Russia’s exports of agricultural produce increased last year despite Western trade barriers, President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday. During a meeting with the country’s agriculture minister, Putin stated that Russia had enjoyed its largest-ever grain harvest in the previous crop year, of almost 158 million tons.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says the move will free his country’s economy from sanctions Venezuela is planning to shift away from the greenback in cross-border transactions, President Nicolas Maduro said earlier this week, claiming that the measure would help the Bolivarian Republic to free its economy.

Two people have been injured in Russia’s Kursk Region when a Ukrainian military drone dropped a bomb on a sports and recreation facility, Governor Roman Starovoyt has said. The incident occurred on Thursday morning in the town of Glushkovo, around 10km from the Ukrainian border. Starovoyt said the two victims were local residents, who sustained moderate…