MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia buried Soviet-era dissident and author Alexander Solzhenitsyn at a 16th-century monastery on Wednesday after a religious ceremony attended by President Dmitry Medvedev which bore all the hallmarks of a state funeral.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia has set no deadline for Iran to respond to an offer from six world powers aimed at resolving Tehran’s nuclear standoff with the West, Russia’s U.N. ambassador said on Wednesday.

HASHARON PRISON, Israel (Reuters) – Israel released five Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday as part of a swap deal with the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group that brought the bodies of two Israeli soldiers home.