Main news of June 18

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

*One of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's sons has received temporary political asylum in Great Britain, a source close to the family told RIA Novosti

* Kyrgyz authorities have asked Russia to send troops to protect strategic installations in the Central Asian state but Moscow has yet to make a decision, a Russian Defense Ministry source said

* Russian gas giant Gazprom owes Belarus an equal amount of nearly $200 million for gas transit, therefore leaving Minsk with no debts before Moscow, a Belarusian first deputy energy minister said

* Belarus will sign Customs Union documents if Russia cancels petroleum products duties now and oil duties from January 2011, President Alexander Lukashenko said

* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country did not have an outstanding debt for Russian gas deliveries

* India successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable, short range ballistic missile, the Prithvi-II, state television reported, citing defense officials

* The construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran will not be affected by the new UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said tensions in the Middle East had not eased and called for further efforts to advance the peace process

* Medvedev reduced the number of strategic companies which enjoy privileged state support

* Medvedev said control over inflation was Russia's top priority

BUSINESS

* Russia will invest at least $100 billion in developing major gas fields in the next five years, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said

SCIENCE

* The Skolkovo Fund providing money and support for the eponymous Russian hi-tech hub plans to hold a tender for developing its architectural concept in July, the fund head said

* Italy's Eni and Russia's Gazprom agreed to permit Electricite de France (EdF) to enter the South Stream project, Eni said

* Russia's Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft with three crewmembers on board docked with the International Space Station