Main news of October 7

RUSSIA

* Relatives, friends and rights activists marked the first anniversary of the murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya

* President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 55th birthday in the Kremlin, for the eighth and last time in the president's capacity

* Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 7.3% in 2007, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said

* A total of 41 people were hospitalized with food poisoning in the Volga Republic of Tatarstan from October 2 to October 5, a local police officer said

WORLD

* Iran is prepared for talks with six world powers mediating Tehran's controversial nuclear program but will not suspend its uranium enrichment, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said

* A freight vessel with an international crew, including sailors from Russia, has been hit by a powerful storm off the coast of China, the Chinese news agency Xinhua said