Moscow, Russia News

MOSCOW, Russia - President Vladimir Putin on Monday presented a draft law in parliament that will make Crimea a possible gambling zone in Russia.

Ukraine could sign a deal on Monday allowing the shipment of up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas a year from Slovakia, ministers from the two countries said, although Ukraine says its neighbour could pump three times that much.

UPDATE: Labor is angered the Abbott government appears likely to make changes to the pension, while still pushing ahead with its Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

A Moscow court has decided to keep Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest rather than send him to jail pending trial.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a news conference in the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo April 24, 2014.

The U.S. Premiere of Eugene Onegin by Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre of Russia , an original play with music based on Alexander Pushkin's "novel in verse", will play 4 performances at New York City Center : May 29th at 8 PM, May 30th at 8pm, May 31st at 8pm and June 1st at 3pm.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a news conference after the meeting of foreign ministers from Caspian countries, in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe depart Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi restaurant in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Visitors before Alexander Ivanov's "The Appearance of Christ to the People" at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Ukraine's government relaunched a security operation to crack down on pro-Russian armed groups after an Easter pause on Wednesday and said it had the backing of the United States.

A meteorite contrail over the Ural Mountains' city of Chelyabinsk, about 1,500 kilometres east of Moscow, Russia pictured in February 2013.

In an appeal that may complicate European efforts to mediate the crisis, Turchinov said two "brutally tortured" bodies had been found near Slaviansk, the objective of the failed Ukrainian army offensive.

U.S. Navy frigate USS Taylor sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea in Istanbul April 22, 2014 US frigate USS Taylor has entered the Black Sea, according to the US Navy, as the Pentagon announces plans to dispatch some 600 troops to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for military exercises.

The Kremlin's questionable claim of widespread anti-Semitism as partial justification for threatening and even occupying parts of Ukraine should not obscure the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has genuinely championed the cause of Russian Jewry.

After a tit-for-tat series of delays, the United States conducted an Open Skies Treaty intelligence flight over Russian territory on Monday, a State Department official said.

As the crisis in Ukraine shows no signs of easing, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden promised support for Ukraine and stressed that the United States won't recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, right, is escorted to a court by a policeman, left, from his home, where he is currently staying under house arrest in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

As the crisis in Ukraine shows no signs of easing, Vice President Joe Biden promised support for Ukraine and stressed that the United States won't recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Over the past few years, NATO countries have helped Russia revolutionize its armed forces.

At 0630 AEST on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 93.27 US cents, down from 93.57 cents on Thursday before the four-day Easter long weekend.