Main news of February 15

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WINTER OLYMPICS

- * Switzerland's Didier Defago won the Olympic Gold medal in the Men's Downhill with a winning time of 1:54.31

- * Sweden's Charlotte Kalla won the Olympic Gold medal in the Ladies' 10-kilometer free individual cross-country race with a winning time of 24:58.4

- * Canada's Alexandre Bilodeau brought his country the first Olympic gold winning in Freestyle Skiing men's moguls

- * France's Jason Lamy Chappuis took the Olympic gold in Nordic combined Individual normal hill/10 km

- * Five-time world champion speed skater Martina Sablikova took the Olympic gold medal in ladies' 3,000 m

- * Germany took its first gold medal in 2010 Olympics Vancouver after Felix Loch won men's luge

WORLD

* Russia and India are to sign an additional agreement on a contract to upgrade the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrying cruiser, a Russian military cooperation service top official said

* Russia is resolving the technical problems which have delayed the delivery of advanced S-300 air defense systems to Iran, a Russian defense industry official said

* Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project could start in six months, dropping his doubts about the project

* Russia dismissed reports that world powers had made new offers to Iran on uranium reprocessing in a bid to defuse growing tensions over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program

* Twelve people were confirmed dead following Monday's collision of two passenger trains near the Belgian capital, Brussels, the German DPA news agency said

* Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's presidential election campaign headquarters said it would contest rival Viktor Yanukovych's victory in court tomorrow

* Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will pay a working visit to Russia on Monday at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said

* Russia and Nicaragua are preparing for joint military exercises, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with the Nicaraguan president in Managua

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow to discuss the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

RUSSIA

* Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh will sign an agreement on a Russian military base in Abkhazia during a visit to Moscow on February 16-18, the former Georgian republic's Foreign Ministry said

* Protesters demanded the premier's resignation at a weekend rally in Eastern Siberia ahead of the official reopening on Monday of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill after 14 months of inactivity, a Russian newspaper reported

BUSINESS

* Russia and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an array of agreements on the sale of Russian armored vehicles anti-aircraft systems and combat helicopters, a Russian defense industry official said

* Russia and India will sign the first contract on the manufacturing of a fifth-generation jet fighter in late February-early March, a Russian defense industry official said

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed introducing the Glonass navigation system throughout the country's regions and getting it onto "commercial rails"