London Telegraph | Russian president says life “would be boring without gossip” as he attends meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday, after days of rumours about his absence.

RT | Nearly 100,000 soldiers are taking part in massive 10-day military exercises across Venezuela, which were staged to counter an alleged US threat.

Reuters |More than 45,000 Russian troops as well as war planes and submarines started military exercises across much of the country on Monday.

NEO | US policymakers admit that Iran’s strategy is “largely defensive,” and both aggressive and defensive tendencies are largely in response to US policy in the Middle East and Central Asia.