WORLD
* U.S. President Barack Obama said in his weekly address that the U.S. and Russia will work together on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and on reducing their own nuclear stockpiles
* U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that he does not rule out the use of force against Iran but prefers diplomatic methods to resolve the nuclear problem
* British Foreign Secretary David Miliband refused to exclude the possibility of a military strike against Iran over its nuclear program
* Germany banned flights over the annual Oktoberfest beer festival after threats by Islamic militants angry at the country's military presence in Afghanistan
* Iran's Revolutionary Guards will begin missile defense drills on Sunday as tension grows over the Islamic Republic's defiance of international demands on its nuclear program
* Around 60 people died in flooding in the Philippines, regional media said
* At least 16 people were killed in northwest Pakistan on Saturday in two suicide car bombings, local police said
* Iran's president rejected Western accusations that his country's nuclear program runs counter to international agreements
RUSSIA
* There are no obstacles to the creation of a Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a Russian first deputy prime minister said
* The global economic crisis will push Moscow and Kiev towards closer cooperation, the former Russian ambassador to Ukraine said
* Unknown assailants shot dead a local administration official and his son in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya
* Russia and the United States have agreed to jointly participate in the preparation of the nuclear security summit in Washington in 2010, the Russian president said
World
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