Scientists studying the terrifying meteor that exploded without warning over a Russian city last winter say the threat of space rocks smashing into Earth is bigger than they thought.

Actors Jonah Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell are among a batch of celebrities donning Russian-language "Love Conquers Hate" T-shirts to show support for gays in Russia alarmed by a new law banning pro-gay "propaganda".

Two Kiwis protesting against deep-sea oil drilling are caught in the middle of a high-stakes power play.

Russia has dropped piracy charges against jailed Greenpeace activists - including two New Zealanders - and charged them with hooliganism instead.

A female suicide bomber has blown herself up on a city bus in southern Russia, killing six people and injuring about 30, officials said.

One of the New Zealand Greenpeace activists being detained in Russia has been refused bail.

Greenpeace said about 200 people turned out at a protest in Wellington in support of activists being held in Russia.

Charges of piracy have been laid against 30 Greenpeace activists arrested by Russian authorities, including two New Zealanders.

A Russian court ordered seven more crew members of a Greenpeace ship to be detained for two months over an open sea protest against Arctic oil drilling.

More than 20 anti-oiling campaigners, including New Zealanders Jonathon Beauchamp and David John Haussmann, will spend the next two months in a Russian jail.

The UN Security Council, long paralysed by deep divisions over how to deal with the Syrian conflict, is about two days away from agreeing on a resolution to require Damascus to dismantle its chemical weapons stockpiles.

A prominent member of Russia's parliament has exploited the deadly shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington to ridicule the United States.

A look at how the past days' parallel tracks - pushing for approval of a military attack while pausing to give diplomacy a chance - unfolded.

America's threat of military action against Syria's regime receded into the distance yesterday as Washington and its allies decided to test a Russian proposal.

Battling stiff resistance in Congress, US President Barack Obama has conceded he might lose his fight for congressional support of a military strike against Syria.

Prime Minister John Key says a UN-backed suggestion to destroy all of Syria's chemical weapons as a way of diverting an increasingly violent situation is an "interesting proposal".

Why do Russians continue put up with being ruled by Vladimir Putin, asks Gwynne Dyer, when there are alternatives available?

Before leaving for home after the Group of 20 summit, President Barack Obama sat down with Russian civil society activists to assure them that he would keep pressing Moscow to respect human rights.

They're supposed to be talking about growth and money, but the threat of war in Syria is creeping into nearly every conversation as the leaders of the world's 20 top economies huddle in Russia this week.

The Russian village of Oymyakon is generally known as the world's coldest permanently inhabited place.

The Russian village of Oymyakon is generally known as the world's coldest permanently inhabited place. Photos by Amos Chapple.