* Russia's military bases in Georgia are on high alert, and troops have been ordered to 'shoot to kill' if provoked, the forces commander said
* The cordon of Georgian troops around the Russian headquarters in Tbilisi has been removed, the commander of Russian troops in the South Caucasus said
* Around 20 people gathered outside the Georgian embassy in Moscow in an authorized protest against Tbilisi's arrests of Russian officers
* The head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called for a direct dialogue between Russia and Georgia to end their escalating bilateral crisis, an OSCE news release said
* The customs duty on the export of crude oil and petroleum products, fixed at a record level of $237.6 per ton by the Russian government in mid-September, came into effect, representing a 9.8% increase from $216.4 per as of August 1
* Trade between Russia and France is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2006 compared to $9.8 billion last year, representing growth of at least 2%, the head of Russia's government staff said
* One person has died in a fire that engulfed an eight-storey residential building in north Moscow, the capital's firefighters said
