Main news of April 12

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Supporters of Kyrgyzstani President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, deposed in large-scale protests that swept across the country last week, are joining forces in the country's south, Bakiyev's traditional stronghold, as the ousted leader has refused to hand over power to the opposition

* Russia will begin repatriating the bodies recovered in the wreckage of a Polish plane, which crashed last Saturday near the western Russian city of Smolensk killing Polish President Lech Kaczynski, as well as his wife and a large delegation traveling with him

* Iran has started the final test of equipment at the country's first nuclear power plant, the Bushehr project manager has said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Israel against a military attack on Iran, saying it might lead to nuclear war and global disaster

* Kyrgyzstan's interim government will take a close look at the agreement under which the Central Asian country hosts a U.S. transit center serving Afghanistan, a first deputy prime minister said

* Russia should give Kyrgyzstan more than $150 million aid, a first deputy prime minister in the interim government said following talks in Moscow

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will depart on a five-day visit to North and South America to attend two international summits and discuss bilateral ties with Argentina

* A two-day global conference on nuclear security in Washington will focus on the vulnerability of stockpiles of nuclear materials and securing them against the threat of terrorist acquisition

* Zhanybek Bakiyev, brother of the deposed Kyrgyz president and the former head of state security, has warned the opposition that any attempts to arrest Kurmanbek Bakiyev would be met with a harsh and merciless response

* Iran has developed and successfully tested its first domestically-built air defense system capable of destroying aircraft at low and medium altitudes

RUSSIA

* A delegation of U.S. State Department officials will pay a visit to Moscow for talks on child adoption rules with representatives of the Russian government

* The government's work has become much better and more efficient under Vladimir Putin's premiership, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with ABC

* Russian federal judge Eduard Chuvashov was shot dead in downtown Moscow, a law-enforcement source told RIA Novosti

BUSINESS

* Gazprom announced it had agreed terms with Italy's energy company Eni on joining the Elephant oilfield in Libya in an asset-swap deal

* Japan's government and Japanese businesses are interested in cooperation and investment in Russia's Far East, Tokyo's ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono said