Main news of June 19

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Kyrgyz authorities have extended the emergency situation in a number of districts in the Osh region of the Central Asian republic, the interim government's press service said

* France has welcomed Russia's decision on new sanctions against Iran, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

* A Russian businessman of Uzbek background, Alisher Usmanov, has allotted 150 million rubles (some $5 million) for humanitarian aid to Kyrgyz refugees in Uzbekistan, a statement from the businessman issued on Saturday said

* French President Nicolas Sarkozy believes the idea of Russia and Europe building up defenses against one another is something that should remain in the past

* Kyrgyz police have initiated 90 criminal cases over killings committed during the interethnic conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan, Osh region Commandant Baktybek Alymbekov said

* The Shiite armed group Hezbollah said its activists will not take part in the forthcoming Gaza-bound humanitarian aid mission to avoid possible confrontation with Israel

* A Georgian human rights organization sued Russia and Georgia in the European Court for Human Rights over the five-day war the two states fought in August 2008

* The United Nations launched an appeal to collect over $71 million in aid for violence-hit Kyrgyzstan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he would head Skolkovo research hub board of trustees

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that each federal region should have a university or institution adapted to the needs of handicapped individuals wishing to receive a higher education

* Russia's Minister of Trade and Industry Viktor Khristenko said he would testify as a witness at former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky's trial

* Russia's rail monopoly Russian Railways (RZD) needs state subsidies of 25 billion rubles (almost $807 million), the company's head Vladimir Yakunin said in an interview with the Russia Today TV channel

BUSINESS

* The CEO of Russia's gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, made a number of announcements on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg in regard to the company's plans on constructing the South Stream gas pipeline, as well as the ongoing spat over debts on gas deliveries with Belarus

* Contracts worth more than $6.18 billion were signed during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Russia is concerned over the currency fluctuation rate of the euro and hopes that the European currency will stabilize soon, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the International Economic Forum

* Russian gas giant Gazprom is prepared to purchase all of Azerbaijan's gas volume, the company's CEO announced

* The head of the Dutch Gasunie company, Marcel Kramer, has been named chairman of the board of directors and executive director of the South Stream gas pipeline project, Russia's gas giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced

* Russian gas giant Gazprom will not grant 10% of its shares in the South Stream gas pipeline project to France's Electricite de France (EdF), Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said

* Russian gas giant Gazprom, Italian gas company Eni, and France's Electricite de France (EdF) signed a memorandum of understanding, bringing the French company into the South Stream gas pipeline

* Russia and Kazakhstan are on the brink of signing a number of documents on cooperation in the nuclear sphere, the head of the Russian atomic energy company Rosatom said

* The CEO of Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, is unsure of the possibility of continuing talks with Belarus on a gas debt issue before Monday

* Russian-Belarusian talks on gas debts have ended empty-handed, Russian gas giant Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said