Sub-audible infrasonic waves from the meteor which exploded over a remote region of Russia last week were recorded 15,000km away in Antarctica.

With a blinding flash and a booming shock wave, a meteor blazed across the sky over Russia's Ural Mountains region Friday and exploded with the force of an atomic bomb, injuring more than 1,000 people as it blasted out windows and spread panic in a city of 1 million.

The survivor of a horror zorbing accident in Russia last month has spoken of the final moments before his friend's death and told of the "fear'' he saw in his eyes.

Analysts of the murky Russian underworld say a number of different groupings could be behind the audacious daylight shooting of a Russian mafia boss in central Moscow.

A man accused of organising a zorb ride at a Russian ski resort that killed a man has been detained and will face court, authorities say.

President Vladimir Putin says a draft bill banning US adoptions of Russian children is a legitimate response to a new US law that calls for sanctions on Russians deemed to be human rights violators. But he has not committed to signing it.

Here are some of the world's key doomsday destinations and other places marked by fear and fascination.

One of New Zealand's wealthiest men is selling his share in the Moscow-based investment bank he founded nearly 20 years ago.

Former NZ diplomat Warren Searell called Damascus home until the Arab spring made life far too dangerous. This is his story.

St Petersburg's main street is one long, fabulous distraction, writes Susan Buckland.