Russia

Russia on Dec. 1 appointed notoriously pro-Kremlin maestro Valery Gergiev, a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin for decades, to lead Moscow's world famous Bolshoi Theater.

Gergiev takes over Russia's main stage at a time when Moscow is increasingly casting culture as a battleground in its clash with the West while troops fight in Ukraine.

Istanbul police have apprehended one of the managers of an organized crime group actively operating in Russia, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

Shamil Amirov, identified as one of the managers of the "Thieves in Law," was wanted by Interpol with a blue notice of fraud, Yerlikaya said on X on Dec. 3.

Day 648 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Kiev accused Russia on Saturday of committing a war crime by executing Ukrainian soldiers who had signalled their intention to surrender.

A short video posted on Telegram shows two men coming out of a shelter, one with his hands above his head, before lying on the ground in front of another group of soldiers.

Day 647 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that "the time has come" to let Sweden become a member of the military alliance.

Türkiye and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet formally approved Sweden's accession bid.

Argentina will not be joining the BRICS bloc of developing economies next year as scheduled, a senior official in President-elect Javier Milei's team has said.

"We will not join the BRICS," Diana Mondino, who Milei picked as foreign minister once he is sworn into office on Dec. 10, wrote on X.

"If you want to join the EU, I think you won't open a new chapter if you don't follow all EU decisions, including the sanctions against Russia," Lavrov said at a press conference during the OSCE Ministerial Council, answering a question from a journalist from Serbia what the final outcome of talks between Belgrade and Pristina would be.

Henry Kissinger was the most powerful American secretary of state and shaped US history during the Cold War, and his diplomatic legacy continues to influence Washington's relations with Russia, China and the Middle East to this day.

Day 646 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours: