POLITICS
Russia may join several Islamic nations in blocking access to the U.S.-made film “Innocence of Muslims” on YouTube after the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has declared the film extremist. (Moscow News)
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 following a decision by the Russian government. (Kommersant)
The leader of the Russian Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, has angered the U.S. administration by writing derogatory comments in his Twitter blog on the recent murder of U.S. diplomats in Libya. Washington threatens “extremely tough response” after the November 6 presidential elections. (Kommersant)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
President Vladimir Putin criticized the preparation of the 2013-2015 budget on Tuesday for not taking into account the cost of pension reform. The government will have a hard time finding solutions as the Kremlin demands a sharp increase in spending while keeping tax and inflation rates intact. (Kommersant, Vedomosti)
Russia may face a sharp increase in prices on bread, meat and gasoline due to grain shortage caused by severe drought in key grain harvesting regions. According to estimates provided by the Economic Development Ministry, Russia will harvest some 75 million metric tons of grain compared to 94 mln last year. (Moscow News)
Russia’s leading bank, Sberbank, has tripled spending on Internet advertising since the beginning of the year to lure more clients ahead of an anticipated crisis. (Kommersant)
Russia’s largest independent gas producer Novatek has been rated among ten global companies with best profitability for shareholders. Its capitalization has doubled to $38 bln in the last five years. (Vedomosti)
Moscow needs more small- and medium-size businesses to ensure efficient and stable taxation. At present, their contribution to the Russian capital’s revenues is much less than in large European cities. (Izvestia)
WORLD
The Syrian conflict may ignite a serious political crisis in Turkey as the local opposition has questioned the government’s tough stance on Syrian authorities and criticized the situation with Syrian refugees in the country. (Kommersant)
A former Ukrainian security officer has claimed to possess a covertly recorded tape implicating jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the 1996 murder of prominent politician Yevhen Shcherban. Melnychenko says he is willing to hand the tapes over to prosecutors.(Izvestia)
A conflict over disputed islands has prompted attacks on Japanese companies in China and forced them to suspend their activities in the country. (Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
A French court banned the spread of topless photos of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, that sparked widespread controversy late last week. The move could be a precedent for other countries where paparazzi photos taken of the topless Middleton had been distributed by local media. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
DEFENSE
Each of the two Mistral class amphibious assault ships being built in France for the Russian Navy will have air wings consisting of 30 Ka-52K and Ka-29 helicopters. (Izvestia)
SCIENCE
According to researchers from Bristol University, a new ocean might be forming in Ethiopia as the 56km-long rift fracture discovered by a satellite in 2005 continues to grow with relatively fast speed. Its width, for instance, has grown to six meters since then. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
