Russia

Russia does the Hunger Games for real in Siberia but no guns are allowed

Contestants will have to survive on their own for nine months in Siberia.

Producers say that anything goes, including rape and murder, although they warn people taking part that they're still subject to the rule of law and can be arrested at any time.

"You must understand that the police will come and take you away. We are on the territory of Russia, and obey the laws of the Russian Federation."

Aleppo battle: Russia and China veto UN truce resolution

Russia said the document infringed the council rule allowing countries 24 hours to consider the final wording.

The US dismissed this as a "made-up alibi", saying Russia wanted to preserve recent military gains by Syrian government troops in Aleppo.

The army are reported to have seized more parts of rebel-held east Aleppo.

If confirmed, that would mean the government had recaptured about 70% of the rebel-controlled area in just over a week.

LinkedIn blocked by Russian authorities

Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor said LinkedIn would be unavailable in the country within 24 hours.

Some internet providers have already cut access to the site, which has more than six million members in Russia.

LinkedIn told the BBC it hoped to meet Roskomnadzor to discuss the block.

In 2014, Russia introduced legislation requiring social networks to store the personal data of Russian citizens on Russian web servers.

It is the first time the law has been enforced against a US-based social network.

 

Russia beat Pukpuks 49-19

Russia captain and flanker Viktor Gresev was instrumental in the win with a hat trick of tries to his name.

The defending champions were out to a 21-0 lead after Gresev’s first two tries in the 12th and 19th minute.

The Pukpuks were on the board after 21 minutes of play when winger John Ephraim crossed over. An unsuccessful conversion brought the score to 21-5.

But Russia continued to pile on the points with more points to Anton Ryabov and Valery Tsnobiladze.

Russia moves to block LinkedIn

A Moscow court ruled Thursday that access to the social network for professionals can be blocked because it has not complied with personal data storage regulations.

LinkedIn (LNKDTech30) was found to be in violation of a rule requiring data on Russian citizens to be stored on servers inside the country.

Giant snowballs appear on Russian beach in Siberia

An 11-mile (18km) stretch of coast was covered in the icy spheres.

The sculptural shapes range from the size of a tennis ball to almost 1m (3ft) across.

They result from a rare environmental process where small pieces of ice form, are rolled by wind and water, and end up as giant snowballs.

Locals in the village of Nyda, which lies on the Yamal Peninsula just above the Arctic Circle, say they have never seen anything to compare to them.

Russian TV quoted an explanation from Sergei Lisenkov, press secretary of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute:

MI5 chief: Britain faces growing threat from Russia

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper published Tuesday, Andrew Parker, director-general of MI5, said that the covert threat from foreign countries, most notably Russia, was rising at a time when the threat of radical Islam drew the most attention.

Russia: Largest force since Cold War

In the largest buildup of troops in the region since the Cold War, the UK has said it will send Royal Air Force Typhoon jets to Romania for up to four months in 2017.

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon also confirmed that 800 personnel will be moved to Estonia, 150 more than originally planned.

"Backed by a rising defense budget, this deployment of air, land and sea forces shows that we will continue to play a leading role in NATO, supporting the defense and security of our allies from the north to the south of the alliance," Fallon said.

 

American vigilante hacker sends Russia a warning

On Friday night, the Jester gained access to the Russian government ministry's website. And he left a message: Stop attacking Americans.

"Comrades! We interrupt regular scheduled Russian Foreign Affairs Website programming to bring you the following important message," he wrote. "Knock it off. You may be able to push around nations around you, but this is America. Nobody is impressed."

Russia accuses UK over 'shrinking' London embassy

Alexander Yakovenko said the embassy was "shrinking" and questioned whether the UK wanted "an adequate Russian diplomatic presence".

He also criticised the prime minister and foreign secretary for giving what he said were "anti-Russian statements".

The Foreign Office said there was no policy to delay visas.

Mr Yakovenko said Russia did not have enough diplomatic staff in London because as people returned home or went on to other postings, visas for their replacements were not being issued.