Huge damage wrought by forest fires is sparked by failure to apply safety laws, complained Yuri Chaika.

Flooding now covers an area almost as large as France, Germany and Britain combined, or close to the equivalent of Texas and California.

The quake could be a world record for a tremor caused with involvement by humans, it is claimed.

Emergencies minister Vladimir Puchkov vows: 'We will defend both the city and the factories'.

Russian scientists hopeful of finding traces of cosmic matter left after the explosion.

Trans Siberian trains are on schedule despite rivers breaking their banks and plans to evacuate the gateway of Khabarovsk.

Damage from wave of floods already labelled 'catastrophic' with worse to come as Russian president Vladimir Putin demands: 'Put people first'.

The Russian president spoke after flying over devastated settlements, and fields were crops have been destroyed.

DNA 'tests' of hair supposedly from a Yeti in a Siberian cave show it comes from an unknown mammal closely related to man, it was claimed last night.

Druzhok was rescued once but swam back to do his duty on the doorstep of the waterlogged house in Eastern Russia.