Main news of May 9

RUSSIA

* A military parade involving almost 8,000 personnel, 111 sophisticated tracked and wheeled military vehicles, as well as 32 aircraft and helicopters took place on Moscow's Red Square on Russia's Victory Day

* Russian peacekeepers deployed to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone to strengthen the Collective CIS Peace Keeping Force have started performing their duties, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said

* Moscow is seriously concerned over the recent surge of violence in Lebanon following the government's actions targeting Hezbollah's military communications network, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Russia, one of the world's leading arms exporters, is planning to expand the variety of weaponry and military equipment sold on global markets, a government official said

* A Russian Il-76 airplane from the emergencies ministry's fleet left on Friday from an airfield near Moscow with humanitarian aid to Myanmar, an emergencies spokesperson said

WORLD

* Egypt has agreed to open its border for three to four days on Saturday to residents of Gaza, currently on the brink of a humanitarian crisis over Israel's economic blockade, an informed Palestinian security source said

* India is close to sign a contract with France, worth an estimated 1 billion euros ($1.54 billion) for the upgrade of the 51 Mirage-2000 fighters in service with the Indian air force (IAF), a national newspaper said, citing military sources

* Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia displayed fragments of a Georgian surveillance drone it allegedly downed on Thursday