RUSSIA
* Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the government to draft a new defense industry modernization program that includes increased private investment and improved social benefits for employees.
* Russia’s Defense Ministry has abandoned plans to set up a unified command structure for the country’s nuclear triad, the newspaper Izvestia reported.
* Militant activity in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan has experienced a significant upswing in the past week, the Interior Ministry said.
* A number of internet service providers in Chechnya have blocked access to the video sharing site YouTube over an anti-Islamic film that has sparked riots across the Middle East and North Africa, the Chechen government’s press service said.
* A group of Canadian observers will conduct a series of inspection flights over Russia under the Open Skies Treaty starting on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
* The five millionth resident of St. Petersburg was born this weekend, the governor of Russia’s second largest city announced.
* Russia’s first satellite manufactured and operated by a private firm will be launched next year, Dauria Aerospace head Mikhail Kokorich told RBK daily.
ECONOMY BUSINESS
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expecting its new forecast for global growth next month to be weaker than anticipated as worries over Eurozone crisis and recession in U.S. economy remain unabated, IMF head Christine Lagarde said.
* The government’s decisions to offer sweeping tax breaks for new oilfields in East Siberia will yield about $300 billion in additional revenues for the state budget by 2030, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
* Privately-owned Promsvyazbank, one of Russia’s top thirty lenders, will hold an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) in Moscow and London, the bank said.
* Apple has sold over five million new iPhones just three days after the iPhone 5 was launched on September 21, the U.S. electronics giant said.
WORLD
* Over 70 Taiwanese fishing vessels are heading for two disputed islands in the East China Sea to protest their nationalization by the Japanese government, Kyodo News reported.
* China’s first aircraft carrier, an overhauled former Soviet vessel, has been formally handed over to China’s navy, local media reported.
* A number of Belarusian political opposition websites were blocked following their reports about allegedly falsified results on parliamentary election voters’ turnout.
* Karim Masimov, who resigned as Kazakhstan’s prime minister, has been named to head the presidential administration, according to a decree published on the administration’s website.
* Police in the Greek capital of Athens arrested 40 people as they clashed with law enforcers protesting over a recent U.S.-made film considered anti-Islamic, local police reported.
* Wang Lijun, the former police chief in the Chinese city of Chongqing, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the scandal that brought down his ex-boss, disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, the Xinhau news agency reported.
SPORTS
* Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was pushed hard by Serbian qualifier Bojana Jovanovski in the first round of the Japan Open, winning the match in a tense decider.
* St. Louis Blues wing Vladimir Tarasenko is to return to his former KHL team SKA St. Petersburg during the NHL lockout, SKA said.
* Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Igor Denisov has lashed out at the extravagant salaries of new signings Hulk and Axel Witsel after a spat with the management over the issue saw him dropped to the reserves.
* An early strike from Lacina Traore proved enough for Anzhi to grab a 1-0 win away to Alania Vladikavkaz in a tense Caucasus derby.