- 19:06 25/01/2009
The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church announced on Sunday a shortlist of three candidates to elect a new leader following the death of Patriarch Alexy II last year. 
- 18:40 25/01/2009
Iran executed six people convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes in a prison in the northeastern province of Khorasan Rasavi, local media reported on Sunday.
- 17:55 25/01/2009
Two girls aged 8-10 drowned after they went under ice in a pond in south Russia, the regional investigators' committee said on Sunday.
- 17:33 25/01/2009
Russia welcomes the resumption of gas transits to South Ossetia from Georgia disrupted by a five-day war between Moscow and Tbilisi in August, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
- 16:27 25/01/2009
A 29-year-old man from southwest China's Guizhou province has been diagnosed with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the sixth human case of the virus in China this year, Xinhua reported Sunday.
- 15:49 25/01/2009
- 15:21 25/01/2009
Ukraine is drifting towards default as Ukrainian authorities' actions are only deteriorating the situation in the ex-Soviet republic amid the ongoing global financial crisis, a Ukrainian lawmaker said on Sunday.
- 14:31 25/01/2009
A Hamas delegation is meeting with Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss ways to achieve a lasting truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian news agency MENA reported Sunday.
- 12:56 25/01/2009
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will arrive in Tehran in February to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
- 12:25 25/01/2009
Russian energy giant Gazprom hopes to sign gas supply contracts with Ukraine for 20-30 years to ensure stable gas transit to Europe, Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said on Sunday.
- 11:50 25/01/2009
The Russian Orthodox Church on Sunday started the process of electing a new leader following the death of Patriarch Alexy II last year. Patriarch Alexy II, who led the revival of Orthodoxy in the country after the demise of communism, died of heart failure at the age of 79 in December 2008.
