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Main News of September 18

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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 18.09.2012, Sputnik International

2012-09-18T19:59+0000

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Main News of September 18

19:59 GMT 18.09.2012

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* During its operations in Russia, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent over $2.7 billion on various programs in Russia, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said

* The stopping of USAID’s operations in Russia does not mean an end to the much-heralded reset between Washington and Moscow, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said

* A multi-millionaire Russian businessman has lost a UK legal battle with his former wife for a half share of her £40 million ($65 million) London home, British media reported

* Russia continues to call on the UN Security Council to approve the Geneva statement of the Action Group for Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement

* A French court banned the spread of nude photos of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, that sparked widespread controversy late last week

* Two of eleven Chinese patrol craft cruising the waters off two disputed islands between China and Japan have entered what Tokyo claims as its territorial waters, the Japanese navy said

* The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) has offered a $25 million reward for the capture, dead or alive, of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported

* At least 12 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a minibus near the Afghan capital of Kabul on Tuesday, al Jazeera television reported

RUSSIA

* The United States is ending its efforts to promote democracy and civil society in Russia under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department said

* Election observers from NGOs registered under a new law as “foreign agents” must indicate their status openly, a deputy head of Russia's Central Election Commission said

* President Vladimir Putin criticized the preparation of the 2013-2015 budget for not taking into account the cost of pension reform

* Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov warned on his Twitter account late Monday that Russia may block access to YouTube over the American anti-Islam video that has sparked outrage and riots throughout the Muslim world

DEFENSE

* Iran returned a Russian-built Project 877 class (NATO Kilo) diesel-electric submarine to the waters of the Persian Gulf following a refit, IRNA news agency reported

* Sea trials of an Indian Navy aircraft carrier refitted by a Russian shipyard were unsuccessful due to design failures in the vessel's boilers, Russian daily Vedomosti wrote on Tuesday quoting the shipyard's former director Oleg Shulyakovsky

BUSINESS

* Russia and North Korea have signed a deal on settlement of the DPRK's $11 billion debts to Russia, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told Prime news agency