported more bloodshed overnight.

Gold demand fell in the second quarter but is still expected to rise for the full year as Asian buyers add to holdings and investors shift to it as a safe haven, the World Gold Council said Thursday.

NASA is discounting rampant Internet rumors that comet Elenin will strike Earth or disrupt its gravitational pull in October.

Russian firm Orbital Technologies has unveiled its plans for constructing the first-ever space hotels for travelers and researchers which would orbit around 217 miles above ground.

Two satellites launched on Wednesday by Nigeria will help the African nation monitor weather patterns and resource management. The launch happened in Yasny, in Southern Russia.

The SSTL's NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites, which were built under contract with the Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), will give Nigeria the ability to perform monthly crop monitoring, help with increasing urban planning demands through the development of engineering skill, and advance the growth of new technologies in the African country.

Nigeria Wednesday launched two satellites, NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X spacecraft, which have a variety of applications, including the monitoring of disaster-prone areas, into orbit from a launch pad based in Russia.

Russia needs a change of leadership and free elections to stop it sliding backwards 20 years after a coup that hastened the end of the Soviet Union, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said on Wednesday.

Russia pitched on Wednesday a proposal to Iran's foreign minister which it hopes could bring a breakthrough in a confrontation over Tehran's nuclear programme, despite doubts in the West that the plan can make much headway.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may transfer billions of international reserves from Europe and the United States into banks in nations like China, Russia and Brazil, an opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev told a German magazine that he believes Vladimir Putin is pulling Russia back toward the Communist State he once ran.

FIFA should limit terms for senior officials, set up an independent group to clear up anti-corruption allegations and "embrace transparency," corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said on Tuesday.

Barclays Capital is forecasting the price of gold to exceed $2,000 per ounce next year as sovereign debt risks intensify, broad investment demand accelerates and central bank buying of the yellow increases.

New data has shown that Arctic sea ice levels plunged to a record low for the month of July in more than three decades of record-keeping.

Critics have chided President Barack Obama for his economic reforms, which they view as too big, or too liberal. The reality is however, that if Obama's reforms don't stand, and the economic/social problems are not addressed, an even more-liberal public official will likely emerge to propose and enact bigger changes.

Poland became the third most active retail investment market in Europe in the first half of 2011, with $1.73 billion transacted.

Shortages of steel raised fears that the automobile industry would suffer production cuts and might have to lay off significant numbers of their own workers.

China's first aircraft carrier, Varyag, has concluded its four-day sea trial and sailed back to the Dalian port.

A U.S. Ski Team member just lost his shot at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia after being charged with urinating on a young girl on a JetBlue flight from Oregon to New York, officials said on Friday.

Iranian gas flow to Turkey has been halted due to an explosion on the pipeline in Turkey overnight and repairs have been started which will take one week, a Turkish Energy Ministry official told Reuters on Friday.

Syrian forces killed at least 19 people in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country's Sunni tribal heartland, activists said, pursuing a military campaign to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.