A new education and leisure center is expected to open in Crimea’s largest city, Sevastopol by 2023. It will cover a territory of 18.3 hectares on Cape Crystal between Karantinnaya and Artillery bays. Planning includes an opera and ballet theater, an arts academy, a residential complex for employees, a cinema and concert hall, as well as a park and museum devoted to the defenders of Sevastopo [...]

The US-European united transatlantic front on sanctions took a hit this week, with Brussels warning that it would retaliate if Washington moved forward with plans to impose a sanctions regime on foreign investments in Cuba which threatened European companies. [...]

Even as Washington is wooing New Delhi, India is seeking to buy Russian-made military hardware. The most recent deal would see the purchase of more than 450 tanks from Moscow for $1.93 billion, and it's not even the biggest one. [...]

Moscow's sovereign gold stockpile jumped up to over 2,100 metric tonnes last year, with the country's status as a major gold producer allowing for reserves to be built up using domestically sourced bullion. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia opened on Friday a helicopter flight training centre in Venezuela to assist Venezuelan pilots in learning how to fly Russian-made Mi-family helicopters, Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said. [...]

Ice cream and sorbets from Russia’s northwestern city of Vologda can now be enjoyed in Africa. Russian ice cream producer Iceberry has shipped around 75 tons of the cool treat to Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) and Senegal. [...]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lamented the adversarial style of the current US policy towards Moscow, saying Washington shows no intent of seeking compromise contrary to what diplomacy is supposed to be about. [...]

RT America host Rick Sanchez has broken down the true lessons of the Robert Mueller probe and Russiagate, revealing why he believes Russia was pegged as the US's “exclusive boogieman.” [...]

The Russian currency has proven itself to be the most stable of all developing countries during recent volatility, according to the deputy head of the Central Bank of Russia. [...]

Washington risks losing the Turkish arms market if it continues to delay the delivery of F-35s agreed upon with Ankara, as Turkey can simply switch to buying warplanes from Russia, RT was told. [...]

Russia is not seeking to erect a Chinese-style “great firewall” with new legislation on the ‘sovereign internet’ or otherwise regulate the web, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev has said. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova mocked on Friday US National Security Adviser John Bolton's tweet that threatened those who "destroy democracy" in Venezuela with "consequences", implying it was the United States itself that jeopardized Venezuelan democratic institutions. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A Venezuelan court has remanded Roberto Marrero, an aide to the country's self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaido, into custody for the period of the investigation, Marrero's lawyer Joel Garcia said on Friday. [...]

US President Donald Trump has warned that Russia must get out of Venezuela. Two planeloads of Russian troops are currently in the Latin American country under the terms of a 2001 cooperation treaty. [...]

Russian specialists are in Venezuela as part of the 2001 military-technical cooperation deal with Caracas that doesn’t need further approval, Moscow said after reports of the arrival of two military planes with troops and cargo. [...]

One of the newest Russian airports, Platov International Airport in the city of Rostov-on-Don, has received the highest mark from the UK-based ranking organization Skytrax, becoming the first five-star Russian airport. Getting five stars from Skytrax is considered the most prestigious international award for airports and airlines. After a recent audit of the terminal, the organization added Platov [...]

Earlier this week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the stopping of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which the document claimed boosts the EU's dependence on Russian gas supplies and threatens the bloc's energy security. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Union reaffirmed its commitment to the policy of non-recognition of the results of the referendum in Crimea, after which the peninsula rejoined Russia, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement on Sunday, amid the fifth anniversary of the peninsula's reunification with Russia. [...]

The Russian parliament has furthered a bill, which seeks to legalize growth of plants that can be used to produce opioids. The measure is meant to ensure that Russia has a steady supply of raw materials for producing painkillers. [...]

A Russian rocket engine producer has offered a sneak peek of its latest creation, the RD-171MV, which is slated to be part of Russia’s next workhorse launch vehicle and, later, a super heavy-lift rocket. [...]

Earlier, Washington sparked fears of a new nuclear arms race in Europe after it withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty while building missile shield components in Poland and Romania. [...]

Russian space agency Roscosmos is considering building a spaceplane powered by a nuclear reactor, according to a memo obtained by a Russian news agency. The move could “reshape” the market for space launches, the document says. [...]