Main news of August 1

RUSSIA

* The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Ryazan successfully test launched a ballistic missile from the Barents Sea, a Navy spokesman said

 * The Moscow City Court sentenced in absentia former Yukos executive Leonid Nevzlin to life imprisonment for attempted murder and organizing contract killings

* The nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers will remain the core of the Russian armed forces for the next two decades, a draft military doctrine says 

* One member of Russia's security forces was killed and another injured in a shootout in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, local investigators said

* Russia has allocated $10 million for health and education purposes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Russia's envoy to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said

* Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova said on her web site that she would "have to miss the Olympics" in Beijing with a shoulder injury 

WORLD

* The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved an agreement with India on safeguards regarding civilian nuclear facilities

* A total of 17 dead bodies were recovered from a collapsed school dormitory as rescue workers completed their search for survivors in central Turkey, national media reported

* Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia reported that three people had been killed as Georgian troops continued to shell its capital, Tskhinvali

* Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has expressed concerns that a "media witch-hunt" will make it impossible for him to get a fair trial at a UN tribunal

 * Ukraine and Moldova, hit by devastating floods in late July, have requested humanitarian aid from the European Union, an EU spokesman said

* Hamas security forces arrested senior Fatah and Palestinian National Authority leaders in the Gaza Strip, raising tensions between the rival factions a notch higher

* A total solar eclipse that began at 9:20 GMT ended at 11:21 GMT, NASA reported

* The Phoenix Mars lander mission has found the first clear sample of water ice, confirming the possibility that life may have formed on the Red Planet, NASA said

* At least 35 people died when a train caught fire in south India's Andhra Pradesh state, the country's ministry of railways said

* Russia and Cuba are to make efforts to boost bilateral cooperation in all spheres, the Russian Security Council said

* English Premier League side Chelsea FC are in Moscow for two pre-season matches, including a game against Lokomotiv 

* Zenit St. Petersburg have turned down an offer from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for Andrey Arshavin, the BIA News agency said

BUSINESS

* Russia's Reserve Fund was 3.04 trillion rubles ($129.8 billion) and its National Prosperity Fund was 766.48 billion rubles ($32.73 billion) as of August 1, the Finance Ministry said

* Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom, reported a 73.8% increase in its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards year-on-year in the first half of 2008