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Vladimir Putin More Popular Than Ever After 15 Years As President
Fifteen years ago, Vladimir Putin was elected promising to make Russia strong again: a country its citizens could be proud of and that the world would respect.
This week, Russia's main polling agency measured his support rating at 85%.
While opinion polls do not tell the full story in a country where much of the media is under state control, Mr Putin's enduring popularity is undeniable.
"Russia and Putin go together, we just don't see another way," says Oleg Sokolov, a member of the latest pro-Putin youth group known as Set', or "Network".
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Sky Net Plan To Catch Corrupt Chinese Officals Overseas
China has announced a new initiative to help bring to justice corrupt officials who have fled overseas.
The plan, called Sky Net, starts next month as part of efforts spearheaded by President Xi Jinping to crack down on rampant corruption.
It will co-ordinate investigations of offshore companies and underground banks that transfer money overseas.
China is increasingly seeking international co-operation to tackle corruption and track down suspects.
The Xinhua state news agency said 680 people suspected of economic crimes were repatriated to China in the second half of last year.
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Kunming Attack:Three Men Executed
Three men convicted of involvement in the Kunming knife attack have been executed, a court in China says.
Iskandar Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad were convicted in September of murder and terrorism offences.
The attack at Kunming station in March 2014, left 31 people dead and more than 140 injured. It caused shock across China.
Beijing blamed it on Muslim extremists from Xinjiang, next to Central Asia.
Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur minority. It has seen a series of violent attacks and clashes which Beijing blames on separatists inspired by terror groups outside China.
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Chance For Uk With Amazon Drone Delivery
US regulators' sluggishness over drone testing could be an opportunity for the UK, a leading academic has said.
The comments came after Amazon told a US Senate committee that the country's reticence was holding it back.
The firm said that, by the time it had been given permission to test one prototype, the drone had already been rendered obsolete.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the congestion of America's airspace justified its slow approach.
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Speed Control Technology To Be Sold By Ford
Ford is to sell a car that can read road signs and adjust its speed accordingly to ensure the vehicle is not driving too fast.
The speed-limiting tech can be activated via the steering wheel and briefly overridden by pressing firmly on the accelerator.
The car company suggests the facility will help drivers avoid fines and could reduce the number of accidents.
However, one expert said the innovation might only serve as a "stopgap".
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Understanding Vladimir Putin
Anyone who wants to understand Vladimir Putin today needs to know the story of what happened to him on a dramatic night in East Germany a quarter of a century ago.
It is 5 December 1989 in Dresden, a few weeks after the Berlin Wall has fallen. East German communism is dying on its feet, people power seems irresistible.
Crowds storm the Dresden headquarters of the Stasi, the East German secret police, who suddenly seem helpless.
Then a small group of demonstrators decides to head across the road, to a large house that is the local headquarters of the Soviet secret service, the KGB.
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Under The Spotlight: How Pilots Are Screened
Crash investigators say that the Germanwings Airbus was probably crashed deliberately by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. The way pilots are screened is now under intense scrutiny.
Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has said that there had previously been nothing to suggest that Lubitz was mentally unstable.
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Convictions In Meredith Kercher Case Quashed By Italian Court
The convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher have been quashed by Italy's top appeals court.
It is the final ruling in the case, following three previous court decisions over the 2007 murder.
Ms Kercher, 21, was stabbed to death in a Perugia flat she shared with Ms Knox.
American Ms Knox, 27, said she was "full of joy" after being acquitted, but the mother of Ms Kercher, who was from London, said she was "shocked".
Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito, her Italian ex-boyfriend, were initially found guilty of the murder in 2009.
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Uk Military Medic Leaves Hospital Free Of Ebola
A UK military medic who has been discharged from hospital after being declared free of Ebola said it was thanks to medics that she is alive.
Cpl Anna Cross was the first person in the world to be given the experimental Ebola drug MIL 77, her doctors said.
Cpl Cross, aged 25, from Cambridge, caught the virus while working as a volunteer nurse in Sierra Leone.
During her illness she lost 22lb (10kg) and spent 14 days being treated at London's Royal Free Hospital.
Doctors at the hospital said they were "absolutely thrilled" she had made a full recovery.
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South Korean Men Arrested By North Korea For 'Spying'
North Korea says it has arrested two South Korean men who it accused of spying for Seoul.
In a statement late on Thursday, state media said the two men, based in the Chinese border city of Dandong, were working to smear North Korea.
Seoul called the claims "groundless" and demanded the men be released.
North Korea periodically arrests foreigners and, in the cases of South Korean and US nationals, is accused of using them as bargaining chips.
It also arrests those engaged in missionary work, because religious activity is severely restricted in North Korea.
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