Main news of September 21

RUSSIA

* Russia and Cambodia signed a bilateral agreement on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the economics ministry said

* The Russian army will adopt a modernized version of the Tor-M air defense system in 2008, the Ground Forces press service said

* Russian President Vladimir Putin said the new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, had submitted proposals on a new government structure

* North Korea may not be ready to fully commit to its pledge to close down the country's nuclear facilities, Alexander Losyukov, the Russian envoy to the six-party talks, said

* Two Islamist militants have been killed in a special forces operation in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasian Republic of Daghestan, a local security services source said

* The Russian billionaire who bought cellist Mstislav Rostropovich's collection of Russian art ahead of a Sotheby's auction earlier this week said he had paid over $72 million
 

WORLD

* Russia's Foreign Minister said the United States planned to deploy a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic to monitor the European part of Russia

* The sixth round of six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization will resume in Beijing September 27, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said

* The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has set conditions on its participation in an international conference on the Middle East, the Arab as-Shark al-Ausat newspaper said

* Pakistani opposition forces staged a mass rally in protest against President Pervez Musharraf's intention to seek re-election

* Chile's Supreme Court has ruled that Peru's former president, Alberto Fujimori, must be extradited to Lima, where he is accused of human rights abuses and corruption, Chilean media reported

* Rachmat Witoelar, Indonesia's environment minister, said he hopes a UN conference on climate change on the Island of Bali December 3-14 will give a boost to efforts to curb global warming

* Pope Benedict XVI appointed Paolo Pezzi a new head of the Russian Roman Catholics, the Holy See said on its Web site

* Stephen King, a famous U.S. horror writer, who celebrates his 60th birthday, has declared that his Haven Foundation fund will begin offering grants

* Vietnamese authorities say they have regained control over the bird flu virus, a source in the agriculture ministry said

* A court in the Czech city of Ostrava ruled against the extradition of a fugitive Russian banker granted political asylum in the country in June, local media said

BUSINESS

* Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said his country could offer Russian oil and gas companies considerable advantages to operate in Iraq, and expects a deal later to clear 80% of Baghdad's Soviet-era debt

* New Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has signed a government resolution to pay off a $343.3 million debt for 1998 U.S. agricultural loans ahead of schedule, the government press service said

* Russia's oil output, including gas condensate, increased 2.6% to 326.6 million metric tons in January-August 2007, year-on-year, the Industry and Energy Ministry said

* Russia's electricity giant Unified Energy System (UES) said it plans to raise 350 billion rubles ($13.9 bln) by selling state-held stakes of wholesale generating and territorial generating companies (OGKs & TGKs)