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Amid reports that President Donald Trump informed lawmakers earlier this week that the Pentagon would be maintaining some 3,000 personnel in Saudi Arabia, Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov warned that “this is just an escalation of tensions,” according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency. The move, which came amid a U.S.-led campaign to isolate and constrain the revolutionary Shiite Islamic Republic, prompted the diplomat to ask: “Are they going to fight someone or what?...

The St. Petersbur-born player was named on the standby list for the Super Eagles’ clashes against Algeria and Argentina. But injuries to some members of the squad member saw him called up. Idowu, a left back plying his trade with Russian Premier League outfit Amkar Perm, will hope to make his debut in the friendly against the Albiceleste. Revelling in his involvement with the three-time African champions, the 25-year-old via the team twitter handle said: “I’m happy to invited to the national team as part of the Super Eagles....

The Russian government has faced international condemnation for suppressing news of the war within its own borders. But Russia is also moving aggressively to block independent coverage — and spread disinformation — in the areas it now controls in Ukraine, further isolating civilians who are already cut off from the rest of the country and facing a growing humanitarian crisis. An announcement last week on a radio station in Mariupol, which has been mostly cut off from electricity and access to clean water, told residents that “help won’t come” and urged them to surrender, according to a video recording of the broadcast that was obtained by Newsweek and independently verified....

The sources said a deal struck by Dmitry Kozak just after the Russian invasion on February 24 would have satisfied Moscow’s demand that Ukraine stayed out of NATO. However, Putin supposedly decided to press ahead with the invasion. NATO’s expansion in eastern Europe has been one of the main reasons Putin has put forward to justify his aggression against Ukraine, saying that Russia’s so-called special military operation was a mere reaction to the threat of the alliance’s enlargement....

Facing mass protests in the wake of an election mired with fraud accusations from opposition movements and the West, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has consulted Russian President Vladimir Putin for assistance in restoring order in his country, which borders Russia and the U.S.-led NATO Western military alliance states of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Moscow, recalling the fall of friendly governments of other post-Soviet states, is keeping a close eye on the situation and one senior U....

Carlson’s comments from segments where he discusses the U.S. allegedly funding bioweapons labs in Ukraine were carried by the Russian state-owned network RT on Wednesday, while the official Twitter account for the Russian Embassy in Turkey posted a clip on Thursday of the broadcaster making the claims about labs. Fact-checkers have pointed out that the U.S. government has previously stated that labs in Ukraine existed for the purpose of researching possible epidemics, but bioweapons were never manufactured in such facilities, as Russian sources have claimed....

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) cited legal obstacles that had to be settled with the International Skating Union for its decision to postpone Tuesday’s ceremony. The final a day earlier had been dominated by the 15-year-old Russian Olympic Committee sensation Kamila Valieva. The Inside the Games website has reported that the IOC made its decision because one of the ROC skaters had failed a doping test that was conducted before the Beijing Games....

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Facebook page provided an update on the ongoing conflict between the country and Russia on Monday. In the update, Ukraine highlighted recent attacks by Russian forces and said they had been firing on both military and civilian infrastructure. It also said, Russia was continuing with “forced mobilization” for areas it occupied in Ukraine. “In Donestsk, the Russian invaders found a ’new source’ of replenishment of losses in manpower,” the update read....

The U.S. think tank said on Tuesday that Russian forces in Bakhmut may be nearing “culmination”—the point at which an attacking military force can no longer continue its advance—as Russian forces in the southern Kherson region did in August. Russian losses, the ISW said, are likely forcing the Russian military in the Bakhmut area to use squad-sized assault groups. The think tank noted that on Tuesday, Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty reported that Russian forces in the Bakhmut area are no longer operating as company and battalion tactical groups, but are instead operating in smaller groups of 10 to 15 service members, in squad-size organizations....

Reuters reported on Friday that a forecast among 15 analysts predicted that Russia’s economy would shrink by a further 2.5 percent next year in a contraction that is expected to be less sudden, but more prolonged, than initially predicted. Soon after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, forecasters said that Russia’s GDP in 2022 could fall by up to 15 percent. However, the analysts polled by Reuters stated that the figure likely stood at closer to three percent, suggesting that the Russian economy was more resilient than initially thought....

