Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev came under new pressure Friday after a public rebuke from President Vladimir Putin over one of his signature reforms passed during his stint as Kremlin chief.

Putin said late Thursday upon returning from a trip to Asia that he had heard some public criticism of proposed new legislation that would return investigators' right to launch tax fraud cases.

A Russian state service in charge of safeguarding Kremlin communications is looking to purchase an array of old-fashioned typewriters to prevent leaks from computer hardware, sources said Thursday.

The throwback to the paper-strewn days of Soviet bureaucracy has reportedly been prompted by the publication of secret documents by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and the revelations leaked by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday appointed former Kremlin foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko as the head of his government's administration following the sudden departure of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov.

Prikhodko worked as Medvedev's foreign policy adviser when he served as president between 2008 and last year.

Russia on Wednesday vowed to extend economically struggling Serbia a $500-million loan while reasserting support for its ally's continuing refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic won a promise of the quick disbursement of a $300-million (230-million-euro) loan that would help cover Belgrade's budget shortfall.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that Moscow intended to study the consequences of the Cyprus bailout deal agreed in Brussels amid analyst warnings of Russian deposits suffering the biggest hit.

"We have to figure out what this story turns into in the long run, what the consequences for the international financial and monetary system will be -- and thus, for our own interests as well," news agencies quoted Medvedev as saying in Russia's first official response to the rescue.

China's new leader Xi Jinping flew out off Moscow on Sunday morning to begin a tour of Africa after declaring his first foreign visit as president a success and overseeing the signing of a number of energy deals.

Xi flew out at 8:00 am local time (04:00 GMT) to Tanzania, where he was set to give a major speech on relations with Africa.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday he hoped to establish peace talks with Israel later this year while admitting that the chances for progress were slim.

Abbas said during a visit to Moscow he hoped "that later this year, we will see the start of substantive negotiations with Israel".

Cuban President Raul Castro expressed satisfaction with his talks this week with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the daily Granma newspaper reported on Saturday.

"It has been a good visit," said Castro after Medvedev wrapped up his three-day visit to Cuba, where he met with the Cuban leaders and his brother, revolutionary icon Fidel.

At least 16 miners were killed Monday when a methane explosion tore through a coal mine in the remote Russian Far North within the Arctic Circle, in the latest disaster to hit the country's mining industry.

Two miners were still missing after the explosion at the Vorkutinskaya mine controlled by Russian steel-making giant Severstal in the Komi region town of Vorkuta, the emergencies ministry said in a statement.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hoped on Tuesday that President Michel Suleiman would help bolster ties among the Lebanese people and develop the state.

He said: “Russia will help the Lebanese people develop their state and it in turn will develop its ties with Lebanon.”