* Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law allowing for changes to the 2005 budget. The amendments increase 2005 budget revenues to 4.979 trillion rubles (about $175 billion) and expand state spending by 16% to 3.539 trillion rubles (about $124 billion)
* Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said Sunday that a position for a fourth deputy minister might be created within his cabinet
* Russian national soccer club CSKA Moscow won gold medals in advance Sunday after beating Dinamo Moscow 2-1 in the championship game
* Ukrainian democracy watchdog PORA said Sunday that two of its activists and more than a dozen other students were denied entry into Azerbaijan, where parliamentary elections are underway, and immediately deported back to Ukraine
* Russian electricity monopoly Unified Energy System has put the fourth 335 MW hydroelectric generator at the Bureya Hydroelectric Station into operation, mainly completing the country's largest hydropower project, UES' head said Sunday at the opening ceremony
* Police have confiscated 1.5kg of heroin near a train station in the Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous Region, a law enforcement source said Sunday
* Sunday's parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan began with a low turnout after only 6.62% of the electors cast their votes by 10:00 a.m. local time, a Central Electoral Commission official said
* Afghanistan has joined the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation organization, following a decision by the CAREC 4th ministerial conference in Bishkek Sunday
* Ukrainian CIS mission observers who were denied entry in to Azerbaijan Sunday to monitor the parliamentary elections have blamed activists from the Ukrainian democracy watchdog PORA, also turned away earlier
