* Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said the government defense order for 2006 was almost ready
* President Vladimir Putin signed a law to ratify the agreement with Tajikistan on the Russian military base in the republic
* Well-known pediatric surgeon Leonid Roshal said a psychological crisis center for survivors of the September 2004 school siege in the Russian city of Beslan should be built there
* Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said more than 10 billion rubles ($350.21 million) would be provided for the Russian Regional Jet project in 2005-06
* The Azerbaijani Central Election Commission's secretary said it had received over 1,500 complaints about violations during the parliamentary election campaign
* The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia supported the initiative of the Arab League to hold a conference on national reconciliation in Iraq with the country's influential political forces, including the opposition
