Main news of October 18

RUSSIA

* Russian President Vladimir Putin has set another historic record of 3 hours and 5 minutes during an annual televised question-and-answer session, during which he said:

- Russia will continue to develop both nuclear and conventional components of its armed forces

- Recent talks between Russia and the U.S. showed Washington is trying to reach a compromise with Moscow over plans to deploy missile shield elements in Europe

- the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was mainly aimed at controlling the Gulf state's oil reserves

- Russia has the means and strength to safeguard its interests, domestically and abroad

- the pro-presidential United Russia party is necessary to maintain parliament's effectiveness and current policy direction

- Moscow is ready to cooperate with any Ukrainian government formed after the September 30 election results are officially validated

- he is against introducing Internet censorship in Russia's domain

* Russia has successfully test-fired an RS-12 Topol intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk space center, a spokesman for the Strategic Missile Forces said

* Russia and India have closed a deal to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter plane, a spokesman for the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said

* Direct broadcasts from Russian government sessions held on Thursdays will be banned, the head of the government press office, Alexander Zharov, said

* The Russian Foreign Ministry said charges have been brought against Russian businessman Alexander Trofimov, accused of the sexual abuse of underage girls in Cambodia

* Georgian media are conducting a massive campaign to discredit Russian peacekeepers in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, a Russian Army official said

* Alexei Kudrin, Russian vice-premier and finance minister, said he had been appointed to head a government commission on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization

* The Russian State Duma issued a statement calling on UN member countries to condemn the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba

WORLD

* Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned to her home country after eight years of self-imposed exile, to be greeted by vast crowds of supporters

* Some 40,000 strong Turkish troops comprising helicopter, artillery and special forces units are ready to launch a full-scale operation against Kurdish militants on the Iraqi border, Turkish media reported

* The Elysee Palace confirmed reports of a divorce between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia

* An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the latest statement by the U.S. president over Iran's nuclear program threatened global security

* Four Palestinians have been killed and more than 30 injured in clashes between the Hamas-controlled security forces and members of a Fatah-affiliated clan in the Gaza Strip, local media said

* Nadege Brunacci, a 38 year-old New York resident, found a two-meter (7 foot) python in her toilet, the Daily News newspaper said

* Two of the three Russians trapped in India's Himalayas have died in heavy snow, and one has been rescued, a senior official in the state of Uttarakhand said

* Thousands of Parisians had to cycle or walk to work during the Thursday morning rush as a strike by French transport workers paralyzed the public transport system

* The Ukrainian "orange" coalition announced on Thursday that it intended to continue a policy aimed at integration into NATO and the EU while maintaining equal and neighborly relations with Russia

* Henry Kissinger, a former U.S. state secretary, said Russia's proposal that the U.S. use its radar station in Azerbaijan was constructive but would not force Washington to cancel its missile defense plans

* Moscow called on Warsaw not to politicize existing differences but resolve them through professional and constructive negotiations, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said

BUSINESS

* Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said it intended to hold an initial public offering on Russian bourses in late 2009 and early 2010 to the sum of $1-1.5 billion

* Russia will soon change its World Bank status from that of borrower to donor, the bank's president, Robert Zoellick, said

* Russia's sole liquefied natural gas plant, being built as part of the Far East Sakhalin II, will increase annual capacity by 7 million metric tons, the regional governor said

* Inflation in Russia will reach 10% in 2007, Alexei Kudrin, a deputy prime minister and finance minister, said