Possible route could see 400km/hour bullet train pass through heart of Siberia and Altai region with stops in major cities.

New 'plug-in' cars coping well with harsh climate and landscape and were even recharged overnight in remote taiga at -33C.

Geysers, active volcanoes, thermal lakes, mountains, Pleistocene glaciers, cascading rivers... and a lot of bears! 

Western countries will send some of their most hardened criminals to serve sentences in special prisons in deepest Siberia.

Once part of the longest road in the world, tourist officials launch new initiative to get visitors to experience the pathway that linked West with East.

His career with the St Louis Blues was earlier delayed because of the NHL lockout but the impact of the 21 year old has been dramatic.

To the outside world, the resort of Sheregesh is as well known for Yeti as skiing or snowboarding.