Russia has reportedly seen tens of thousands of its troops killed or wounded since it launched the internationally condemned war just over five months ago on February 24. Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN on Wednesday that more than 75,000 of Moscow’s forces are estimated to have been killed or injured since the invasion began. A spokesperson for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin dismissed such reports as “fake news” on Thursday....

The U.S. think tank said there had been a “significant backlash” within the pro-Kremlin information space about the Russian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) initial lack of recognition for Wagner’s role in the purported capture—rejected by Kyiv—of the Donetsk town. The MoD later acknowledged that Wagner volunteers and assault detachments took part in the battle and that a “heterogeneous grouping of troops” had executed a “joint plan” in the Soledar direction....

Maria Zakharova, director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saidthe special military operation in Ukraine is “going according to plan” and all the “stated goals will be achieved,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on Twitter. “Life is returning to normal in the territories already liberated from nationalists,” she said, although she didn’t mention specifics. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as independent states ahead of the invasion....

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Umerov and Abramovich—who has been acting as a mediator in the ongoing peace talks—suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning following a meeting in Kyiv on March 3. Both men, WSJ wrote, suffered symptoms including red eyes, tearing, and peeling skin on the hands and face. A source with knowledge of the incident told Newsweek on Tuesday that Umerov is “feeling ok” and is continuing his work as part of the negotiating team....

In the Kursk region, located near to Russia’s border with Ukraine, the number of crimes committed using firearms, ammunition, and explosive devices over the first ten months of this year increased by 675 percent, compared to the same time frame in 2021, statistics show. Crimes involving the weapons also rose sharply in the Belgorod region and in Moscow, with a rise of 213 percent and 203 percent respectively. Other areas which saw an increase in crime of at least 100 percent (using firearms, ammunition, and explosive devices) included the Pskov region, Saint Petersburg, Kalingrad region, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Saratov region, and Tambov region....

Russian publication Fontanka said it had sent one of its correspondents to infiltrate a cyber-attack group named “Cyber Front Z”. The unnamed correspondent was able to meet with the “cyber troops” and discover how they operate across social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Telegram. “The more successful our troops are against the Ukrainian plague, the more fakes and information attacks are being directed at us,” Fontanka quoted the cyber group as saying in a Telegram post on March 11, according to a Newsweek translation....

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told medical officials on Tuesday that population numbers are declining “catastrophically” amid falling birth rates and under-reported death rates, state-run news agency TASS reported. A United Nations report published in June put Russia’s population at roughly 145,872,000. It estimated the total population could drop to 143,348,000 by mid-2030, to 135,824,000 by mid-2050 and to 126,143,000 by mid-2100. Migration helped to offset potential population losses between 2010 and 2020, the agency stated....

With Democratic contender Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump in the fight for the White House, the sentiment from Russia is that whoever wins would present difficulties for the Kremlin. Leonid Slutsky, chair of the parliamentary international affairs committee, wrote on Facebook that an “anti-Russian” agenda had been playing out within U.S. politics and, no matter who won, “there is no need to expect any changes for the better in Russian-American relations, and that is very unfortunate....

Archaeologists have known about the building for some time and have long suspected it was once used as a Christian temple. However, most of the 40 foot building is hidden underground, with just a dome visible above the surface, and researchers have not been able to access it—excavating could endanger the UNESCO site. The building is located in the northwest of the fortress and dates to around 300 A.D. It was buried 400 years later when the Arabs captured the city....

Rune Factory 5 takes users to the border town of Rigbarth, where they take the role of either Ares or Alice. The latest iteration of the Marvelous’ fantasy role-playing simulation franchise has been a long time coming. The first mainline entry since 2012’s Rune Factory 4 on the Nintendo 3DS, its enhanced port was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. In Rune Factory 5, gamers join a group of peacekeeping rangers known as Seed, as stability in the Kingdom of Norad is threatened and takes on the familiar and refined gameplay loop of the series....