Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a Russian passport to US action film star Steven Seagal in a moved aimed at easing relations with the United States.
The draft for a presidential decree, available on the internet, would mean that Russia will accept the proposal of the Russian Ministry of Justice in agreement with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other federal bodies of executive power, along with the Russian Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation and the Russian Investigative Committee, about sending the Secretary General of the United Nations notice of the intention of the Russian Federation to no longer be a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
World cereal production for 2016 should amount to 2 571 million tonnes, up marginally from FAO's October forecast and 1.5% above the 2015 output. The updated figure, released Monday in the Cereal and Supply Demand Brief, reflects a substantial upgrade of the outlook for world wheat production, which is now expected to rise to 746.7 million tonnes, a 4.3 million increase from FAO's October forecast.
Russia has withdrawn a request to refuel its warships in Ceuta, after Spain became the subject of international criticism, from the NATO secretary general among others. Spain had recently signed statements accusing Russia of war crimes in Syria, where it’s believed the ships are headed.
Argentina extended on Monday its congratulations to Portuguese former prime minister and ex UN High commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres for his appointment by the UN General Assembly as the next UN Secretary General for the 2017/2021 period.
By José María Figueres (*) - The key to protecting Antarctica’s Ross Sea may well lie with Russia. On Monday the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, comprising 24 nations and the European Union, will discuss, once again, the creation of a large, marine protected area in the Southern Ocean.
Iran rejected on Tuesday an offer from Saudi Arabia to limit its oil output in exchange for Riyadh cutting supply, dashing market hopes the two major OPEC producers would find a compromise this week to help ease a global glut of crude.
Energy ministers from the world's two largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia said on Monday that their countries had agreed to act together to lift the price of oil out of its two-year slump, though they provided few details as to how they planned to achieve that goal.
Argentina's defense minister Julio Martinez is travelling to Russia and Italy with the purpose of strengthening bilateral cooperation in defense issues, including the possible supply of hardware for the equipment depleted Argentine armed forces. Last July the Russian Federation chief of Land Forces, General Oleg Salijukov visited Buenos Aires.
Brussels must do more to help producers ride out the slump in agricultural commodity prices, European farm leaders have warned. Immediate solutions were needed to tackle the “unprecedented” crisis that had hit agricultural markets, said European farm umbrella organization Copa-Cogeca.