Swindler pays with Surinamese, Brazilian money in central Russia

PENZA - The police in central Russian city of Penza are searching for a man who paid for gold jewellery with Brazilian and Surinamese currencies, an official said Monday.

15 killed in Russian apartment fire

Rostov-on-DON - At least 15 people have died in an apartment fire in southern Russia, regional emergency officials said Sunday.

Russian woman charged with biting son to death

YEKATERINBURG - A Russian woman has been charged with biting her three-year-old son 50 times and striking him 80 blows that led to his death, prosecutors said.

Man uses 18-month-old son as guarantee on debt payment

KEMEROVO - The police in Siberia are searching for a man who gave a moneylender his 18-month-old child as a guarantee for debt repayment, an official said Friday.

Antony to open Asia security seminar Tuesday

NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A.K. Antony will inaugurate a two-day seminar Tuesday that will focus on evolving security strategies of key players in Asia and the emerging contours of the international order in the days to come.

Girl suspected to be raped by uncle, killed by mother

Petropavlovsky-KAMCHATSKY - A three-year-old girl was killed in Russia’s Far East by her mother who suspected that her brother had raped her daughter, a spokesman for investigators said Friday.

‘Russia’s next-generation warplane to fly this year’

ASTRAKHAN - Russia’s first fifth-generation warplane, being developed in collaboration with India, will make its maiden flight before the end of this year, the deputy prime minister in charge of arms procurement has said.

Medvedev hopes for better Russia-US ties under Obama

GORKI - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed hope that Washington will develop constructive relations with Moscow after president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration Jan 20.

Putin proposes EU consortium to aid gas flow

Novo-OGARYOVO - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed to the European Union (EU) to set up a consortium to buy from its energy giant Gazprom the amount of gas that Ukraine says is necessary to resume transit to Europe.